44 NATIVE FLOWERS OF VICTORIA. 
foliage, make it one of the most gorgeous sights in 
nature. And when the hills are covered with masses 
of the trees, they are veritable hills of gold. It 
thrives, too, on hiUs and uplands where there is not 
a particle of surface soil, and where the clay and 
stones in which it grows are hardy, dry, and sun- 
baked in summer. It grows wonderfully in the min- 
ing districts of the State, especially where the sur- 
face has been turned over, time after time, in the 
search for gold. 
Acacia retinodes is another beautiful tree, the 
flowers being a paler shade than the Golden Wattle. 
It has a very desirable quality, that of a very ex- 
tended flowering period. It has frequently been 
known to be in flower for nine or ten months in suc- 
cession. 
Acacia leprosa is one of the most decorative and 
artistic forms of Acacias. It has light weeping 
stems and twigs, with long narrow phyllodes, and 
along the growths are distributed the fine lemon- 
coloured heads of flowers. It is not uncommon to 
find some of the drooping sprays over three feet long. 
To see this tree at its best one needs to visit the cool 
glens and creeks in the southern part of Victoria, 
where the trees fling their pendant masses of bloom 
in great richness in the spring time. 
Acacia melanoxylon, the blackwood, is a Wattle 
not generally seen in gardens, yet its pale delicately- 
coloured flowers, set in dark green foliage, form a 
very beautiful contrast. This is one of the timber 
trees of the Acacia genus; and the “fiddle-back” 
form is one of the most beautiful of aU Australian 
timbers. 
