Native Australian plants and where to find them

Did you knowAustralia is home to more than 30,000indigenous plants? Some are found only in the land down under. Some are endangered, most are incredibly beautiful and all are unique.

Australia’s rare ecosystems are largely the reason for the thousands of Australian plants found nowhere else on earth. Gum tree, bottlebrush and banksia are just a few on that list. Below, we discuss what makes Australia’s ecosystems so rare and highlight ten of the most stunning澳大利亚本地植物。

Overview of Australia’s Unique Ecology

Australia is a wonder of the world when it comes to flora and fauna. More than 80% of its plants and animals are unique to Australia.

澳大利亚在地理上花费了数百万年的时间与世界其他地区隔离，并被海洋包围。最多地质学家agree that this is the main reason for Australia’srare ecosystems，，，，unique animals和独特indigenous plants。

澳大利亚是地球上最干燥的大陆。在所有大陆中，河流中的水量最少，最低的径流和最小的永久湿地区域。虽然澳大利亚大部分地区是半干旱或沙漠，但这里的生态系统范围从高山荒地到热带雨林。

但是，这种独特的动植物的宝库带有一个responsibility to protect它。各种因素是harming Australian ecosystems今天。主要压力是climate change，，，，invasive species, land-use change and degradation.

Over the past few decades, the Australian government and many National Parks services have made great strides toprotect Australia’s national parks and ecosystems。They’ve created protected areas whererare plantscan grow without human interference.

These organisations not onlyprevent the extinctionof澳大利亚本地植物但是，也增加了本地动物的生存。

澳大利亚十大植物

Now, let’s go through some of the most interestingindigenous plants那是澳大利亚原产地。

瓶洗手

奶油刷是澳大利亚本地植物中最艰难的植物之一。他们通常过着长寿，需要最少的维护，几乎不可能杀死budding gardener。最多瓶洗手es grow in the east and southeast of Australia and their brushlike blooms are red, pink, mauve, cream and green.

When they bloom, the petals open to reveal colourful stamens which is the male part of the plant. The collection of all these flowers with their brightly coloured, long stamens densely packed around the stem is called the flower spike. This makes up the familiar “bottlebrush” that Australians know so well.

The native bottlebrush produces plenty of nectar and pollen. They also carry seeds and, because of this, attract many birds. Wattlebirds, cockatoos, fairy-wrens, warblers, buntings, and orioles are a few bottlebrush-loving birds.

牙龈树

Gum trees earned their name because they ooze thick gummy-like sap if their trunk surface is damaged. Almost all gum trees love a warm temperate climate and are native to Australia.

在澳大利亚东南部的森林中发现了许多牙龈树种，包括山灰等商业木材物种。牙龈树叶从蓝色到白色，它们没有花瓣的木质水果和花朵。

The well-known eucalyptus is one of three types of gum trees commonly referred to as eucalypts. Gum trees are valuable sources of hardwood and oils and they are the favourite food of koalas – another Australian icon.

Wattle

According to theAustralian National Herbarium，相思属，包括所有曲线，是澳大利亚最大的树木和灌木。该武术原产于新南威尔士州和维多利亚州，生产可爱的黄色或金色的花朵，以及杯子或钟形的水果。另外，它非常适合承受澳大利亚的干旱，风和丛林大火。

Wattle bark is rough and fibrous. The wood from wattles is used to produce handles for axes, clap sticks, spears, boomerangs, clubs and digging sticks.

The wattle is resilient and determined, just like the Australian people. In recent times, the golden wattle has been used as a symbol of remembrance and reflection. In fact, the Golden wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is Australia’s national floral emblem.

班克西亚斯

Banksia is one of the most ornate of all nativeAustralian flora，以拉丁名称反映，意思是“艳丽”。这些美女通常是奶油或鲜黄色的，但也可以是青铜，橙色甚至紫色。

Southwestern Australia has the greatest diversity of banksias, with 60 species recorded. The banksia is also an important part of the flora of Australia’s eastern coast while only a few are found in the rainforests of the eastern coast or the arid regions of Australia.

班克西亚是快速生长的常绿多年生植物。有时它们是俯卧的，有时它们像灌木一样，长达15米。河岸经常被用作天然鲜花排列的切花。

Fun Fact: There are 77 species of banksia and all but one is native Australian flora.

Kangaroo paw

This whimsical plant gets its common name from its tubular flowers, which open to look like the curved fingers of a kangaroo’s paw. Kangaroo Paws are truly one of Australia’s most iconicindigenous plants。The floral emblem of West Australia is the Kangaroo paw, where this interesting plant originates.

Kangaroo paws grow best in sunny areas that get winter rain. They’re pollinated by birds and small nectar-feeding possums. Some plants die during a hot, dry summer or after a bushfire. But, the kangaroo paw has a thick, underground stem called a rhizome that will grow a new clump of leaves in autumn, when conditions are more favourable.

Grass tree

The very slow-growing grass tree has a growth rate of only 1-2cm per year. Even so, they can grow to over 6 metres tall and live to be over 400 years old! All 66 species of grass trees are found in Australia, especially on the coasts.

The grass tree has a thick, woody, often palm-like stem and at the top, a tuft of sturdy grassy leaves.

Grass trees grow in coastal heaths as well as wet and dry forests of Australia. They can survive extreme drought and frosts, and can survive in rocky or nutrient-deficient soil with its shallow root system.

从历史上看，草树对原住民非常有价值。土著人提取了草树树脂，然后将其用作粘合剂，密封剂和货币。长矛轴也可以从草树的底部制成native flowerswere the prime ingredient in making a mildly alcoholic beverage.

瓦拉塔

The waratah is another iconicnative Australian plant。可爱的灌木丛可以在悉尼和新南威尔士州南海岸的砂岩山脊上以及在用具上找到，例如邮票和明信片，茶巾和T恤。

Waratah有一个充满活力的深红色的红花头，在春季的尺寸高达15厘米，在春季开花。红色令人惊叹。但是，其他品种产生了白色，粉红色或黄色的花朵。Waratah原产于澳大利亚东南部，是新南威尔士州的标志。

eremophila

eremophila这个名字源自希腊语“ eremophilos”，意为爱沙漠或孤独的爱好者。有超过250种eremophila，它们几乎每种颜色都开花：白色，黄色，红色，粉红色，绿色，粉红色和紫色。在西澳大利亚州丰富，许多嗜血杆菌种类变色为native flowersage.

eremophilais a hardy perennial plant that can be low-lying ground covers, shrubs or small trees. Eremophila is known for its sticky vegetative parts, tubular flowers and woody fruits. They’re also known as the emu bush because emus feed on the fleshy fruits of some species.

Melaleuca

在澳大利亚，有200多种米勒果素覆盖了超过600万公顷。Melaleuca的土著山脉位于澳大利亚东部以及新喀里多尼亚，巴布亚，新几内亚和伊里安·贾亚（Irian Jaya）沿线。如果地下水靠近地下水，则在溪流床上，甚至在山坡上生长。

Melaleuca typically has whitish, spongy peeling bark. The leaves are arranged alternately and are smooth, soft and linear in shape. Melaleuca’s small white flowers have bushy spikes that are bunched together at the end of their branches. Only a few melaleuca species develop into taller trees which are commonly called paperbarks or tea trees.

Grevillea

TheseAustralian native plantsrange from small shrubs to large trees, with many varieties. The feathery leaves of the grevillea tree look similar to that of a fern and blooms with bright yellow and orange flowers. After blooming, it reveals tough black seed pods containing nectar that attract many birds and insects.

在澳大利亚的每个地区都可以找到Grevilleas。它们非常耐寒，可以在大多数栖息地中生存，在高山地区，沼泽或盐水土壤中蓬勃发展。

Grevilleas也具有冷耐受性，可以承受低至-10°的温度。即使在冬季被雪覆盖了几个月后，它们仍然可以生存。

Final thoughts

We hope you enjoyed this introduction to Australia’s wide range of native plants. These are only a few of Australia’s prized flora but there aremany more呢考虑了解澳大利亚与FutureLearn的惊人本地植物。

如果您有兴趣开设自己的花园，请从这里开始。 Gardening for Beginners: The Basics and Beyond 如何种植健康的植物 Healthy House Plants: A Complete Guide to Gardening Indoors 了解生物能

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