Zig-zag wattle
Acacia macradenia · also called Zigzag wattle
The zig-zag wattle is a Queensland native shrub or small tree with drooping, zig-zagging stems, long curved phyllodes and a heavy show of golden ball flowers from July to September. It comes from inland central Queensland, not Brisbane, and Brisbane City Council now lists it as a weed because it spreads from gardens into bushland and crossbreeds with the local Brisbane wattle.
- Australian native
- On Brisbane's weed list
- 3 to 5 m tall
- Flowers July to September
Zig-zag wattle at a glance
- Height
- 3 to 5 m
- Spread
- 3 to 4 m
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Flowers
- Yellow, July to September
- Origin
- Inland Queensland, mainly from Clermont south to Surat
- Family
- Fabaceae
How to identify a zig-zag wattle
Check the young stems: they hang down and kink from side to side at each phyllode, which gives the zig-zag look. The phyllodes are long, curved and hairless, up to 25 cm long and 1 to 2.5 cm wide, dark green with a raised midrib and thickened edges. New growth is often reddish. In winter, short sprays of bright golden balls about 1 cm across crowd the upper stems. Narrow, flat pods pinched between the seeds follow and turn dark brown by late spring. Brisbane wattle has far narrower phyllodes, only a few millimetres wide.
Growing a zig-zag wattle in Brisbane
Because it is a Queensland native, zig-zag wattle was widely planted around Brisbane in gardens, parks and along roads. It is not native to this part of the state, though, and it has escaped into bushland, including Toohey Forest at Nathan and reserves at Mount Coot-tha, St Lucia, Redbank and Mount Crosby. In Toohey Forest it crossbreeds with the local Brisbane wattle. It suits dry spots, is very frost tender, and may need a cool winter to flower well near the coast.
What to watch out for
Zig-zag wattle is on Brisbane City Council's weed list, although no legal obligations apply. Its hard seeds are probably long-lived in the soil and are carried off by birds and ants or in dumped garden waste, so a plant near bushland can seed into it. It also crossbreeds with the local Brisbane wattle, which council warns can replace native wattles with hybrids.
- Seedlings. Its seeds are probably spread by birds, ants and dumped garden waste, and it has spread from plantings into Brisbane bushland.
Pruning and care
If you keep one, prune it straight after flowering so the pods never ripen and drop seed, which usually happens in October and November. A trim at this time also keeps the drooping branches clear of paths and fences. Pull out any seedlings that come up nearby while they are small. For removal, Brisbane City Council's weed guide lists the cut stump, basal bark and stem injection control methods.
Is zig-zag wattle a weed in Brisbane?
Why is it called zig-zag wattle?
What can I plant instead of zig zag wattle?
How big does a zig-zag wattle grow?
Sources and credits
- Zig-zag wattle (weed identification tool) Brisbane City Council
- Brisbane weeds (open data) Brisbane City Council
- Acacia macradenia WorldWideWattle (Western Australian Herbarium)
- Growing Acacia: Acacia macradenia Australian National Botanic Gardens
- Acacia macradenia Australian Native Plants Society (Australia)
- Census of the Queensland Flora and Fungi 2025 (open data) Queensland Herbarium, Queensland Government
Photo: Ethel Aardvark, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
This profile updates sheet 31 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.
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