Plants

Acacias, or Wattles, grow all over Australia – there are over 1000 known species. The Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha, is the Australian national floral emblem and our national colours, green and gold, come from the flowers and leaves of this popular tree. They have very small flowers that occur in clusters to make their characteristic bright yellow display. Some have paler coloured flowers and one species, Acacia purpureape…

What does Allocasurina look like? Allocasuarina trees are notable for their long, segmented branchlets that function as leaves. Formally termed cladodes, these branchlets somewhat resemble pine needles, although sheoaks are actually flowering plants. The leaves are reduced to minute scales encircling each joint. Fallen cladodes form a dense, soft mat beneath sheoaks, preventing the development

What does Baeckea look like? Baeckea are shrubs and trees with oppositely arranged leaves. The leaves are very small, glandular, and aromatic. Flowers are solitary or borne in simple or compound inflorescences in the leaf axils. The flower has five sepals and five white, pink, or purple petals. Where is Baeckea found? Baeckea is widespread

The Blueberry Ash Elaeocarpus reticulatus is a large shrub or small tree which produces lots of sweet smelling bell-shaped pink or white flowers in spring and early summer. The smell is a little like aniseed or liquorice. Its brilliant blue berries take quite a long time to ripen with some hanging on the branches until the next flowering season. It is a popular garden plant that grows easily in well-drained soil in a sunny spo…

Callistemons are commonly known as Bottlebrushes because of their cylindrical, brush like flowers. These shrubs live in warm regions of Australia, mainly along the east coast and south west. They provide food and shelter for native animals, birds, insects and skinks – they will attract plenty of life to your backyard. Callistemon flowers provide plenty of food for nectar eating birds like honeyeaters, insects, possums and fl…

Christmas Bells, Blandfordia, grow in New South Wales and Queensland. True to their name, Christmas Bells have beautiful yellow flowers just like bells, or sometimes red flowers with lovely yellow tips. Christmas Bells flower during late spring and summer. The different species have different soil and climate requirements - Blandfordia grandiflora likes sandy soil with full sunlight and frequent watering while Blandfordia nobl…

The Christmas Bush or Tree is a series of different plants that grow in almost every state. Victorian Christmas Bush Prostanthera lasianthos grows in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, and Tasmania. It has lovely white, pink or purplish flowers which bloom in summer and provide nectar to birds. This Christmas Bush has another great plus in that it provides a protective habitat for birds to hid…

The Christmas Orchid Calanthe triplicata is a native terrestrial orchid that grows in rich soil in rainforest areas and near creeks. It originated in Queensland but now grows more widely in the right conditions from southern NSW to northern Queensland. It is one of the larger orchids with deep green flowers and a tall flower stem up to 1metre high with multiple white flowers. As the name suggests, it flowers over summer. It is…

Cycads have existed since the Jurassic Period 200 million years ago, and still thrive today in many different habitats around the world. Cycads are incredibly long-lived, with some individuals in the wild estimated to be around 1,000 years old. One of the oldest cycads "in captivity" is in Kew Gardens in London, and it at least 228 years old. Part of the secret of their longevity is that they grow very slowly - producing just …

Eucalypts are commonly known as gum trees and are an iconic Australian tree. There are almost 900 species growing across Australia. These tall trees provide food and shelter for many birds, insects, and mammals. They also provide hollows for cockatoos, parrots, gliders, possums and other buddies to nest and shelter in. It can take up to 100 years or more for eucalypts to develop tree hollows, so avoid removing any from your pl…

What do Ficus look like? As a group, figs are relatively easy to recognise. Many have aerial roots and a distinctive shape or habit, and their fruits distinguish them from other plants.  All figs possess a white to yellowish latex, some in copious quantities; the twig has paired stipules or a circular stipule scar if

There are around 150 species of Hakeas native to Australia and they are an excellent choice for your garden to attract native birds. Each species has a different type of flower but they are all beautiful and provide a food source for many backyard buddies of fruits, seeds and nectar. They are closely related to Grevilleas and the two are sometimes confused. There are some small differences mainly in the leaf appearance but the…

The Illawarra Flame Tree, or Currajong, grows in the wild from the Illawarra area of southern coastal New South Wales north into Queensland. It grows up to 35 m in the wild but only about 10m in gardens. The bright red bell-shaped flowers grow in clusters at the end of branches, often after the leaves have dropped, giving the plant a distinctive look. It is a deciduous tree that is often found growing alongside the Red Cedar i…

Originally native to south-west Western Australia, these beautiful and distinctive flowers can now be found all over the country, as they're a favourite with many gardeners and landscapers. The kangaroo paw gets its name from its flowers, which are often red in colour, feel furry, and are shaped just like a kangaroo's paw. The nectar in the long and tubular flowers are an important high-energy food source for many birds, mamma…

Leatherwood trees in flower produce lots of sweet nectar in their masses of sweetly scented white flowers. During the Leatherwood flowering season from late spring to summer, beekeepers put numerous beehives in areas near dense stands of flowering Leatherwoods. Bees encouraged to collect nectar mainly from Leatherwoods in Tasmania produce a special, famous and gourmet type of honey called Leatherwood Honey. 70% of Tasmania's h…

What do Leptospermum look like? Tea Trees are from a hardy and adaptable genus that grows in many sizes from shrubs to trees, reaching 1–8m tall, rarely up to 20m, with dense branching. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, sharp-tipped, and small, in most species not over 1cm long. The flowers are up to 3cm

What do Leucopogon look like? Leucopogon is a genus of about 150-160 species of shrubby flowering plants. Leucopogons are erect densely branched shrub, seldom more that 1m high, with narrow pungent-pointed leaves 3.7–8mm long. The white flowers are pendent-like, tubular, 4–5mm long, hairy inside tube and are borne singly but abundantly along ends of branches.

Melaleucas, or paperbarks, belong to the genus Melaleuca. There are over 300 species of melaleucas, most of which grow in Australia. We know the larger species as paperbarks, while the smaller are usually called honey myrtles. The often brightly coloured bottlebrush-like flowers of the paperbark tree attract nectar feeding birds such as honeyeaters and lorikeets, so they are an excellent tree to attract wildlife to the garden.…

What does Melicytus look like? Melicytus is a dense branching shrub which grows to 2m tall, with few succulent lance-shaped leaves and long spines. Flowers are small and yellow, appearing in winter and spring. Its fruit is a deep blue, round and fleshy up to 20mm long. Where is Melicytus found? Melicytus is found in

Mistletoe has a bad reputation in Australia as it's a sap sucking plant that requires a host tree, but there are a few reasons to celebrate if you've spotted the bright red, octopus-shaped flowers of the Mistletoe in your area. Many people assume Mistletoe is an introduced tree, but there are ninety species of Mistletoe in Australia and seventy of these are native. Many Australian animals will feed on mistletoe. This plant is …

Shrubs are an important element of any good garden. Shrubs provide food, shelter and nesting sites for many different kinds of birds, insects, butterflies and other creatures. Shrubs are particularly important if you want to see small birds in your garden, as these tiny creatures need somewhere to hide from predators such as cats and bigger birds. Nectar giving shrubs are an excellent choice to attract birds and insects to you…

Many of Australia's 1200 species of orchids are epiphytic, meaning they grow up high using trees or rocks for support. Spring is the time for many of our beautiful epiphytic orchids to burst into flower. One of the best known Australian epiphytic orchids is the New South Wales Rock Orchid, Dendrobium speciosum, which grows in frost free gardens from Gippsland in Victoria to northern Queensland. This Rock Orchid has creamy spra…

Persoonias are part of the Proteaceae plant family. There are many species that grow all over Australia. This plant is known by some strange common names - in Eastern Australia they are called Geebungs and in Western Australia and South Australia they have the less flattering name Snottygobbles. Almost 100 different species of these tall shrubs or small trees exist across Australia. Many different native bees will help pollina…

What does Podocarpus look like? Podocarpus is a genus of conifers consisting of about 100 species and distributed in tropical and sub-tropical areas of the Southern Hemisphere. Podocarpus are evergreen shrubs or trees generally from 1 to 25 meters tall, they they have been known to reach 40 metres at times. The leaves are 0.5–15

Purple Pea Bush, Hovea acutifolia, is a native Australian shrub that grows between 1 to 4 metres tall and is covered in masses of purple flowers during winter and spring. The branches are covered in dense hairs and the seeds “pop” out. It grows on the central eastern coast, from south-east Queensland to the NSW central coast. It can be easily grown in a garden as long as it has well-drained soil and partial shade. It prefe…

Australia's native Red Cedar, Toona ciliata, towers above pretty much everything else in the lowland rainforests. It can reach 60 m in height with a massive girth of 3m. You would be lucky to spot one these days. A century or more of clearing and felling for timber has decimated the wild population and most now grow only in plantations or as single, ancient giants in the rainforests of eastern Australia. Being deciduous, Red C…

Scribbly gums are a type of eucalyptus or gum tree. There are a few species that are known as scribbly gums as they all have the 'scribbles' across their bark. Like all gum trees, large older trees are crucial habitat for many native animals and birds, providing tree hollows essential for nesting. It has clusters of five or so cream coloured flowers which provide nectar for native birds and bees. They are easily recognised fro…

Native grasses play an important role in many habitats and they can in backyards too. Native grasses provide shelter from predators for many small creatures like finches and skinks, attract insects for other creatures to eat, and provide food in the form of seeds for many birds and other buddies. Plant some native seed grasses under trees, shrubs and plants, and in empty areas of your backyard. If you do, you will soon be seei…

What does Sheoak look like? The Sheoak doesn’t have big leaves, instead they have branchlets with different segments that resemble pine needles. They do have miniature leaves that you can see when you snap a branchlet on one of its joins. Another characteristic feature are the spiny “cones”, about the size of an acorn but

The Silky Oak, Grevillea robusta, is a very popular native tree in Australian gardens and can grow to 20 metres and live for up to 100 years. In spring, their ferny, yellow-orange bottle brush flowers are full of nectar which attracts Singing Honeyeaters, Red Wattlebirds, Purple-crowned Lorikeets, Carnaby's Black-cockatoos, possums, bees, butterflies and other insects. It was originally native only to eastern Australia but now…

What does Syzygium look like? There are 52 species of Syzygium found in Australia and are generally known as lillipillies or brush cherries. Most species are evergreen trees and shrubs. Several species are grown as ornamental plants for their attractive glossy foliage, and a few produce edible fruit that are eaten fresh or used in

The Trigger Plant gets its name from its unique pollination method. When an insect investigates a Trigger Plant flower, it is hit with a club-shaped column that quickly springs up from under the petals. The insect's feeding activity disturbs small filaments in the centre of the flower, activating the column. On the end of the column are male and female flower parts. The male parts deposit pollen on the insect, and the female p…