Australia Flora

Flowers. Wildflowers are abundant in Australia’s more temperate regions. Western Australia in particular stands out for its variety; each year, the landscape is painted anew with swamp bottlebrush, kangaroo paw, Ashby’s banksia, and over 12,000 others. Yellow and pink everlastings cover fields across the country, while rare, threatened spider orchids, hidden away in the forest, are invisible to all but the most persistent flora-finders.

Trees And Other Flora. Dominating forests from coast to coast, the eucalyptus tree is one of Oz’s most adaptable species, existing in hundreds of varieties in as many different environments. The majestic karri —one such eucalypt—soars up to 50m tall throughout the rain-soaked southwest, while the stunted mallee gum squats in low scrubland copses. The characteristic bulging trunk and splayed branches of the boab tree serve as icons of the Kimberley , Western Australia’s arid northern region.

In drier areas of the southeast, a common species of the acacia tree known as the golden wattle is distinguished by both its fragrant blossom and its status as Australia’s official floral emblem. Perhaps the rarest, most unusual tree in Australia is the Wollemi Pine , which was discovered in 1994 and is the sole living member of its genus (see Wollemi National Park ). Other trees common to the bush and coastal thickets include banksias, tea trees, and grevilleas. Feathery and almost pine-like in appearance, casuarinas also exist in multiple habitats. Valleys of tall tree ferns loom in temperate, rain-fed stretches of Victoria and Tasmania. The mangrove is an obstinate adapter from Australia’s tropical coasts, whose stilt-like trunks cling tenaciously to the briny mud of alluvial swamps. Australia also has wide expanses of land with few, if any, trees. The arid Outback is dominated by dense tufts of spinifex grasses. Hearty saltbush shrubs are commonly used to convert such harsh habitats into livestock pastures.

Most of Australia’s large tree species have tall, light-colored trunks, and their darker leaves only grow high above the ground. The overall effect is quite different from that of European or North American forests; here, bushwalkers find themselves surrounded by white and gray rather than brown and green.