SPECIES: Acacia enterocarpa — Jumping-jack Wattle
CLASSIFICATION: Endangered
Jumping-jack Wattle is a dense, sprawling and prickly shrub that grows to about 1.5m high. Leaves: narrow, straight and ridged with a sharp, spikey pointed end. Flowers: golden yellow, occuring either solitary or paired. Seed pods: a distinctive zig-zag shape, cylindrical and bearing a striking resemblance to a 'jumping jack firecracker'.
It's found in SA in sub-populations on the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas and in the South East. In Victoria it's found in a small area in the west. Jumping-jack Wattle grows in a range of habitats - found in woodland and open forest - growing in sandy soil, gravel stone as well as more fertile soil conditions. Herbicides, weeds, clearing and grazing are all threats facing the future of Jumping-jack.
Photo: Brian Freeman