9 
The species is named in honour of Mr. F. M. Bailey, from whom flowering branchlets were received, 
taken at Brisbane from a tree in Bowen’s Park, the origin of which could not with certainty be traced. 
Somewhat later, fruiting specimens were sent by the Rev. Dr. Woolls, who got them from Mr. H. D. Coker, 
of Brookfield, through Mr. John Dawson, of Humberstone; he found this rare species only near Coota- 
mundra, on one of the sources of the Murrumbidgee, and near To-morrow, on a tributary of the Lachlan 
River, on stony ridges, up to an elevation of about 1,600 feet. It must, however, be rare, as no other 
material pertaining to this species occurred formerly in the Museum Collections of Australian Plants, 
formed by me here since 1847. Quite recently A. Baileyana has been found also near Wagga Wagga, by 
Messrs. Garland and Deane. (Op. cit.) 
I wrote about this wattle in the newspapers shortly afterwards in these 
words:— 
During the last year or two a wattle has sprung into sudden prominence. The florists’ windows 
have been full of it ; sprays of it sold readily at high prices, for its decorative properties were at once 
realised; seeds and plants of it were eagerly purchased ; everybody now has it, and it is already one of the 
commonest of cultivated wattles about Sydney—I allude to the so-called Cootamundra Silver Wattle 
(Acacia Baileyana). As a matter of fact, it has been largely cultivated (chiefly in Bur wood gardens) for 
years. A Burwood gentleman (Mr. John Dawson), noticing its ornamental character, brought seeds from 
Cootamundra, and distributed them amongst his friends. It was for years looked upon (in an indefinite 
sort of way), as a variety of a well-known wattle, till the Rev. Dr. Woolls brought the matter under the 
notice of Baron Mueller, who had just described it under the name it now bears. It is one of the most 
local of wattles, being naturally found only in a small part of New South Wales—about Cootamundra, 
Bethungra, Big Mimosa Run, in the Wagga District, and thereabout. But, comically enough, this 
exclusively New South Wales Wattle was named and described in a Victorian publication after a 
distinguished Queensland botanist—a sort of botanical federation, in fact. 
Botanical Name. — Acacia , already explained (see Part XV, p. 104) ; 
Baileyana, in honour of Frederick Manson Bailey, Government Botanist of 
Queensland. 
Vernacular Name. —“Cootamundra Wattle,” because of its best-known 
locality. 
w 
Bark. —The bark has been used for tanning, but I am not aware with what 
result. 
Timber. —Pale-coloured and worthless except for fuel. 
Size. —Mr. C. W. Barley informed me that near Bethungra lie saw a 
magnificent specimen of this tree. The diameter of the trunk was 25J inches, and 
the foliage had been nibbled off horizontally, so as to give the tree the general 
appearance of a gigantic mushroom. This fiat portion of the “mushroom” (or 
greatest spread of the leaves) was no less than 38 feet in diameter. 
Following arc additional dimensions :—Trunk diameter 12 inches from the 
ground, 18 inches. Height to first branch, 7 ft. 4 in. Height of top of tree, 
24 feet. 
It was the admiration of the district, but some vandal killed it for the sake 
of a few pounds of bark. 
