
The flora of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 21,000
vascular Vascular can refer to:
* blood vessels, the vascular system in animals
* vascular tissue
Vascular tissue is a complex transporting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue ...
and 14,000
non-vascular plant
Non-vascular plants are plants without a vascular system consisting of xylem and phloem. Instead, they may possess simpler tissues that have specialized functions for the internal transport of water.
Non-vascular plants include two distantly rel ...
s, 250,000 species of
fungi
A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
and over 3,000
lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...
, and below the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
level has a highly
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...
flora whose diversity was shaped by the effects of
continental drift
Continental drift is a highly supported scientific theory, originating in the early 20th century, that Earth's continents move or drift relative to each other over geologic time. The theory of continental drift has since been validated and inc ...
and climate change since the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
. Prominent features of the Australian flora are adaptations to
aridity
Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...
and fire which include
scleromorphy and
serotiny. These adaptations are common in species from the large and well-known families
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
(''
Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
''),
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...
(''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'' - gum trees), and
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
(''
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
'' - wattle).
The arrival of humans around 50,000 years ago and the settlement by
Europeans
Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...
from 1788, has had a significant impact on the flora. The use of
fire-stick farming by Aboriginal people led to significant changes in the distribution of plant species over time, and the large-scale modification or destruction of vegetation for agriculture and urban development since 1788 has altered the composition of most terrestrial ecosystems, leading to the extinction of 61 plant species by 2006, and endangering over 1000 more.
In Australia
forest cover
Forest cover is the amount of trees that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Nearly a third of the world's land surface is covered with forest, with clos ...
is around 17% of the total land area, equivalent to 134,005,100 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 133,882,200 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 131,614,800 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 2,390,300 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be
primary forest
An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...
(consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 18% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 67% of the forest area was reported to be under
public ownership
State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed t ...
, 32%
private ownership
Private property is a legal designation for the ownership of property by non-governmental Capacity (law), legal entities. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which is owned by a state entity, and from Collective ownership ...
and 1% with ownership listed as other or unknown.
Origins and history
Australia was part of the southern supercontinent
Gondwana
Gondwana ( ; ) was a large landmass, sometimes referred to as a supercontinent. The remnants of Gondwana make up around two-thirds of today's continental area, including South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia (continent), Australia, Zea ...
, which also included
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
. Most of the modern Australian flora had their origin in Gondwana during the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...
when Australia was covered in subtropical rainforest. Australian ferns and gymnosperms bear a strong resemblance to their Gondwanan ancestors, and prominent members of the early Gondwanan angiosperm flora such as the ''
Nothofagus
''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...
'',
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...
and
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
were also present in Australia.

Gondwana began to break up 140 million years ago (MYA); 50 MYA during the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
Australia separated from Antarctica, and was relatively isolated until the collision of the
Indo-Australian Plate with Asia in the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
era 5.3 MYA. As Australia
drifted, local and global
climatic change had a significant and lasting effect: a circumpolar oceanic current developed, atmospheric circulation increased as Australia moved away from Antarctica, precipitation fell, there was a slow warming of the continent and
arid
Aridity is the condition of geographical regions which make up approximately 43% of total global available land area, characterized by low annual precipitation, increased temperatures, and limited water availability.Perez-Aguilar, L. Y., Plata ...
conditions started to develop. These conditions of geographic isolation and aridity led to the development of a more complex flora. From 25 to 10 MYA pollen records suggest the rapid radiation of species like ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'', ''
Casuarina
''Casuarina'', also known as she-oak, Australian pine and native pine, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Casuarinaceae, and is native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and e ...
'', ''
Allocasuarina
''Allocasuarina'', commonly known as sheoak or she-oak, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Casuarinaceae and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Allocasuarina'' are trees or shrubs with soft, pendulous, green branchlets, th ...
'', ''
Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
'' and the
pea-flowered legumes, and the development of open forest; grasslands started to develop from the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...
. Collision with the
Eurasian Plate also led to additional
South-east Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia i ...
n and
cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Internationalism
* World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship
* Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community
* Cosmopolitan ...
elements entering the flora like the ''
Lepidium
''Lepidium'' is a genus of plants in the mustard/cabbage family, Brassicaceae. The genus is widely distributed in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia.[Chenopodioideae
The Chenopodioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae in the APG III system, which is largely based on molecular phylogeny, but were included – together with other subfamilies – in the family Chenopodiaceae, or goose ...]
.

The development of aridity and the old and nutrient poor soils of the continent led to some unique adaptations in the Australian flora and evolutionary radiation of genera – like ''
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
'' and ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'' – that adapted to those conditions. Hard leaves with a thick
outer layer, a condition known as
scleromorphy, and
C4 and
CAM
Cam or CAM may refer to:
Science and technology
* Cam (mechanism), a mechanical linkage which translates motion
* Camshaft, a shaft with a cam
* Camera or webcam, a device that records images or video
In computing
* Computer-aided manufacturin ...
carbon fixation which reduce water loss during photosynthesis are two common adaptations in Australian arid-adapted dicot and monocot species respectively.
Rising aridity also increased the frequency of fires in Australia. Fire is thought to have played a role in the development and distribution of fire-adapted species from the
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...
. An increase in charcoal in sediment around 38,000 years ago coincides with dates for the inhabitation of Australia by the
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...
and suggests that man-made fires, from practices like
fire-stick farming, have played an important role in the establishment and maintenance of sclerophyll forest, especially on the east coast of Australia. Adaptations to fire include
lignotubers and epicormic buds in ''Eucalyptus'' and ''Banksia'' species that allow fast regeneration following fire. Some genera also exhibit
serotiny, the release of seed only in response to heat and/or smoke. ''
Xanthorrhoea
''Xanthorrhoea'' () is a genus of about 30 species of Succulent plant, succulent flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae. They are Endemism, endemic to Australia. Common names for the plants include grasstree, grass gum-tree (for resin-yie ...
'' grass trees and some species of orchids only flower after fire.
Biogeography
In biogeography and zoogeography, Australia alone is sometimes considered a
realm
A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire.
Etymo ...
(Australian realm), while some authors unite the area with other regions to form the
Australasian realm
The Australasian realm is one of eight biogeographic realms that is coincident with, but not (by some definitions) the same as, the geographical region of Australasia. The realm includes Australia, the island of New Guinea (comprising Papua Ne ...
.
In phytogeography, the area is considered a floristic kingdom (Australian kingdom), with the following endemic families, according to Takhtajan: Platyzomataceae (now included in
Pteridaceae),
Austrobaileyaceae
''Austrobaileya'' is the sole genus in the plant family Austrobaileyaceae – the family is thus 'monotypic' as it includes a single child taxon. It is one of the basal angiosperm families, the most ancient group of flowering plants. The genu ...
, Idiospermaceae (now part of
Calycanthaceae),
Gyrostemonaceae,
Baueraceae,
Davidsoniaceae,
Cephalotaceae,
Eremosynaceae,
Stylobasiaceae,
Emblingiaceae,
Akaniaceae,
Tremandraceae,
Tetracarpaeaceae,
Brunoniaceae,
Blandfordiaceae,
Doryanthaceae
''Doryanthes'' is the sole genus in the flowering plant Family (biology), family Doryanthaceae. The genus consists of two species, ''Doryanthes excelsa, D. excelsa'' (gymea lily) and ''Doryanthes palmeri, D. palmeri'' (giant spear lily), both en ...
,
Dasypogonaceae and
Xanthorrhoeaceae. It is also the
center of origin of
Eupomatiaceae,
Pittosporaceae
Pittosporaceae is a family of flowering plants that consists of 200–240 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in 9 genera. Habitats range from tropical to temperate climates of the Afrotropical, Indomalayan, Oceanian, and Australasian r ...
,
Epacridaceae,
Stackhousiaceae,
Myoporaceae and
Goodeniaceae. Other families with high occurrences are
Poaceae
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...
,
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
,
Asteraceae
Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...
,
Orchidaceae
Orchids are plants that belong to the family (biology), family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan plants that ...
,
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...
,
Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...
,
Rutaceae
The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rue[RUTACEAE](_blank)
in Bo ...
,
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...
(specially
Leptospermoideae) and
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
.
Vegetation types

Australia's terrestrial flora can be collected into characteristic
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...
groups. The most important determinant is rainfall, followed by temperature which affects water availability. Several schemes of varying complexity have been created. As of 2022, the NVIS (National Vegetation Information System) divides Australia's terrestrial flora into 33
Major Vegetation Groups, and 85
Major Vegetation Subgroups.
According to the scheme the most common vegetation types are those that are adapted to arid conditions where the area has not been significantly reduced by human activities such as land clearing for agriculture. The dominant vegetation type in Australia is the hummock grasslands that occur extensively in arid Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It accounts for 23% of the native vegetation, the predominant species of which are from the genus ''
Triodia''. ''
Zygochloa'' also occurs in inland sandy areas like the
Simpson Desert
The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth-largest Deserts of Australia, Australian desert, with an area of .
The Wangka ...
.
A further 39% of native vegetation is covered by a combination of:
*Eucalypt woodlands found at the transition between hummock grasslands and higher rainfall areas where conditions still limit tree growth; the woodland may have a grass or shrubby understory. The largest area is in Queensland.
*Acacia forests and woodlands that occur in semi-arid areas where tree growth is stunted. The dominant ''Acacia'' species varies with the location, and may include
lancewood,
bendee,
mulga,
gidgee and
brigalow. The largest area is in Western Australia.
*Acacia shrublands in semi arid and arid regions. The most common are mulga shrublands; the largest area is in Western Australia.
*Tussock grasslands that occur in semi-arid and some temperate parts of Australia; they host a large variety of grasses from more than 10 genera. The largest area is in Queensland.
*Chenopod/samphire shrubs and forblands that are widespread in the near-estuarine, arid and semi-arid areas. Species in chenopod communities are drought and
salt tolerant and include the genera ''
Sclerolaena
''Sclerolaena '' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It includes 78 species of Annual plant, annuals or short-lived perennials native to Australia.
Species
78 species are accepted.
*''Sclerolaena aellenii''
*''Sclerola ...
'', ''
Atriplex
''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''.
The genus is quite variable and ...
'', ''
Maireana'', ''
Chenopodium'' and ''
Rhagodia'' while samphire representatives include ''
Tecticornia'', ''
Salicornia'', ''
Sclerostegia'' and ''
Sarcocornia''. Both South and Western Australia have large areas with this vegetation type.
Other groups with restricted areas of less than 70,000 square kilometres include tropical or temperate rainforest and
vine thickets, tall or open eucalypt forests, ''
Callitris'' and ''Casuarina'' forests, and woodlands and heath.
Vascular plants
Australia has over 21,077 described species of vascular plants, these include the
angiosperm
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...
s, seed-bearing non-angiosperms (like the conifers and cycads), and the spore-bearing ferns and fern allies.
[Orchard, A. E. 1999. Introduction. In A. E. Orchard, ed. ''Flora of Australia - Volume 1'', 2nd edition pp 1-9. ABRS/CSIRO] Of these about 11% are naturalised species; the remainder are native or endemic. The vascular plant flora has been extensively catalogued, the work being published in the ongoing ''
Flora of Australia
The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 21,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, ...
'' series. A list of vascular plant families represented in Australia using the
Cronquist system
The Cronquist system is a list of systems of plant taxonomy, taxonomic classification system of angiosperms, flowering plants. It was developed by Arthur Cronquist in a series of monographs and texts, including ''The Evolution and Classification of ...
is also available.
At the higher taxonomic levels the Australian flora is similar to that of the rest of the world; most vascular plant families are represented within the native flora, with the exception of the
cacti,
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...
and a few others, while 9 families occur only in Australia. Australia's vascular flora is estimated to be 85% endemic; this high level of vascular plant endemism is largely attributable to the radiation of some families like the
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
,
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...
, and
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
.
Angiosperms
The native Australian flora contains many
monocotyledons. The family with the most species is the
Poaceae
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...
which includes a huge variety of species, from the tropical bamboo ''
Bambusa arnhemica'' to the ubiquitous spinifex that thrives in arid Australia from the genus ''
Triodia''. There are more than 800 described species of
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...
in Australia. About one quarter of these are epiphytes. The terrestrial orchids occur across most of Australia, the majority of species being
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
– their aboveground parts die back during the dry season and they re-sprout from a tuber when it rains.
Other families with well-known representatives include the alpine Tasmanian
button grass, which form tussock-like mounds from the
Cyperaceae
The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as wikt:sedge, sedges. The family (biology), family is large; botanists have species description, described some 5,500 known species in about 90 ...
; the genus ''
Patersonia'' of temperate iris-like forbs from the
Iridaceae
Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...
; and, the
kangaroo paws from the family
Haemodoraceae. The ''
Xanthorrhoea
''Xanthorrhoea'' () is a genus of about 30 species of Succulent plant, succulent flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae. They are Endemism, endemic to Australia. Common names for the plants include grasstree, grass gum-tree (for resin-yie ...
'' grass trees, the
screw palms of the
Pandanaceae and
palms are large monocots present in Australia. There are about 57 native palms; 79% of these only occur in Australia.
The
dicots are the most diverse group of angiosperms. Australia's best known species come from three large and very diverse dicot families: the
Fabaceae
Fabaceae () or Leguminosae,[International Code of Nomen ...](_blank)
, the
Myrtaceae
Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...
and the
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
. The Myrtaceae is represented by a variety of woody species; gum trees from the genera ''
Eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...
'', ''
Corymbia
''Corymbia'', commonly known as bloodwoods, is a genus of about one hundred species of tree that, along with ''Eucalyptus'', '' Angophora'' and several smaller groups, are referred to as eucalypts. Until 1990, corymbias were included in the g ...
'' and ''
Angophora'', Lillipillies (''
Syzygium''), the water-loving ''
Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
'' and ''
Bottlebrush'' and the shrubby ''
Darwinia Darwinia may refer to:
* ''Darwinia'' (plant) Rudge 1815, a genus of Myrtaceae found only in Australia
*''Darwinia'' Raf., a synonym of the legume genus '' Sesbania'' Adans.
* ''Darwinia'' (video game), a 2005 video game by Introversion Software
* ' ...
'' and ''
Leptospermum'', commonly known as teatrees, and
Geraldton wax. Australia is also a
centre of diversity for the Proteaceae, with woody, well-known genera such as ''
Banksia
''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
'', ''
Dryandra'', ''
Grevillea'', ''
Hakea
''Hakea'' ( ) is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants in the family ''Proteaceae'', endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are sometimes flat, otherwise circular in cross section in which case they are s ...
'', the
waratah
Australia’s famous waratah (genus ''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, and Tasmania). The be ...
and Australia's only commercial native food crop, the
macadamia
''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia—specifically, northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland. Two species of the genus are comm ...
. Australia also has representatives of all three legume subfamilies.
Caesalpinioideae is notably represented by ''
Cassia'' trees. The
Faboideae
The Faboideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Fabaceae or Leguminosae. An acceptable alternative name for the subfamily is Papilionoideae, or Papilionaceae when this group of plants is treated as a family.
This subfamily is widely ...
or pea-flowered legumes are common and many are well known for their flowers, including the
golden peas, ''
Glycine
Glycine (symbol Gly or G; ) is an amino acid that has a single hydrogen atom as its side chain. It is the simplest stable amino acid. Glycine is one of the proteinogenic amino acids. It is encoded by all the codons starting with GG (G ...
'' species and the
Sturt's desert pea. The
Mimosoideae is best known for the huge genus ''
Acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as wattles or acacias, is a genus of about of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa, South America, and Austral ...
'' which includes Australia's floral emblem the
golden wattle.
Many plant families that occur in Australia are known for their floral displays that follow seasonal rains. The
Asteraceae
Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...
is well represented by its subfamily
Gnaphalieae, which included the paper or everlasting daisies; this group has its greatest diversity in Australia. Other families with flowering shrubs include the
Rutaceae
The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rue[RUTACEAE](_blank)
in Bo ...
, with the fragrant ''
Boronia'' and ''
Eriostemon'', the
Myoporaceae with the ''
Eremophila'', and members of the
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...
with Victoria's Floral Emblem ''
Epacris impressa''.

Amongst the most ancient species of flowering hardwood trees are the
Casuarinaceae
The Casuarinaceae are a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants placed in the order Fagales, consisting of four genera and 91 species of trees and shrubs native to eastern Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, Malesia, Papuasia, and the Pacific ...
, including
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...
, swamp and
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
oaks, and
Fagaceae
The Fagaceae (; ) are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with around 1,000 or more species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species ...
represented in Australia by three species of ''
Nothofagus
''Nothofagus'', also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere, found across southern South America (Chile, Argentina) and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guin ...
''. Trees of the
Rosales
Rosales (, ) are an order of flowering plants. Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Rosales". At: Trees At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below) Well-known members of Rosales include: ...
are notably represented by the
Moraceae
Moraceae is a family of flowering plants comprising about 48 genera and over 1100 species, and is commonly known as the mulberry or fig family. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however, their ...
whose species include the
Moreton Bay Fig and the
Port Jackson Fig, and the
Urticaceae whose members include several tree sized stinging nettles; ''
Dendrocnide moroides'' is the most virulent. There are also numerous
sandalwood
Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...
species including the
quandongs and native cherry, ''
Exocarpus cupressiformis''. The
bottle tree of the
Sterculiaceae
Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus '' Sterculia''. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioide ...
is one of 30 tree species from the ''
Brachychiton''. There are about 75 native
mistletoes that
parasitise Australian tree species, including two terrestrial parasitic trees, one of which is the spectacular
Western Australian Christmas tree.
Australia's salt marshes and wetlands are covered by a large variety of salt and drought tolerant species from the
Amaranthaceae
Amaranthaceae ( ) is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, maki ...
which include the saltbushes (''
Atriplex
''Atriplex'' () is a plant genus of about 250 species, known by the common names of saltbush and orache (; also spelled orach). It belongs to the subfamily Chenopodioideae of the family Amaranthaceae ''s.l.''.
The genus is quite variable and ...
'') and bluebushes (''
Maireana'' and ''
Chenopodium''). Many of these plants have succulent leaves; other native succulents are from the genera ''
Carpobrotus'', ''
Calandrinia'' and ''
Portulaca''. Succulent stems are present in many of the
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...
in Australia, though the best known members are the non-succulent looking fragrant Wedding bushes of the genus
Ricinocarpos.
Carnivorous plants which favour damp habitats are represented by four families including the
sundews,
bladderworts, pitcher-plants from the
Cephalotaceae, which are endemic to
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, and the
Nepenthaceae.
Aquatic monocots and dicots both occur in Australian waters. Australia has about 51,000 square kilometres of
seagrass meadow
A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...
s and the most diverse group seagrass species in the world. There are 22 species found in temperate waters and 15 in tropical waters out of a known 70 species worldwide. Aquatic dicots include the
mangroves
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...
; in Australia there are 39 mangrove species that cover 11,500 square kilometres and comprise the third largest area of mangroves in the world. Other native aquatic dicots here include
water lilies and
water milfoils.
Gymnosperms
Gymnosperms
The gymnosperms ( ; ) are a group of woody, perennial Seed plant, seed-producing plants, typically lacking the protective outer covering which surrounds the seeds in flowering plants, that include Pinophyta, conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetoph ...
present in Australia include the
cycads and
conifer
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
s. There are 69 species of cycad from 4 genera and 3 families of eastern and northern Australia, with a few in south-western Western Australia and central Australia. Native conifers are distributed across 3 taxonomic families (
Cupressaceae
Cupressaceae or the cypress family is a family of conifers. The family includes 27–30 genera (17 monotypic), which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130–140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or (rarely) dioecio ...
,
Podocarpaceae
Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly southern hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pres ...
,
Araucariaceae
Araucariaceae is a Family (biology), family of conifers with three living Genus, genera, ''Araucaria'', ''Agathis'', and ''Wollemia''. While the family's native distribution is now largely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, except for a few spe ...
), 14 genera and 43 species, of which 39 are endemic. Most species are present in wetter mountainous areas consistent with their Gondwanan origins, including the genera ''
Athrotaxis'', ''
Actinostrobus'', ''
Microcachrys'', ''
Microstrobos'', ''
Diselma'' and the Tasmanian
Huon pine, sole member of the genus ''Lagarostrobos''. ''
Callitris'' is a notable exception; species from this genus are found mainly in drier open woodlands.
[''Flora of Australia Volume 48—Ferns, Gymnosperms and Allied Groups''. 1998. Australian Biological Resources Study/CSIRO Publishing ] The most recently discovered species of conifer is the
living fossil
A living fossil is a Deprecation, deprecated term for an extant taxon that phenotypically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of or ...
Wollemi pine, which was first described in 1994. Although many Australian conifers are referred to as 'pines', there are no members of the pine family (
Pinaceae
The Pinaceae (), or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, Pinyon_pine, piñons,
larches, pines and spruces. The family is incl ...
) native to Australia.
Ferns and fern allies
Spore bearing vascular plants include the
fern
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...
s and
fern allies. True ferns are found over most of the country and are most abundant in tropical and subtropical areas with high rainfall. Australia has a native flora of 30 families, 103 genera and 390 species of ferns, with another 10 species being naturalised. The "fern allies" are represented by 44 native species of
whisk ferns,
horsetails and
lycophytes.
Ferns prefer a cool and damp environment since water is required for reproduction, the majority of Australian species are found in bushland and rainforest, there are aquatic, epiphytic (''
Platycerium'', ''
Huperzia'' and ''
Asplenium''), and terrestrial species including large tree ferns from the genera ''
Cyathea'' and ''
Dicksonia''.
Non-vascular plants
The
algae
Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
are a large and diverse group of photosynthetic organisms. Many studies of algae include the
cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...
, in addition to micro and macro
eukaryotic
The eukaryotes ( ) constitute the Domain (biology), domain of Eukaryota or Eukarya, organisms whose Cell (biology), cells have a membrane-bound cell nucleus, nucleus. All animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, seaweeds, and many unicellular organisms ...
types that inhabit both fresh and saltwater. Currently, about 10,000 to 12,000 species of algae are known for Australia. The algal flora of Australia is unevenly documented: northern Australia remains largely uncollected for seaweeds and marine phytoplankton, descriptions of freshwater algae are patchy, and the collection of terrestrial algae has been almost completely neglected.
The
bryophytes
Bryophytes () are a group of land plants ( embryophytes), sometimes treated as a taxonomic division referred to as Bryophyta '' sensu lato'', that contains three groups of non-vascular land plants: the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. In t ...
–
moss
Mosses are small, non-vascular plant, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic phylum, division Bryophyta (, ) ''sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Wilhelm Philippe Schimper, Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryo ...
es,
liverworts
Liverworts are a group of non-vascular plant, non-vascular embryophyte, land plants forming the division Marchantiophyta (). They may also be referred to as hepatics. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in wh ...
and
hornwort
Hornworts are a group of non-vascular Embryophytes (land plants) constituting the division Anthocerotophyta (). The common name refers to the elongated horn-like structure, which is the sporophyte. As in mosses and liverworts, hornworts have a ...
s – are primitive, usually terrestrial, plants that inhabit the tropics, cool-temperate regions and montane areas; there are some specialised members that are adapted to semi-arid and arid Australia. There are slightly fewer that 1,000 recognised species of moss in Australia. The five largest genera are the ''
Fissidens'', ''
Bryum'', ''
Campylopus
''Campylopus'' is a genus of 180 species of haplolepideous mosses ( Dicranidae) in the family Leucobryaceae. The name comes from the Greek ''campylos'', meaning curved, and ''pous'', meaning foot, referring to the setae which curve downwards.
...
'', ''
Macromitrium'' and ''
Andreaea''. There are also over 800 species of liver- and horn-worts in 148 genera in Australia.
Fungi
The fungal flora of Australia is not well characterised; Australia is estimated to have about 250,000 fungal species of which roughly 5% have been described. Knowledge of distribution, substrates and habitats is poor for most species, with the exception of common plant pathogens.
Lichens
Lichen
A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...
s are composite organisms comprising, in most cases, an Ascomycete fungus and a unicellular green alga, their classification is based on the type of fungi. The lichen flora of Australia and its island territories, including
Christmas Island
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...
,
Heard Island,
Macquarie Island
Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Australia, since 1880. It became a Protected areas of Tasmania, Tasmania ...
and
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...
, currently comprises 3,238 species and infra-specific taxa in 422 genera, 34% of which are considered to be endemic.
Use by humans

The first Australian plants recognised and classified in Linnaean taxonomy were a species of ''Acacia'' and ''Synaphea'' in 1768 as ''Adiantum truncatum'' and ''Polypodium spinulosum'' respectively by Dutch philologist
Pieter Burman the Younger, who stated they were from Java. Later, both were found to be from Western Australia, likely to have been collected near the Swan River, possibly on a 1697 visit there of fellow Dutchman
Willem de Vlamingh.
This was followed by
Cook's expedition making landfall at what is now
Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal language, Dharawal: ''Kamay'') is an open oceanic embayment, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point a ...
in April 1770, and the early work of
Banks, Solander and Parkinson. Botanical exploration was enabled by the
founding of the permanent colony at Port Jackson in 1788, and the subsequent expeditions along Australia's coastline.
The Australian flora was utilised by the
Indigenous inhabitants of Australia. Indigenous Australians used thousands of species for food, medicine, shelter, tools and weapons.
For example, the starchy roots of ''
Clematis microphylla'' were used in western Victoria to make a dough that was baked, and the leaves of the plant were used as a poultice applied to skin irritations and blisters.
Since European colonisation
Forestry species include a number of eucalypts used for paper and timber,
huon pine,
hoop pine,
cypress pine,
Australian Blackwood, and sandalwood from ''
Santalum spicatum
''Santalum spicatum'', the Australian sandalwood, also Waang and other names (Noongar) and Dutjahn ( Martu), is a tree native to semi-arid areas at the edge of Southwest Australia, in the state of Western Australia. It is also found in South A ...
'' and ''
S. lanceolatum''. A significant area used by the pastoral industry is based on native pasture species including
Mitchell grass,
saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...
,
bluebush,
wallaby grass,
spear grass,
tussock grasses and
kangaroo grass.
Commercial use
Until recently the
macadamia nut and ''
Tetragonia tetragonoides
''Tetragonia tetragonioides'', commonly called New Zealand spinach, warrigal greens and other local names, is a flowering plant in the fig-marigold family (Aizoaceae). It is often cultivated as a leafy vegetable.
It is a widespread species, nat ...
'' were the only Australian food plant species widely cultivated. Although commercial cultivation of macadamia started in Australia in the 1880s, it became an established large-scale crop in Hawaii. The development of a range of native food crops began in the late 1970s with the assessment of species for bushfood industry history, commercial potential. In the mid-1980s restaurants and wholesalers started to market various native food plant products. These included Acacia, wattles for their edible seeds; Davidsonia, Davidson's Plum, Citrus glauca, desert lime, Citrus australasica, finger lime,
quandong, Syzygium luehmannii, riberry, Terminalia ferdinandiana, Kakadu plum, Kunzea pomifera, muntries, Solanum centrale, bush tomato, Podocarpus elatus, Illawarra plum for fruit; Tetragonia tetragonoides, warrigal greens as a leaf vegetable; and, lemon aspen, lemon myrtle, Tasmannia lanceolata, mountain pepper as spices. A few Australian native plants are used by the pharmaceutical industry, such as two Hyoscine hydrobromide, scopolamine and hyoscyamine producing ''Duboisia'' species and ''Solanum aviculare'' and ''S. laciniatum'' for the steroid solasodine. Essential oils from ''
Melaleuca
''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles, bottlebrushes or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They ...
'', ''
Callitris'', ''Prostanthera'', ''Eucalyptus'' and ''
Eremophila'' are also used medicinally. Due to the wide variety of flowers and foliage, Australian plant species are also popular for floriculture internationally.
Conservation
Modification of the Australian environment by Indigenous Australians and following European settlement has affected the extent and the distribution of the flora.
Threats
The changes since 1788 have been rapid and significant: displacement of Indigenous Australians disrupted fire régimes that had been in place for thousands of years; forestry practices have modified the structure of native forests; wetlands have been filled in; and broad scale land-clearing for crops, grazing and urban development has reduced native vegetation cover and led to landscape salinisation, increased sediment, nutrient and salt loads in rivers and streams, loss of habitat and a decline in biodiversity. The intentional and unintentional release of invasive species in Australia, invasive plant and animal species into delicate ecosystems is a major threat to floral biodiversity; 20 introduced species have been declared Weeds of National Significance.
Threatened plant biodiversity
As of 2006, 61 plant species were known to have become extinct since European settlement; and a further 1,239 species were considered threatened.
Protected areas
Protected areas of Australia, Protected areas have been created in every state and territory to protect and preserve the country's unique ecosystems. These protected areas include national parks and other reserves, as well as 64 wetlands registered under the Ramsar Convention and 16 World Heritage Sites. As of 2002, 10.8% (774,619.51 km
2) of the total land area of Australia is within protected areas. Protected marine zones have been created in many areas to preserve marine biodiversity; as of 2002, these areas cover about 7% (646,000 km
2) of Australia's marine jurisdiction.
Biodiversity hotspots
In 2003, the Australian Government's Threatened Species Scientific Committee identified 15 biodiversity hotspots in Australian and 85 characteristic ecosystems, as classified by the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia. Some effort is being made to ensure each is represented within a protected area under Australia's Biodiversity Action Plan.
[Department of the Environment and Heritag]
IBRA Version 6.1
See also
*List of electronic floras
*List of Australian floral emblems
*List of extinct flora of Australia
*List of flora on stamps of Australia
*List of threatened flora of Australia
*Systematic Census of Australian Plants
Region specific articles
*Flora of the Australian Capital Territory
*Flora of Western Australia
*List of Nature Conservation Act endangered flora of Queensland
*List of Nature Conservation Act extinct in the wild flora of Queensland
*List of Nature Conservation Act rare flora of Queensland
*List of Nature Conservation Act vulnerable flora of Queensland
References
Notes
General references
*Thiele, K. R. and Adams, A. G. eds. 2002
Families of flowering plants of Australia ABRS/CSIRO Publishing
*Smith, J. M. B. ed 1982. ''A history of Australasian vegetation''. McGraw Hill
*Orchard, A. E. ed. 1999. ''Flora of Australia - Volume 1'', 2nd edition. ABRS/CSIRO
External links
Flora of Australia onlineFlora of Australia(a newer resource)
Flora of Australia Online
Flora of Australia Online - Norfolk and Lord Howe IslandsFlora of Australia Online - Oceanic Islands excluding Norfolk and Lord Howe IslandsWhat's its name? A database for the Australian Plant Name IndexAustralian Marine Algal Name Index Museum Victoria
ASGAP - Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants
{{Floristic regions
Flora of Australia,