ABSTRACT
Acacias are key tree species in the Australian landscape and are found in all states. They are an important pioneer species and because of their nitrogen-fixing ability, they have been used in regeneration of degraded land. Australian aboriginal people use wattle seed by first milling it into a flour, making a dough and then placing it on open coals to make a kind of bread. As a member of the pea family, the flour has a pea flavour. Immature green seed are also used by cooking lightly over coals. Plants are established with seed. Seeds are collected in early summer and germinated, to be planted out as tube stock in the following autumn. Seed have to be treated with boiling water and left overnight. Plant selection based on some of the characteristics like yield, salinity tolerance, resistance to serious insect pests, high protein or other beneficial properties in the seed requires research and development.
