Acacias and aesculapius. Australian native wattles and the doctors they commemorate.

Abstract

Acacias have had significant pharmacological, nutritive and toxicological associations with medicine since before recorded history, an interplay which continues to the present day. One of the most ubiquitous and loved symbols of Australia, and of Australian life and lore, indigenous wattles have also figured in the lives and memorials of medical practitioners. Some 20 indigenous Acacia species bear the names of medical explorers and clinical pioneers. This article documents some of the medical and related uses of Acacia by European and Aboriginal Australians and the evolution from this of a colonial herbal pharmacopoeia. It also gives brief précis and illustrations of the medical practitioners whose lives and works are immortalised in Australian native species of Acacia.