What kind of plants and trees live in Australia?

Answer 1

There are a variety of native and non-native plants and trees found in Australia.

• Eucalyptus - the well-known 'gum trees' with over 600 species in Australia, including Tasmania's emblem, the Tasmanian Blue Gum
• Acacia, known more commonly as the wattle tree - many species exist throughout Australia, in all conditions, as it is a highly adaptable plant; Australia's national floral emblem is the Golden Wattle
• Banksia - named by botanist Sir Joseph Banks who was with Captain Cook when he charted Australia's eastern coast
• Blackboy, or grass trees
• Bunya Pine, Wollemi Pine, Hoop Pine
• Callistemon, also known as the bottlebrush
• Casuarina
• Common heath, floral emblem of Victoria
• Correa, a small to medium sized shrub
• Epacris, also known as Common Heath
• Eremophila, also known as the Emu-Bush
• Dryandra, closely related to the banksia
• Eremophila, also known as the Emu bush
• Ferns - many varieties, particularly common in rainforests
• Fabaceae, also common to rainforests, tropical and temperate zones - includes a variety of herbs, vines, shrubs, trees, and lianas
• Hakea
• Grevillea (spider flower) - related to Hakeas. One example is the Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta).
• Hardenbergias - vines with beautiful pea flowers
• Leptospermum, more commonly known as the tea-tree
• Leschenaultia, a beautiful Western Australian wildflower
• Kangaroo paw, an unusual flower from the western half of the continent, and the floral emblem of WA
• Kurrajong
• Mallee
• Melaleuca
• Mulga
• Native Hibiscus, different to the exotic hibiscus favoured by many gardeners
• Isopogon and petrophile - low growing shrubs
• Melaleuca, another very adaptable and versatile species
• Moreton Bay Fig
• Palm trees, such as the Pandanus Palm, Alexandra (King) Palm, Cabbage Tree Palm and Foxtail
• Sturt's Desert Rose and Sturt's Desert Pea, both desert flowering shrubs, and the emblems of NT and SA respectively
• Vines such as the Strangler Fig
• Waratah (NSW floral emblem)
• Triodia, also known as spinifex grass, which grows in the desert
• Zygochloa, another desert grass

One could also add the Norfolk Island Pine (Auracaria heterophylla) which is in the same genus as Bunya Pine. However, it is not found naturally on the Australian mainland, but is native to the Australian offshore territory of Norfolk island.

Some of the non-native plants include popular ornamental garden flowers such as gerberas, nasturtiums, marigolds, rhododendrons, carnations, roses and so on. Lantana is a pervasive introduced species. Trees which are non-native include frangipani, jacaranda, poinciana, poinsettia, oak, elm and Monterey pine, to name a few.

Answer 2

Unique Australian plants

Australia has a variety of flora well suited to its dry climate, and which also adapt to the flooding of its vast plains. Some of these species are:

• Eucalyptus - the well-known 'gum trees' with over 600 species in Australia, including Tasmania's emblem, the Tasmanian Blue Gum
• Acacia, known more commonly as the wattle tree - many species exist throughout Australia, in all conditions, as it is a highly adaptable plant; Australia's national floral emblem is the Golden Wattle
• Banksia - named by botanist Sir Joseph Banks who was with Captain Cook when he charted Australia's eastern coast
• Blackboy, or grass trees
• Bunya Pine, Wollemi Pine, Hoop Pine
• Callistemon, also known as the bottlebrush
• Casuarina
• Common heath, floral emblem of Victoria
• Correa, a small to medium sized shrub
• Epacris, also known as Common Heath
• Eremophila, also known as the Emu-Bush
• Dryandra, closely related to the banksia
• Eremophila, also known as the Emu bush
• Ferns - many varieties, particularly common in rainforests
• Fabaceae, also common to rainforests, tropical and temperate zones - includes a variety of herbs, vines, shrubs, trees, and lianas
• Hakea
• Grevillea (spider flower) - related to Hakeas. One example is the Silky Oak (Grevillea robusta).
• Hardenbergias - vines with beautiful pea flowers
• Leptospermum, more commonly known as the tea-tree
• Leschenaultia, a beautiful Western Australian wildflower
• Kangaroo paw, an unusual flower from the western half of the continent, and the floral emblem of WA
• Kurrajong
• Mallee
• Melaleuca
• Mulga
• Native Hibiscus, different to the exotic hibiscus favoured by many gardeners
• Isopogon and petrophile - low growing shrubs
• Melaleuca, another very adaptable and versatile species
• Moreton Bay Fig
• Palm trees, such as the Pandanus Palm, Alexandra (King) Palm, Cabbage Tree Palm and Foxtail
• Sturt's Desert Rose and Sturt's Desert Pea, both desert flowering shrubs, and the emblems of NT and SA respectively
• Vines such as the Strangler Fig
• Waratah (NSW floral emblem)
• Triodia, also known as spinifex grass, which grows in the desert
• Zygochloa, another desert grass

One could also add the Norfolk Island Pine (Auracaria heterophylla) which is in the same genus as Bunya Pine. However, it is not found naturally on the Australian mainland, but is native to the Australian offshore territory of Norfolk Island.

Unique Australian animals

Australia's most common native animals are marsupials. These are the pouched mammals (some pouches are nothing more than a flap of skin) and include:

• some sixty species of kangaroo, including wallaroo, potoroo, pademelon, rufous rat-kangaroo and wallaby (note: the rat-kangaroo is quite different to the kangaroo rat of North America)
• koala
• wombat
• possum (not opossum)
• glider
• potoroo
• bandicoot, including the bilby
• quokka
• quoll
• Tasmanian Devil
• phascogale
• dunnart
• cuscus
• bettong
• nabarlek
• numbat
• antechinus
• native hopping mouse

There are many marine mammals, including dolphins, and the very unique dugong, or sea-cow. The only placental mammals native to Australia are bats, of which there are over 80 species, bush rats and native hopping mice (rodents, not marsupials), of which there are several species. Dingoes are not truly native, not having originated here: they came with the Aborigines thousands of years ago, and for this reason are not necessarily considered to be truly native.

Monotremes(egg laying mammals) are also native to Australia. These include the platypus and the short-beaked echidna.

Native birds include:

• emu and southern cassowary, Australia's only Flightless Birds
• kookaburra
• budgerigar
• magpie
• lyrebird
• brush turkey
• friar bird
• little penguin
• bowerbird
• many varieties of lorikeets, rosellas and parrots, including the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Gang-Gang Cockatoo, corella, mulga parrot and the Galah
• Australia's most well-known native eagle is the Wedge-tailed Eagle. It is considered to be in the same "superspecies" as the Golden Eagle, but has some distinguishing characteristics (especially the shape of the tail).

There is a wide variety of native reptiles uniquely adapted to the country, such as:

• Thorny Devil
• Blue-tongue Lizard
• Frill-necked lizard
• goanna
• native geckos
• Saltwater or Estuarine crocodile
• Australia is also home to many of the world's most venomous snakes, such as the Inland Taipan, Death Adder, Mulga or King Brown, Red Bellied Black, Black Tiger, Copperhead, Gwardar, Collett's, Fierce, Eastern Tiger and Eastern Brown.

There are no native species of toads, but plenty of native frogs, such as green tree frogs, corroboree frogs and pobblebonks.

Answer 3

The list of native Australian flora and fauna is far too long to include here. However, information on both topics can be gained from both the related questions and the related links.

For specific details of Australian animals and plants, see the related questions below.

Answer 4

Some plant species native to the Australian outback include species of eucalyptus such as the ghost gum, mulga, river redgum, mallee and wandoo. Various species of wattle trees (acacia), honey myrtle (melaleuca) and tea tree (leptospermum) can also be found in the outback, as can grasses such as spinifex. Saltbush and blue bush are common, low-growing shrubs. There are many native outback wild flowers and flowering shrubs such as Sturt's Desert Pea, Sturt's Desert Rose, Kangaroo Paw, Eremophila (emu bush) and Coral pea.

There are no native cacti in Australia.

Answer 5

Wabaloos, Kangaroos, Tropical Wagtails, Waterfin Jellyfish, Bucksnout toad, Koala, Bottlenosed Mammoth, Queen Moth, Eucalyptis Bat, and the Du-Dung Beetle