Bohemia Village Voice

Did you know there is a tree called ‘Bohemia’? It’s not exactly local – in fact It is found only in the floodplains of western Australia. Its scientific name is Acacia cuspidifolia which is in the Fabaceae family. Bohemia grows to a height of about eight metres. It usually has many main stems, with foliage down to ground level. The leaves terminate in a spine about two millimetres long. Hooked spines up to five millimetres long also occur in the axils of leaves and stems. The flowers are  pale yellow, and held in spherical clusters about 5mm in diameter. The pods are light brown and flat, five to nine centimetres long and one to two centimetres wide. Bohemia provides good forage for cattle and sheep, and the foliage persists in times of drought. The spines tear at the wool of sheep, however, and have been known to trap weak sheep. Its other common name ‘Wait-a-while” refers to this.