Photo of the Day: Acacia merinthophora

An ongoing project at work is taking up so much of my time that it's affecting the number of posts I'm able to write for Succulents and More. Right now, I seem to be managing no more than two a week. 

That's not enough for me.

To make up for it, I've decided to give myself a challenge that won't be a big time commitment: Starting right now, I'll post one new photo a day. It could be from our garden or from anywhere I happen to be that day. That'll allow me to share a small vignette of my life with you on a more regular basis.

Here's the Photo of the Day for Thursday, January 24, 2019:

Zig-zag wattle (Acacia merinthophora)

With their lack of real leaves, acacias are an odd bunch to begin with. The zig-zag wattle (Acacia merinthophora) is even odder since it's taking the no-leaf business to an extreme. The long greenish things you might think are leaf stalks (petioles) with the actual leaves missing, are called phyllodes. That's all there is—no conventional leaves at all. These phyllodes are actually modified (often flattened) petioles that carry out photosynthesis, i.e. they do what a leaf would do on a "normal" tree.

Our Acacia merinthophora has been blooming for weeks now. Even though the pom-pom flowers are small, they are very fragrant. It's a good thing I love the smell of acacias. To me, it means spring is right around the corner. True or not, I choose to go with what this zig-zag wattle is telling me.


© Gerhard Bock, 2019. All rights reserved. No part of the materials available through www.succulentsandmore.com may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of Gerhard Bock. Any other reproduction in any form without the permission of Gerhard Bock is prohibited. All materials contained on this site are protected by  United States and international copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Gerhard Bock. If you are reading this post on a website other than www.succulentsandmore.com, please be advised that that site is using my content without my permission. Any unauthorized use will be reported.