Native Flora, NSW Australia

Australia has a very harsh and unforgiving climate. Just consider the vast expanse of desert outback to the lush coastal regions. For plants to survive in these environments, they need to be tough and adaptable, and over thousands of years, they have found a way to evolve and thrive. The result is a unique and diverse range of flora, of which I will cover three well-known species.

One of the strangest-looking plants and one that warrants a closer inspection is the Kangaroo Paw. Originally native to Western Australia, it is now found all over Australia and even in the Singaporean Botanical Gardens. The flower on this plant has a paw-like tubular shape. It comes in various colours, ranging from deep crimson to scarlet, pale lemon to golden or soft peach to intense tangerine. Less prevalent are the green tones, often tinged with yellow or red. 

The Waratah is a striking native plant endemic to and, since 1962, the floral emblem of NSW. The plant features large, vibrant red flower heads made up of many small individual flowers densely packed together, measuring about 4in (10cm) in diameter. Growing up to 13 feet (4m) high, the Waratah thrives in moist, well-drained soils of forests, woodlands, and heathlands, particularly in regions with higher rainfall, such as the Blue Mountains and Sydney. Waratahs provide essential habitat and food to wildlife, attracting nectar-feeding birds like honeyeaters. However, this gorgeous plant doesn’t do well in a competitive environment with dense undergrowth. They do much better in dappled sunlight, preferably beneath eucalypt trees and with plenty of open space.

Quintessentially Australian and the national flower, the Wattle, when in bloom, is a beautiful splash of bright yellow fuzzy flowers bursting into colour each spring and lasting for several weeks. Besides being an important Australian symbol, the plant is believed to help improve soil by absorbing nitrogen from the air and releasing it as nutrients through its roots. The plant was also used as bush tucker by grinding the wattleseed into flour for damper, but these days, it can be found in a range of foods like muffins, teas or coffee substitutes. 

Other interesting native plants are Billy buttons, with bright yellow globe-shaped flowers growing on long stems and the Bottlebrush, named for its cylindrical flower spikes resembling a bottlebrush in shades of red, mauves, yellow and green.