Flora of Australia

Australia has 20,000 species of plants, including living fossils such as the cycad palm and the grass tree, and brilliant wildflowers such as the waratah, Sturt’s desert pea, the flowering cones of banksia trees, and the red and green kangaroo paw. The continent has 700 species of acacia, which Australians call wattle, and 1,200 species in the Myrtaceae family which includes eucalypts or gum trees. Wildflowers turn the arid and savanna grassland areas of Australia into carpets of colour after rain. Native forests are limited mainly to wetter coastal districts and rainforests are mainly in Queensland.

The subdued and sombre tones of the eucalypts give the face of Australia its distinctive appearance. Eucalypts truly occupy the continent, from the snow country of the south to the tropics of the north, salt-laden estuary banks and harsh deserts. Some species hug the ground while others reach towards the sky and specimens more than 150 metres in height have been recorded.