Daffodils "Tete-a-Tete" in flower (early) and Spring Wattles

Last year I published photos of these lovely little Miniature Daffodils "Tete-a-Tete" on 27 August. It coincided with Daffodil Day.

This year, these same plants are flowering two weeks earlier than last year.

Miniature Daffodils "tete-a-tete"

They are lovely little flowers, which I always find to be "cheerful" plants. Linguistically, I should say the make me feel cheerful.

The other thing which also makes me feel cheerful, at this time of year, are the Wattles. In fact I had some assistance today to clean up several trailer loads of branches of Wattles which were damaged several weeks ago, in the heavy winds which caused havoc around Robertson. So, this is a photo from two years ago. But the flowers were just as spectacular this year.

Acacia decurrens in my yard.

But this next one is a puzzle. The only truly natural wattles in Robertson are the Blackwood Wattles - Acacia melanoxylon. This other plant, however, is self-seeded in my front yard, but does not actually belong here.

It is now well over 2 metres tall, but I have been waiting for it to flower, so I could identify it, before deciding whether or not to let it grow. I wanted to know what it was, and where it might have come from, before making that decision. 

Acacia longifolia grows commonly at my friend Jim's place, at Carrington Falls, on the sandstone plateau there, in the heavy, black soil. It is rampantly in flower down there at present. My plant is just starting to flower.

Acacia longifolia - a native wattle which is not natural in Robertson

The leaves of this species are very variable, as demonstrated by these leaves taken from three separate plants, all growing along the same roadside edge, at Cloonty Road, Carrington Falls.

The top leaf is 230mm long.  The shortest leaf is approximately 130mm. These were all mature leaves - the longest ones on each branch I selected from. In other words, the shortest one was not just a small (undeveloped) leaf, on the end of a branch.

Acacia longifolia leaves - very variable in length.

Acacia longifolia - note "pulvinus" and gland at base of leaf.

"pulvinus: the swelling at the base of the petiole, often capable of changing form to bring about movement of leaf, sometimes glandular or responsive to touch. A similar swelling near the apex of a petiole is referred to as an upper pulvinus."

Flowers of this species of Wattle are in a "rod" formation.

Here is a better image of the flowers of another specimen of A. longifolia growing at Ulladulla - in flower last Saturday.

Acacia longifolia - flowers

I have tagged this post as "Spring 2011", even though that is technically incorrect. It looks, smells and feels like Spring, so damn it, I am going to call it a Springtime post.