Acacia baileyana

Cootamundra wattle, Cootamundra Wattle

Family: Fabaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Cootamundra wattle is a naturalized shrub found in coastal California regions including the Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California, and Santa Ynez Mountains at elevations below 300 meters in disturbed areas and roadsides. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces bright yellow flowers in racemes with up to 35 heads. Growing as a small tree or shrub up to 10 meters tall, it features distinctively silver-blue angled twigs with a soft, spreading habit. Its two-pinnate leaves are silver-blue with 2 to 5 pairs of primary leaflets and 8 to 24 pairs of narrow secondary leaflets, creating a delicate, feathery appearance. The fruit is a leathery, dark brown pod 3 to 15 centimeters long, initially covered in a silvery-blue surface.

Habitat: Uncommon. Roadsides, disturbed areas

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: < 300 m

Bioregions: CCo, SnFrB, SCo, WTR, SnGb

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.