Acacia pycnantha, commonly known as the golden wattle, is a tree of the family Fabaceae native to southeastern Australia. It grows to a height of 8 m (25 ft) and has sickle-shaped phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) instead of true leaves. The profuse fragrant, golden flowers appear in late winter and spring, followed by long seed pods. Plants are cross- pollinated by several species of thornbill and honeyeater, which visit nectaries on the phyllodes and brush against flowers, transferring pollen between them. An understorey plant in eucalyptus forest, it is native to southern New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and southeastern South Australia. Explorer Thomas Mitchell collected the type specimen, from which George Bentham wrote the species description in 1842. Its bark produces more tannin than any other wattle species, resulting in its commercial cultivation for production of this compound. It has been widely grown as an ornamental garden plant and for cut flower production, but has become a weed in South Africa, Tanzania, Italy, Portugal, Sardinia, India, Indonesia, and New Zealand, as well as Western Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales. It was made the official floral emblem of Australia in 1988, and has been featured on the country's postal stamps.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acacia_pycnantha> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1715: Louis XIV of France, the "Sun King", died after a reign of 72 years, longer than any other French or other major European monarch at the time. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France> 1878: Hired by Alexander Graham Bell, Emma Nutt became the world's first female telephone operator. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Nutt> 1902: The first science fiction film, titled A Trip to the Moon and based on From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne, was released in France. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Trip_to_the_Moon> 1939: Nazi Germany invaded Poland at Wieluń and Westerplatte, starting World War II in Europe. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Poland> 1969: A bloodless coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi overthrew Idris I of Libya. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muammar_Gaddafi> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: owlful: (literary) Full of owls. <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/owlful> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Remember we're all in this alone. --Lily Tomlin <https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lily_Tomlin> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
