Flora
Most of the Gondwanan forests were replaced by tough-leaved open forests of eucalypts and acacias. Some isolated remnants of the ancient Gondwanan forests remain. These include the cool and warm temperate rainforests of Tasmania and eastern Australia and the dry rainforests or scrub forests of northern Australia. These forests have high conservation values.
In 1994, the Wollemi Pine was found in a remote valley in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. It is believed to be representative of a now extinct group of trees that existed at the time of the dinosaurs, making it a species that has been around for 65 million years.
There are now an estimated 20 000 vascular and 7700 non-vascular plants, and 250 000 species of fungi in Australia. Plants include living fossils such as the cycad palm and the grass tree, and brilliant wildflowers such as the waratah, Sturt’s desert pea, banksia and kangaroo paws.
Australia has over 1000 species of acacia, which Australians call ‘wattle’, and around 2800 species in the Myrtaceaefamily, which includes eucalypts (or gum trees) and melaleucas.
Wildflowers, including everlasting daisies, turn the arid and savanna grassland areas of Australia into carpets of colour after rain. Native forests are limited to wetter coastal districts, and rainforests are found mainly in Queensland.
The high diversity of flora includes large numbers of species in ecologically significant genera such as Acacia,Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, Grevillea and Allocasuarina. Acacias tend to dominate in drier inland parts of Australia, while eucalypts dominate in wetter parts. Australia’s unique flora includes the Proteaceae family of Banksia, Dryandra,Grevillea, Hakea and Telopea (waratah).
The most common vegetation types today are those that have adapted to arid conditions, where the land has not been cleared for agriculture. The dominant type of vegetation in Australia—23 per cent—is the hummock grasslands in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. In the east eucalypt woodlands are prevalent, and in the west there are Acacia forests, woodlands and shrublands. Tussock grasslands are found largely in Queensland.
Info courtesy of
http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/flora_and_fauna.html
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