The wattle has 600 different kinds of plants, grows in other countries, and flowers all year round.
The leaves can be bright, dull, smooth and waxy, soft and silvery, grey or brownish-green, but they are never, ever, long and flat. Phyllodes pretends to be leaves, but are long and flat. Because leaves let out a lot of water, the plant often has to get rid of them. But leaves have an important job, they make food for the plant, and without food the plant will die. Now, the plant doesn’t want to die, does it? But if it keeps the leaves, the leaves will let all the water out. So, the leaf- stems take the place of the leaves.
Flowers of the wattle are big, light and fluffy, and are white, yellow, and cream. They have showy stamens, long pistils, and the five sepals and petals are tiny in comparison.
The seed boxes are pods. There is something special about these pods – that, when they are dry and crisp, they usually snap open with a sudden twist, which throws the seeds out far and wide.