Dr Phillip Kodela ‘Wattle in Your Pocket, the Bank-notable Wattles – science behind the Next Generation Banknotes of Australia’

Philip, from the Australian Biological Resources Study, advised on the design and five species of Acacia to be used in the Next Generation Banknotes. He will tell us why there was a need for the new banknotes, why these wattle species, and some of the technical issues and challenges with the project.

Abstract
Acacia is the largest genus of vascular plants in Australia with over 1000 species. They are a prominent part of the Australian flora, growing in a wide range of plant communities and habitats, from coastal to subalpine and tropical to arid. Wattles are readily recognised in the landscape by their array of mostly yellow-hued flowers, and they feature through much of our culture. Acacia is represented in the national floral emblem (Golden Wattle Acacia pycnantha), the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, Order of Australia medals, currency, stamps, literature, the arts, crafts and design. Over tens of thousands of years, indigenous cultures developed a detailed knowledge about acacias and their wide range of uses, from wooden implements to food and medicine. In more recent times, acacias have been used for their wood, tannin and oil; as stock fodder, cut flowers and a source of food; and in horticulture (countless ornaments in parks, gardens and landscaping), land rehabilitation and soil stabilisation. It is appropriate therefore that the iconic wattle features on our latest Australian banknotes. As a subject matter expert Phillip advised the Reserve Bank of Australia on the five species and designs used in the Next Generation Banknotes program which began c.2015. Phillip will talk about the species and their morphological features represented on each of the banknotes. He will also address why there was a need for the new banknotes, why these wattle species, and some of the technical issues and challenges with the project.

Biography
Dr Phillip Kodela is Botanist and Executive Editor of the Flora of Australia, Australian Biological Resources Study, Parks Australia Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

For over 40 years he has worked in the fields of botany, biogeography, ecology, palynology, science communication and education. His areas of research and interest include wetlands, rainforest, rare plants, weeds, environmental assessment, management and conservation, forensics, horticultural botany, plant taxonomy, plant identification and botanical information resources including floras, bioinformatics and the curation of herbarium specimen and living collections.

He started researching Acacia, including taxonomic studies, in 1990 when he began a long association with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney where he was based till 2017. He has been involved with a number of major Acacia projects, including flora treatments for the Flora of New South Wales, WattleWeb, PlantNET New South Wales FloraOnline, Flora of Australia and the various incarnations of WATTLE, as well as assessing rare plant taxa and vegetation communities, curating collections, teaching, maintaining databases, and producing numerous reports and papers, including the publication of new species.

Phillip has worked on the Australasian Virtual Herbarium, Australian Plant Census, Australian Plant Name Index, Global Plants Type Digitisation Project, Weeds in Australia, Blue Mountains World Heritage Assessment, Next Generation Australian Banknotes, counter-terrorism and other forensic projects, N.S.W. Vegetation Classification and Assessment projects and numerous vegetation surveys. From late 2017, Phillip has been with ABRS involved with the eFlora of Australia, taxonomy project grants, research, science communication, botanical inquiries and advising government and other stakeholders.

Booking Link – https://www.trybooking.com/DKZGG

Booking
Lunchtime talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November. Talks last for 1 hour. We welcome donations by gold coins, notes, or electronically. The Friends use donations received at each talk to support Gardens’ programs and development and we thank all those who have donated.

Unless otherwise indicated, talks are held in the ANBG Theatrette.

It is a good idea to reserve a seat at the talks that you wish to attend; talks may be booked out very quickly.  Bookings can be made from about 30 days in advance until the night before the talk or until seating limits are reached.

The Friends of the ANBG thank the speakers who volunteer their time and talents to further the knowledge of all attending events in the Gardens. Many summaries or PowerPoint presentations of Thursday talks are available to Friends at the ANBG library. Please direct queries about the talks to the Thursday Talks Team: email talks@friendsanbg.org.au.