November – Wattle Seed
| Common Name: | Wattleseed – different species have different common names (see below). Some Traditional Names include Ariepe (Arrernte NT), Ganabargu (Warlpiri NT), Ngatunpa (Pitjatjantjara NT), Pulkuru (Pintupi, NT) Waliputa Murchison WA). | |
| Botanical Name: | Acacia victoriae; A. adsurgens; A. aneura; A. colei; A. coriacea; A. cowleana; A. kempeana; A. murrayana; A. tenuissim; A. pycnantha,; A. retinodes; A. sophoraeAcacia victoriae – Elegant Wattle, has been regarded as the food industry standard but this can vary according to harvest and availability. The main species utilised are • Acacia aneura – Mulga Wattle • Acacia pycnantha – Golden Wattle • Acacia retinodes – Silver Wattle • Acacia longifolia var. sophorae – Coastal Wattle There are nearly 1000 Acacia species found in Australia and those above have been used traditionally as food. |
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| Part Used: | Seed – The seed is harvested, then roasted and can be ground or sold whole. The flowers (without stalks) can also be used, typically in pancakes, scones and scrambled eggs or omelettes. | |
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| Photos | Wattle Seed | Harvested seed |
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| Acacia victorea | ||
| Seasonality: | Generally seeds are collected in January, February and March. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nutritional Values: |
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| History of Use: | The use of Wattle seeds (of the commercially traded species) has a Traditional use of at least 4000 years as an Aboriginal staple food ingredient. Since 1970 some of the species were exported to Africa to assist drought-affected populations to create a staple food source planting edible Australian Acacias. In Africa these Australian species regularly produce heavy crops of seed, which can provide up to 30% of a normal dietHegarty, M.P., & E.E. (2001). Food Safety of Australian Plant Bushfoods, RIRDC Publication 01-28, Barton ACT, Australia. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Flavour profiles: | Dominant nutty, coffee and roasted aromas with a slight bitterness were found when flavour components were analysed from extraction methods (Forbes-Smith, 2002). Source: Innovative Products from Australian Native Foods, A report for the Rural Industries and Development Corporation by M. Forbes-Smith and J. E. Paton. RIRDC Pub No 02-109 The Coastal Wattle is rich and nutty and has almost a fatty flavour where the Elegant Wattle is darker and has a deeper nut flavour. |
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| Products available: | Wattleseed flour (cooked into cakes or damper/breads), flavour as Wattleseed essence, Wattleseed coffee and ice cream. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Recipes: | Find some fantastic Wattleseed recipes on the ANFIL website. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Essential oil profiles: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Functionality: | High in fatty acid composition, has low glycaemic index and anti-tumour activity (McDonald et al, 2006) Source: The effect of post harvest handling on selected native food plants. A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by J K McDonald, N A Caffin, S Sommano and R Cocksedge, 2006, RIRDC Pub No 06/021 |
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| Research: | Brand, J., Maggiore, P., (1992). The Nutritional composition of Australian Acacia Seeds. In: A.P.N. House and C. E. Harwood (eds.), Australian Dry-zone Acacias for Human Food Proceedings of a workshop held at Glen Helen, Northern Territory, 7-10 Aug. 1991, CSIRO Division of Forestry & Australian Tree Seed Centre, Canberra.Devitt, J. (1993). Acacias: A Traditional Aboriginal Food Source in Central Australia: In: House, A.P.N. and Harwood, C.E. (Eds), pp.37-53.
El-Lankany, M.H. (1987). Use of Australian Acacias in North Africa. In: Turnball, J.W. (Ed), p116-117. Hele, A., (2002). Issues in the Commercialisation of Wattle Seed for Food. Conservation Science W. Aust. 4 : 181-184 Maslin, B.R., Thomson, L.A.J., McDonald, M.W. and Hamilton-Brown, S. (1998). Edible Wattle Seeds of Southern Australia- A Review of Species for use in the Semi-Arid Regions. CSIRO, Melbourne. Simpson, S., Chudleigh, P. (2001). Wattle Seed Production in Low Rainfall Areas. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Canberra. Thornburn. A.(1986). Digestion and Absorption of Carbohydrate in Australian Aboriginal, Pacific Island and Western Foods. PhD thesis. Human Nutrition Unit, University of Sydney, Australia. Functional Properties of Australian Bushfoods. A report for the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation by Jian Zhao and Samson Agboola January 2007 RIRDC Publication No 07/030 RIRDC Project No UCS-29A https://rirdc.infoservices.com.au/items/07-030 Health Benefits of Australian Native Foods, An evaluation of health enhancing compounds. A report for the Rural IndustriesResearch and Development Corporation by Konczak, I., Zabaras, D., Dunstan, M., Aguas, P., Roulfe, P. and Pavan, A., September 2009, RIRDC Pub. No. 09/133. |
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| Description: | Various | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Growing information: | Growing information Several species are native to arid and temperate areas of Australia with some, like the Elegant Wattle (Acacia victoriae) having a very widespread natural distribution. Wattles grow all over Australia and are harvested both commercially and in the wild. Wild harvest is undertaken n Alice Springs regions, Hawker- Port Augusta and Broken Hill areas, where as the commercially grown areas are Riverland, SA, western districts of Victoria and other areas like Junee in NSW but growing information has not been recorded. Acacia seeds are mainly sourced from wild harvest and wild harvest has to take into account issues of land tenure, sustainability, State Native Vegetation legislation and particularly traditional harvesting information by Indigenous communities.Authors / Contributors: Sibylla Hess-Buschmann, Mike Quamby, Rus Glover. The Commonwealth of Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the authors or contributors expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any act or omission, or for any consequences of any such act or omission, made in reliance on the contents of this publication, whether or not caused by any negligence on the part of the Commonwealth of Australia, RIRDC, ANFIL, the authors or contributors. The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the views in this publication. This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. However, wide dissemination is encouraged. Requests and inquiries concerning use of material should be made to research@anfil.org.au |
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