Brisbane tree guide

Brisbane wattle

Acacia fimbriata · also called Fringed wattle, Brisbane golden wattle

The Brisbane wattle is a fast-growing native shrub or small tree, and in 2023 Brisbane City Council made it the city's additional floral emblem. From mid-winter into early spring it is smothered in small, scented golden balls of flowers that draw birds, bees and butterflies. It usually tops out at around 6 metres and makes a quick, dense screen or informal hedge in a sunny spot.

Native to South East Queensland
5 to 7 m tall
Flowers July to September

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Brisbane wattle, from Wikimedia Commons — Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Dlanglois assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Brisbane wattle at a glance

Height: 5 to 7 m
Spread: 3 to 6 m
Growth: Fast
Leaves: Evergreen
Flowers: Yellow, July to September
Origin: Coastal and tableland eastern Australia, from southern NSW to north Queensland
Family: Fabaceae

How to identify a Brisbane wattle

The 'leaves' are really phyllodes: narrow, straight or slightly curved blades about 2 to 5 cm long and only a few millimetres wide. Fine hairs along their edges give it the other name, fringed wattle. In winter, sprays of up to 25 small round flower heads appear along the stems, each a fluffy golden ball 3 to 5 mm across. Flat, papery pods follow, holding black seeds. The trunk is smooth and the crown is rounded and bushy, often with slightly drooping branches. Golden rain wattle (Acacia prominens) looks similar but has wider, grey-green phyllodes with no hairy fringe.

Growing a Brisbane wattle in Brisbane

This is a true local. The specimen used to name the species was collected on the Brisbane River in 1828, and it grows wild in eucalypt forest and along rocky creeks. In a garden it wants full sun or part shade and well-drained sandy or loamy soil. Once established it needs little extra water and handles drought and light frost. It suits a backyard screen or native garden, and it appears on Brisbane City Council's free native plants list.

Pruning and care

A light prune every year after flowering keeps it compact, bushy and flowering well, and it can be clipped harder to form a hedge. Dwarf forms can be kept smaller still. Water young plants regularly until they are settled in, then it will get by on very little. As a legume it fixes nitrogen from the air. If it outgrows its spot or drops a large branch, the job is one for a qualified arborist.

Brisbane wattle: your questions

Short answers, from the sources below.

Back to the tree guide

Is the Brisbane wattle Brisbane's floral emblem?

Yes. After community consultation in 2023, Brisbane City Council chose the Brisbane wattle as an additional floral emblem. It sits alongside the red poinsettia, which has been the city's floral emblem since 1930.

When does Brisbane wattle flower?

It flowers from mid-winter to early spring, which in Brisbane is roughly July to September. The blooms are small, scented golden balls carried in long sprays along the branches.

How tall does a Brisbane wattle grow?

Most plants reach about 6 metres tall and 3 to 6 metres wide, and some reach 7 or 8 metres. Dwarf forms sold in nurseries stay closer to 2.5 metres.

Can you grow Brisbane wattle as a hedge?

Yes. It responds well to regular light pruning, which keeps it dense and full of flowers, and Australian botanic gardens rate it as a good hedge or screen plant.

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Sources and credits

Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Dlanglois assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

This profile updates sheet 30 of the plant profile booklet made for Colourful Tree Lopping in 2013. We checked every fact against current sources and rewrote it for the guide.

Checked October 2026. Weed listings and council rules change: check the council's and the Queensland Government's pages before you act.