KNOWING GROWING ACACIA FOR FOOD & CONSERVATION

It was an early spring day in the 1940’s when my grandfather took me by the hand for a stroll in the once local bushland close to where I lived in the south east corner of South Australia.  As a small boy I recall the height of Bracken ern.  To me it seemed like a forest.

In an open area he would stop and point out yellow flowers and ask me to smell the fragrance.  he called them Wattles.  I think that must have had hypnotic effect on me as now 75 years later I often find myself stopping to smell the Wattle blooms in spring time.  Little did I imagine back then that most of my whole working life would be inter-twined with plants native to the country in which I was born.  Wattles, or botanically Acacias they are correctly known, would be a big part of those Australian native plants.

Acacias, or wattles as they are commonly known are the most widely distributed plant growing on the Australian continent, with some 1,063 known species to date.

This practical guide explores the possibilities of growing some of the temperate and arid Acacias as a food source and for conservation.  It covers seed collection, propagation,  Aboriginal language names, food and nutritional value and much more.

Another chapter of interest includes people who, in their own way, tell the author of their experiences with this iconic Australia genera.