Book review “Wattles: Australian Acacia species around the world” by David M. Richardson, Johannes J. Le Roux and Elizabete MarchanteOACSTPCD

In a world of Google and AI, developing an encyclopedic coverage of a theme that is of great interest to biologists, social scientists, politicians and environmental managers, is a daunting challenge. Wattles is a book that presents new knowledge, makes interesting reading, and has the potential to stimulate research in a variety of disciplines. We learn that Acacia, commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a genus of shrubs and trees comprising 1,083 species of which 417 are known to have been introduced to areas outside their native range. We are surprised to read that Australian acacias are found almost everywhere, in virtually all terrestrial habitats, including woodlands, grasslands, alpine settings,rainforests, coastal dunes and deserts, causing major environmental and socio-economic changes in the invaded regions. Until recently, Acacia comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America and Australasia, but the name is now reserved for species predominantly from Australia, including some from Southeast Asia. The genus name Acacia is Neo-Latin, and refers to a preparation extracted from the leaves and fruit pods of Vachellia nilotica, the original type of the genus.