PLANTS TO PLANT

Small tree to 8 m along watercourses in rainforests in Queensland and New South Wales. Leaves are alternate and irregularly toothed and 10-20 cm long. Small, greenish yellow and white flowers in clusters in spring and summer. Fruit are small, black, fleshy...

Shrub to 2 m, often soft with velvety leaves and weak stems on rocky slopes creek banks and sometimes in rainforest. Found throughout Australia though possibly rare and threatened in Victoria. Also known as Small-flowered Abutilon, Straggly...

Erect or spreading tree to 30 m, north from Mullumbimby area in wet sclerophyll eucalypt forest and rainforest. Rare, threatened, vulnerable in the wild. Referred to as the rainforest acacia. Bark finely fissured or sometimes smooth. Phyllodes elliptic to...

Arching shrub or small tree to 5 m. Erect or spreading, in dry sclerophyll forest, woodland and heath, in sandy and gravelly soil from Coffs Harbour to Bundaberg. The name refers to the branchlets, which when young are flattened and more or less zigzagged...

Dense shrub or small tree to 8 m on sandy or stony soils in open forest. Found in understorey over most of South-East Queensland and surrounding regions including NSW. Will usually be smaller than 8 m and quite common in regrowth of disturbed coastal areas,...

Dense tree to 15 m. Mostly in coastal areas and fringes throughout Queensland and NSW. Branchlets slender with the uppermost few cm angled. Phyllodes somewhat curved, pale grey to blue green with numerous parallel veins, pointed tip. Greenish phyllode stalk...

Erect, tree-like shrub to 4 m throughout Queensland and NSW mostly in coastal areas. Curved (falcate) phyllodes with a prominent mid vein. Flowers are cream coloured ball-flowers in early winter. Unusual seed pods show the seeds very obviously....

Fast growing, profusely flowering wattle native to South-East Queensland and Northern NSW. Good screen plant, gap filler. Hardy in most situations. Usually a bushy shrub or small tree to 4-6 m high with attractive, weeping light green foliage. New growth is...

Small tree to 5-10 m in the warmer, humid areas in the coastal belt from South-East Queensland to southern New South Wales. Extends inland to the NSW tablelands. Grows on heavier soils. Best growth is in moist, well-drained, relatively fertile flats along...

A medium tree to 15 m on fertile, well-drained soils. Phyllodes are dark green, alternate to 18 cm. Creamy-yellowish flower spikes to 6 cm in summer and autumn. Host plant for many butterflies, including the Tailed Emperor Polyura sempronius and the Large...

Medium to large tree recorded as capable of growing to 45 m but more often in the 10-20 m range at maturity in the Enoggera catchment. Grows from North Queensland (Atherton Tablelands) to Tasmania. Larger trees have been milled for their reddish-brown to...

Erect or spreading shrub or small tree to 8 m. From Blackdown Tableland, South-East Queensland, through eastern NSW and ACT to eastern Victoria, with a western outlier near Longwood, Victoria. Phyllodes oblanceolate or narrowly elliptic, straight to...

Small tree or shrub to about 6 m. Branches can be angular and flattened but not hairy. In the greater Brisbane region found on gravelly and sandy soils, sandstone ridges and along creek banks with alluvial soils in woodland or open forest communities where...

Tall shrub or small tree to 5 metres. Found in open forest and woodland in South-East Queensland. Popular and widely cultivated. A quick-growing plant which may flower in its second year. Seeds freely and is invasive in natural bushland areas not in its...

A small, prickly shrub to 2 m in sandy heaths, open forests and woodlands. Generally in open and drier areas on light soils throughout Australia's east coast. Phyllodes to 2 cm, dark green, spiny. Very prickly, as the name suggests. Will provide useful...

A small herb-like open shrub to 2.5 m in rainforest margins. There is a prostrate form in coastal areas. Leaves are ovate (egg shaped) to lanceolate (drawn out oval) and can be quite large and soft on this small plant. Both surfaces usually densely hairy...

Medium to tall dense tree to 30 m. Smooth to flaky bark; young branchlets reddish. From northern NSW to Gympie on basalt and higher fertility soils. Features a large spreading crown, the trunk in older specimens can be buttressed. Acmena ingenues is found on...

A small to medium tree to 20 m. Grows on most soils in sub tropical rainforest, often along watercourses, throughout Queensland, Victoria and NSW. Also known as Syzygium smithii. Bushy dark green foliage tree with pinky bronze new growth. Leaves are opposite...

Small tree to 10 m along watercourses. Common in subtropical and dry rainforest and rainforest margins. Image shows a group of the characteristically shaped and coloured fruit – some of these are not quite mature. Acronychia from Greek akros at the farthest...

Grows to 15 metres along watercourses. Has attractive foliage and edible white fruit (tastes like lemon rind). Found from northern Victoria to southern Queensland in temperate coastal regions and subtropical shorelines with natural rainfall greater than 600...

Colony forming fern of rainforests and watercourses with erect fronds to 1 m. Very attractive fern in most types of rainforest, delicate in appearance but tough and hardy if it has moisture. Grows in colonies in rainforest or open forest, or on alluvial...

Clumping fern of rainforests, watercourses and shady eucalypt areas. Fronds will grow to over 30 cm tall. Widespread fern in both rainforest and eucalypt areas in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and the Northern Territory. Also occurs outside of...

Fast-growing single-stemmed pioneer tree to 30 m in dry, littoral and subtropical rainforest north from Iluka NSW. Large compound leaves of up to 60 leaflets asymmetrical at the base. A. triphysa is dioecious, with male and female flowers being borne on...

A hairy, perennial herb to 30 cm. Has a basal rosette of velvety, toothed leaves and soft, erect stems. Found in a range of soils and habitats from coastal forests to the dry, mallee country. Leaves decrease in size towards the flowers spikes. Flowers are...

Shrub or small tree to 6 m high in drier rainforest, on watercourses and on the boundary of open forest. Separate male and female plants. From the coast to the escarpment ranges; north from the Illawarra region NSW. Not found in the very driest of scrubs. In...

Shrub or small tree to 15 m, flattened ribbed, branchlets in subtropical and dry rainforest throughout Queensland and NSW. Leaves are compound with mostly 6 leaflets, sometimes fewer. The leaves are alternate but the leaflets are opposite. Virtually no...

A common small tree to 15 m in all types of rainforest. The large seeds are carried by birds, but mostly propagate in the vicinity of a large specimen. The adult trees do not supress germination. Young trees can be quite thick around the adults. A very hardy...

A large lily-like herb to 1.8 m. Cunjevoi is common in most rainforests and moist areas. Grows on rainforest margins and as an understorey herb. Chiefly in coastal rainforest districts, north from the Illawarra region of NSW, inland to Dorrigo and throughout...

A small to medium tree to 18 m in open forest and in the transition zone between dry rainforest remnants and eucalypt forest. A early coloniser of disturbed dry rainforest and a fast-growing, good pioneer species. The undersurface of the leaf blade is...

A multi-stemmed, clumping herb with upright arching stems to 3 m. Common in subtropical rainforests in Queensland and NSW. Long fleshy green simple, alternate, glossy green and broadly elliptical leaves up to 40 cm long. Globose dark blue fruit to 10 mm. The...

A scrambling, prostrate, perennial herb found in damp grasslands, paper bark forest, boulder gaps and waterway margins. It has a slender but tough taproot and many branches that arise from ground level. The branches either spread along the ground or slope...

Shrub to 2.5 m in most types of rainforest sometimes in sclerophyll forest north from Wollongong, NSW. Leaves opposite in whorls of 3-6, narrow-lanceolate to broad-ovate, smooth, leathery, glossy, margins slightly recurved. Flowers white, fragrant, in...

Spreading to hanging shrub parasitic on many species of rainforest trees north from the Illawarra region of NSW with external runners, older stems with corky bark. Attachment and contact with the host plant by haustoria (root-like structure which penetrates...

Tree to 20 m, often less. Dark grey, flaky, brittle bark, sometimes similar to bloodwoods or stringybarks. Leaves opposite whitish blue grey to bright green, sessile (attached to branch without petioles). New growth with scattered long reddish hairs and...

Medium to large targe tree to 25 m in subtropical rainforest, north from Woodburn on the Richmond River in NSW. Branchlets green, sometimes with brown lenticels (breathing pores). No domatia, obvious leaf scars, rachis tip not extended. Leaves are...

Medium tree to 30 m, often less, in dry and subtropical rainforest from Manning River, NSW to Herberton, North Queensland. Often along streams or on alluvial flats. Trunk can be fluted and buttressed. Bark is dark brown and scaly with irregular patches....

A twining climber found in subtropical and dry rainforest in Queensland and New South Wales. A member of the Cunoniaceae, a family of mostly trees and shrubs. Opposite leaves are a dark glossy green, ovate to lanceolate with bluntly toothed margins. Stems...

The Bunya Pine is a large tree to 40 m, with a straight, rough-barked trunk, and a very distinctive symmetrical, dome-shaped crown. This is a contentious plant for inclusion in the Enoggera species list. It is unlikely to be a native to Enoggera catchment,...

Large symmetrical pine tree to 50 m tall from Macleay River in NSW to North Queensland and New Guinea in most types of rainforest. Usually a single trunk to the tip of the tree. Often seen as an emergent in dry rainforest, also as a remnant in cleared or...

  Large tree to 40 metres, in subtropical and dry rainforests in Queensland, NSW, New Guinea. Leaves trifoliolate, hence the name, dark green above and silvery grey-green to brown underneath due to a scurf of miniature wheel like scales. Pronounced...

Palm to 30 m, trunk to 30 cm in diameter, usually not greatly expanded at the base – less so than close relative Alexandra Palm which is not local and can be weedy. Ecologicaly, it is likely that both palms do pretty much the same job in remnant rainforest....

Tufted perennial with erect, cane-like clumps to 3 m high in dry woodland and grassland, often in drainage ways. Rhizomatous. Leaves with ligule short, densely hairy. Blade rolled in bud, 3-10 mm wide. Inflorescence a panicle 10-40 cm long. Arundinella...

Usually a shrubby tree to 5-8 m, sometimes taller common in dry rainforest. Leaves are compound, alternate with 4-6 pinnate leaflets. Leaflets dark green with a leathery texture often toothed towards the tip. Flowers small, rusty cream from leaf axils from...

Asplenium australasicum is a fern in wet forests and rainforests of south and central coasts of New South Wales and coastal Queensland to Cape York and Asia. It grows on trees (epiphytic) or rocks (lithophytic) and occasionally in the soil. Large,...

Large shrub mostly around 3 m high, sometimes taller, usually with many spreading to ascending branches, in wet sclerophyll forest or rainforest margins chiefly on the coast and ranges. Occurs along creeklines in Mt Coot-tha Forest Park. The name means...

Small to medium tree to 25 m (usually less) in subtropical and dry rainforest north from Richmond River, NSW. Tends to grow in a pyramidal shape in the open. Leaves are simple, alternate, glossy, somewhat leathery and diamond-shaped with toothed edges and...

If there was ever a plant in the Enoggera species list which isn't reliably known to be here, this is one. A popular bush tucker plant, Midjim grows well in exposed coastal areas, especially the Bay Islands. It can be seen growing wild on Cylinder Headland,...

A vigorous creeper with dense foliage. The stems become very stout and woody. Dark-red sap exudes from cut stems, hence the common name. Dark-red pea-like flowers borne on arching panicles from September to December. Papery fruits up to 12 cm long with...

Very common riparian species on dry banks but rarely planted, probably because of the difficulty of obtaining seed. Can to be hard to establish, susceptible to drying out when young, though becomes very drought hardy when mature. Small tree to 7 m tall,...

Medium tree to 15 metres or dense shrub widespread in all types of warmer rainforest; north from Tilba Tilba NSW including Melanesia. Bark exudes a clear sap which turns red. Due to this resin, it will burn when green, unusual for a rainforest tree. Leaves...

Banksia integrifolia is thought of as a coastal plant, but it occurs between Victoria and Central Queensland in a broad range of habitats, from coastal dunes to mountains. It is recorded from D'Aguilar National Park - Southern. It is highly variable in form,...

Widespread perennial grass to 1 m in woodland on better soils, native to Africa, India, Australia and the Pacific. Fairly drought tolerant. Leaves strongly aromatic when crushed, smelling and tasting like turpentine. In Queensland it seeds from December to...

This tree is widely planted in gardens and in bushcare sites, but is not strictly speaking an Enoggera species, not being recorded in D'Aguilar National Park, but its range is neverthless coastal rainforests from central New South Wales to far north...

Medium-sized tree in rainforest from central New South Wales to southern Queensland. Common in dry rainforest, especially on well-drained slopes and in association with Hoop pine Araucaria cunninghamii. Leaves are about 100 to 150 mm long and deeply lobed....

A very important and hardy undergrowth shrub in Enoggera catchment bush regeneration. Shrub to about 3 metres common over much of Queensland in most kinds of country. Leaves are soft, elliptical (oblong) to 2 cm. The appearance of the leaves is strongly...

Small to large tree with bark dark brown and coarsely fissured; glabrous. Leaves ovate to oblong, to 12 cm, margins entire, undulate, upper surface dark green, lower surface pale greyish green, secondary veins prominent on both surfaces; petiole 3-5 mm long,...

Bursaria spinosa is an erect, prickly shrub to about 3-4 metres tall, widespread in open forest and woodland in coastal Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. The leaves are an elongated oval shape 20-45 mm long and up to 12 mm...

Vigorous woody climber or scrambler with stems to 12 metres, found on the margins of rainforest and along the banks of streams, especially in rocky areas, from north-east NSW to north-east Queensland; endemic to Australia. There are some weedy exotics also...

Vigorous climbing palm with hooked whips, pinnate leaves with to 50 cm with up to 12 linear to lanceolate leaflets. The compound leaves are alternate on the stems. The leaflets, stalks and midribs have small prickles. Stiff backward-facing hooks on the...

Formerly Millettia megasperma. Tall, woody, robust, bushy climber (vine) with woody stems. Climbs via twining stems with additional support from large pinnate leaves. Will ascend into the rainforest canopy, found in rainforest, rainforest margins and wet...

A tall open shrub with tiny pink flower clusters along the stems, mostly 3-4 m high, sparsely to densely hairy, in and near subtropical rainforest; north from Port Macquarie. Joseph Banks and his party saw this species at the Endeavour River in Far North...

Also known as Common Ground Fern, Soft Bracken and Rainbow Fern, until recently False Bracken was known as Culcita dubia. Widespread in tall open forest, usually on poorer soils. Rhizome usually stout, covered with soft, silky, pale and dark brown hairs....

A slowly spreading tussock plant with brown flowerheads in spring and summer. Grows well in boggy positions, in swamps, beside streams and in shallow ponds in full sun. Host plant for the Evening Brown Melanitis leda and Spotted Sedge-skipper Hesperilla...

Tufted sedge to 60 cm grows in swamps and on creek banks. Clumping grass to 1 m with arching deep green blades. Creates a good low maintenance cover especially for moist or boggy areas. Attracts seed-eating birds. Sun, semi-shade. Interchangeable with a...

A sparse shrub to 3 m with thorny stems in dry and subtropical rainforest, eucalypt and brigalow. Milky sap in branchlets and leaves. Hardy. Attracts birds and butterflies. Thickets provide good small bird habitat. Found growing in dry rainforest remnants in...

Large tree to 40 m, often occurs in stands. Black Bean grows well along the banks of rivers and creeks. It has a strong root system, which can be used to consolidate stream banks against erosion. In the garden it rarely grows more than 20 m with a dense...

Tall, graceful tree to 20 m along creek and river banks and floodplains. Has fine pine-like foliage and deeply fissured bark. Important tree along Enoggera Creek. Casuarina was the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three more genera, a...

Weak, soft but vigorous climber to around 2 m, sometimes longer, common along creek banks. Fast growing, can smother young plantings, but easy to trim back until the planting is established. Striate stems. Climbs by means of tendrils. The underground part of...

A woody vine growing into the canopy, widely distributed in subtropical and dry rainforest. Alternate leaves with faintly toothed margins. Greenish small flower (to 5 mm) on hairy, terminal panicles followed by yellow-orange fruit in leathery capsule to 9 mm...

Small tree to 15 m but more often seen as a bushy shrub or thicket to 10 m with crooked trunks, often layering, from south of Sydney to Brisbane. It is often so thick as to appear coppiced (multitrunked after main trunk removed). A vigorous, hardy tree...

A tufting fern to 1 m. Usually found growing along stream banks, on rainforest margins or in open forest. Very fast growing and suitable for cultivation in moist, shady areas. Regenerates strongly. Can be encouraged to suppress weeds by covering and area....

Robust and vigorous woody, climbing vine found in the rainforests of Queensland and NSW. Alternate, simple tough grey-green or dark green leaves with serrated margins. Leaves are felty and rust coloured underneath. All leaves are opposed by tendrils or...

Weak to medium climber with stems to about 6 m, the roots bearing fleshy, underground tubers to about 25 cm in length. Found in dry rainforest and sclerophyll forest, often over rocky outcrops chiefly in coastal areas north from the Hunter Valley,...

Hardy, spiny, shrub or small tree to 10 m but is usually smaller, especially when it has access to sunlight. Closely related to the domestic citrus. Common in rainforests of north-eastern New South Wales and South-East Queensland. Small leaves are oval...

Large shrub or small tree to 12 m in dry rainforest north from the Beenleigh area; endemic to (solely found in) Queensland. Branchlets often zigzag, with stiff thorns in leaf axils. Leaves simple, alternate, to 55 mm by 30 mm, elliptic to obovate or almost...

Shrub or tree to 10 m, usually less, north from Taree district, NSW, on the margins of coastal rainforest. Leaves mostly smooth, though new growth sometimes hairy. Margins entire, apex obtuse to acuminate, base acute to rounded or cordate, petiole 2-7 cm...

Shrub or small tree up to about 10 m tall in subtropical, dry, littoral and warm temperate rainforest. Ranging from Batemans Bay, NSW to Cape York, North Queensland. Can be used as pioneer species. Large, fragrant flowers and colourful fruit make this an...

A weak-stemmed creeping herb producing short upright branches and rooting at the joints (nodes) of the stem. Native to Australia, tropical Asia and Polynesia. Although native, often considered a weed of damp or shady places, gardens and along watercourses....

A shrub or tree to 20m. Sometimes called Scrub Christmas tree due to the masses of white flowers which appear around late December and give the tree a layered appearance. An excellent pioneer species and can grow at a rate of 3 m a year in favourable...

An upright plant with slender stems to 6 metres. Cordyline from the Greek cordyle, a swelling, referring to the swelling on the stems of some species. Petiolarlis, a petiole or leaf stalk, referring to the long petioles of the species. A hardy species for...

Narrow-leaved Palm Lily is an erect, slender plant to 2-4 m which forms spreading clumps in moist shady positions. Occurs in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest in coastal lowlands in southern Qld and NSW down to Sydney. Dark green leaves to 50 cm by 2...

Spotted gum is a large tree to 40 m on shallow stony soils. An important forest tree, in demand for structural timber and honey production. It features more or less obvious dimples (slight depressions) on the white, silver, grey to pink or coppery bark....

Medium to large tree to 30 m, fast growing, found on relatively infertile soils from the Brisbane area, to south of Grafton in New South Wales. Found in moister sites along drainage lines. Bark smooth throughout, dull or glossy, white to grey or red-brown or...

A characteristic tree in eucalypt forest and associated woodlands on flat, deep soils of medium to high fertility, very noticeable by its collar of tessellated bark changing to smooth grey white. A fast-growing evergreen tree, 10-20 m tall. The lower part of...

A clumping, perennial lily, with strap-like fleshy leaves to 1 m by 10 cm. Grows along creeks and rivers, and in swampy areas. Its range is coastal Queensland and New South Wales as far south as Newcastle. Hardy and shade tolerant plant which will grow in...

Small tree up to 15 m in dry rainforest and its margins, Blue Mountains, NSW to Cape York, Queensland. Fruit is a greyish, globular capsule about 6 mm in diameter and is ripe November to January. Hardy plant which is a suitable size for a small garden. The...

Large shrub or small tree to 6 metres in dry rainforest and along the interface between rainforest and eucalypt forest from Illawarra, NSW to Gympie, Queensland and close to Darwin, Northern Territory. Relatively smooth branchlets with only a few scattered...

A medium tree to 20 m in subtropical and dry rainforest, also on margins and in regrowth, north from Bega district. Twigs mostly yellowish. Leaves simple, alternate, dark glossy green above, pale, glaucescent, ashy green waxy bloom below. Mostly oblong,...

Small to medium tree to 15 m in littoral, riverine rainforest, northern NSW to South-East Queensland and North Queensland. Large fruit, December to January. Attractive small bushy tree for average-sized gardens. Attracts birds. Dense crown of dark green...

A medium tree growing up to 20 m with simple, alternate leaves, blade dark glossy green above, paler almost glaucescent below. Leaves are oblong-elliptical drawn to a narrow blunt point at apex, 6-12 cm long. White flowers in panicles from leaf axil or...

Medium to large tree to 40 m from Gympie and Bunya Mountains in Queensland to Port Stephens, NSW, in subtropical rainforest, dry rainforest and along moist scrubby watercourses. Often buttressed at base, bark brown, more or less smooth, young growth...

Small to medium tree to 15 m. Common and abundant in littoral, riverine rainforest. Green, pale and slightly fragrant flowers in September to December. The fruit is a purplish black fleshy drupe which is ripe February. Attracts birds. Dense crown of...

A quick hardy small tree to 8 m. Good for extreme coastal conditions. Bird attracting. Good shade tree, dislikes heavy frost. Commonly planted street tree in Brisbane. Although native to the easterly sections of Enoggera catchment most examples are recent –...

  A medium tree growing up to 20 m, but usually smaller. In dry rainforest, chiefly in the coastal ranges but also at lower altitudes away from the sea. Compound leaves, alternate, leaflets 6-8. Leaflets leathery, dark dull green above, paler below, oblong,...

Foliage Small tree in littoral and subtropical rainforest, chiefly on the coast, north from Jervis Bay, NSW. Recorded as growing up to 25 metres tall with a 50 cm wide trunk, but is usually seen as a much smaller dense-canopied plant when seen in the wild...

A clumping grass native to eastern Australia, widespread and common, prefers lighter, poorer soils. Tufted, erect perennial to 1.5 m. Stems smooth, hairless, rigid, branching at maroon nodes. Habitat for small mammals and frogs. Seeds eaten by Rosellas...

Small to medium rainforest tree, often in rocky areas near creeks. Host plant for larvae of Macleays Swallowtail Graphium macleayanus, a handsome butterfly with rich green colour on underside of wing contrasting with a mostly black-and-white...

Small tree to 15 m common in Queensland rainforests especially on the edges or in disturbed areas. The leaves are quite conspicuous, very large, broadly ovate, pale green, with stinging hairs. Often heavily chewed by insects. The young leaves have more...

Small tree to 15 m, in warmer rainforest, especially drier types, north from Richmond area, not common south of Seal Rocks, NSW. Trunk often flanged or buttressed, stinging hairs usually not very irritant. Leaves mostly elliptic to ovate, to 13 cm long, base...

Small tree to 7 m, branchlets striate. Grows in most types of rainforest and margins with wet sclerophyll forest. Leaves elliptic to oblanceolate, rarely lanceolate, mostly 4-12 cm long, 10-45 mm wide, apex acute, sometimes acuminate or rounded, margins...

Foliage A large woody vine growing into the canopy of rainforest, north from Wingham, NSW. Compound, alternate leaves with 9-13 ovate-elliptical leaflets up to 5 cm long and 2 cm wide. Pink mauve 1 cm pea flowers on arched racemes from September to October....

Twining perennial herb or trailing shrub up to 1 m long or tall on sandy or stony soils in dry sclerophyll forest, north from Nowra district, NSW. Stems with dense, rusty, spreading hairs. Leaves three-foliolate, both surfaces appressed-pubescent, petiole...

Clumping plant of erect strap like leaves to about 1 metre. Can tolerate damp conditions (prefers dry), widespread native found in many parts of Australia. Very hardy and long-lived once established. Grows in full sun and well-drained soil up to a height of...

  Herb with annual twining stems 2-4 m long; tuber often deep in the soil, cylindrical, widespread, chiefly in warmer rainforest and moist sclerophyll forest. Leaves ovate to broad-triangular, to 12 cm long, base cordate (heart shaped) or rarely hastate...

Small tree widespread in warmer rainforest, north from Batemans Bay, NSW. Leaves oblong to elliptic, to 10 cm long, apex obtuse to bluntly pointed, thick and tough, upper surface green and shiny, lower surface glabrous or sparsely hairy, pale yellowish green...

Tall tree to 30m (often smaller) with yellow, delicately perfumed flowers in September to November, also May. Edible yellow-green fruit, turning reddish black when ripe in April to July. A useful shade tree for larger gardens. Propagate from fresh seed,...

Small tree in dry rainforest and sub tropical rainforest. Bark of mature trees blackish, fissured and scaly. Previously known as Diospyros ferrea var. geminata. Hairless leathery to stiff leaves, slightly glossy. Distinguishable from the other Diospyros by...

  A slender tendril climbing vine growing up to 4 m tall usually on the margins and in the rainforest ecotone. This is a hardy but short-lived plant. It is unforunate that it has the name cucumber because it is NOT edible. All parts of this plant are...

Tall tree to 35 m. Rainforest pioneer with large leaves and, once established, a good growth rate. Can become quite leggy even without canopy to strive for, unlike many other rainforest plants which grow their crowns as soon as they get into the sun. There...

Compact rainforest canopy tree to 20 m high. Endangered. Extremely rare in the wild. Leaves are 10-35 cm long and comprise 4-8 leaflets. The leaflets are elliptic-oblong to more or less ovate, mostly 5-10 cm long, 2-4 cm wide, apex acute or shortly...

Terrestrial saprophyte orchid (reduced leaves, derives nourishment from decaying material) in open eucalypt forest throughout Brisbane, sometimes in the hundreds in a good flowering season. Found in littoral rainforest, subtropical rainforest, dry...

Medium tree to about 30 m in dry rainforest. It is uncommon with a number of disjunct populations. Found in South-East Queensland. Flowers are small, creamy brown in branched stalks from the branchlet apex and appear January to June. Fruit is a hairy, yellow...

Shrub to 3 m high in dry sclerophyll forest. Leaves obovate to oblanceolate, to 3.5 cm long and 30 cm wide, apex acute and usually three-toothed, base attenuate or broadly cuneate, margins entire. Flowers solitary or in 3-6-flowered axillary or terminal...

Erect shrub to 3 m high in dry or wet sclerophyll forest usually on sand, or similarly well drained soil. Leaves hairless, simple, elliptic, sometimes lanceolate or ovate, to 12 cm long, apex acuminate to acute, base narrow cuneate to attenuate, margins...

A common, spreading ground fern growing to about 40 cm tall. Found in rainforest margins and wet eucalypt forests in all eastern states. Named for Samuel Doody, an early English botanist. Aspera means rough and relates to the rough feel of the fronds. Very...

Medium-sized tree to 20 m common in dry rainforest. Also in littoral and riverine rainforests. Yellow male and female flowers on separate trees from September to October. Red-orange fruit is a drupe ripe January to March. Hardy shade tree, with edible friuit...

Recognisable by the conspicous reddish awns on the seed head. While it is listed as a weed in the Mount Coot-tha Forest Management Plan, Dr Sheldon Navie (Education Research Officer, CRC for Australian Weed Management) regards Echinochloa telmatophila as...

  Rarer of the two Stephanias (former name) found locally - a significant plant. It can be confused with Stephania japonica, but has softer foliage and small, soft, recurved hooks on the stems. Weak twiner with stems and petioles with prickles 1-2 mm long;...

An annual herb that can be found creeping on wet ground in disturbed areas. Native to Australia but not recorded in Peter Young's 1984 list of Enoggera species compiled for Brisbane Forest Park (now D'Aguilar National Park). Recorded as native in northern...

Tree to 30 m in margins of rainforest and disturbed rainforest. Leaves simple, alternate, toothed, elliptic-ovate leaves with 3-4 cm petioles. Small white perfumed flowers in panicles in spring. Sweet tasting, edible drupe, orange turning brown to 7 mm in...

A low, shrubby plant which grows into untidy clumps or as a straggler through scrub in heavy soils. Fairly widespread. Leaves opposite, sub-opposite or alternate. The leaves sometimes have white salt spots on the under-surface of the leaf. In some cases turn...

  Large tree to 35 metres with buttressed trunk, branches layered. Occurs in subtropical rainforest and along moist, scrubby watercourses. An endemic Australian species, occurring along the east coast from Nambucca River in NSW to Cooktown in North...

A medium to large tree suitable for larger gardens and windbreaks, common pioneer and remnant. Attractive in both flower and fruit. Hard propably refers to the wood, which is harder than theBlue Quandong E. grandis. Host plant for larvae of Fiery Jewel...

Blueberry Ash is a small tree to 8 m found along water courses, often on sandy soils. Endemic Australian species, occurring all along the east coast from Fraser Island, Queensland down to Flinders Island, Tasmania in warmer temperate conditions along the...

Tree to 10 m high, young leaves often reddish; new growth rusty-pubescent. Leaves 6-15 cm long, rachis extended beyond last leaflet; leaflets 2-6, elliptic to obovate, 3-8 cm long, margins usually irregularly toothed. Upper surface shiny and smooth or finely...

Woody climber with twining stems. Simple alternate elliptical to obovate leathery leaves 8 cm long by 4 cm wide with acute tips; glabrous shoots. Leaves with translucent or opaque dots scattered evenly over the surface (Williams and Harden). Distinct zigzag...

  A low, trailing plant with weak, fleshy stems capable of spreading to 2 metres in diameter. Some forms may be partially upright to about half a metre. Common in dry, woodland areas along the coast and inland areas of eastern New South Wales and southern...

Medium to large tree to 30 m, mostly 10-25 m. Prefers clay soils in an open, sunny position. Grey-brown fibrous bark (stringybark). Thick-textured dark green-blue leaves, frequently tatty, slightly paler below. Can be mistaken for E. acemenoides, a similar...

Large tree to 30 m high occasionally 40 m with persistent stringy red-brown or brown-black bark. Common in dry rainforest and moist to dry eucalypt forest. Recognized by the reddish rough bark, discolorous leaves (top of leaf darker than bottom) and...

Tall tree to 40 m with a straight trunk and smooth grey bark which sheds to reveal beautiful orange new bark. See ORANGE, think GREY, say PINK (propinqua) - a phrase for remembering the identification. Native in Wyong in New South Wales northwards into...

Tree to 45 m. Locally frequent in wet forest on soils of moderate fertility north from Sydney. Bark persistent throughout, ironbark, grey black. Leaves lanceolate or broad lanceolate, falcate, acute, basally tapered, dull, green or grey green, thick,...

Evergreen tree 18–46 m high with straight stout trunk 1–1.8 m in diameter, large and open or fairly dense crown. Bark smooth, whitish, peeling in irregular thin sheets or large flakes, becoming mottled with white, gray, or blueish patches. Native from...

 Shrub or small tree, branchlets often black widespread in or near warmer rainforest and moist eucalypt forest on the coast and lower ranges. Often multi-trunked, with glossy, dark green leaves on slender zigzag arching canes. Bolwarra is the local...

A pioneer species, tall tree, buttressed, growing to 40 m. Branchlets aromatic when broken, exuding a clear mango or mandarin-scented sap. New growth exhibits pink-red stems and mid veins. Trunk is often flanged or buttressed at the base in large trees. The...

Attractive climber capable of dense growth if in the open. Grows in sclerophyll forest, woodland, heath and on margins of rainforest; widespread, from coastal districts inland, Queensland, Victoria, Pacific Islands, Malesia. Eustrephus latifolius is the sole...

Straggly tree to 12 metres, fast growing, along creeks, in rainforest and open country, widespread on coast and tablelands. Grows densely in full sun. An excellent as a pioneer tree and for stream bank stabilisation. Leaves ovate (egg-shaped) to oblong, to...

Rarer of the two local sandpaper figs, the other being Ficus coronata. Small to medium tree with a sparse, spreading crown of rough leaves. Bird attracting bright orange-red fruit which ripens late summer. The leaves are dark green, 6-13 cm long, mainly...

Moreton Bay Fig is a strangler fig with huge trunk, widely buttressed, growing to 50 metres in subtropical, littoral and dry rainforests and riverine scrub. Endemic Australian species, ranging from Shoalhaven River, NSW to Rockingham Bay, North...

Ficus obliqua and Ficus platypoda have recently been subsumed by Ficus rubiginosa. A small to large spreading tree, often buttressed; young stems rusty-pubescent commonly scattered in rocky sites on dry hills in open forest or in dry, littoral or rarely...

Tall tree to 40 m in dry rainforest (complex microphyll closed forest) extending into eucalypt forest valued as a timber, especially for flooring. Smaller when planted in the open. Leaves alternate or rarely opposite, crowded towards the end of branches,...

Clumping sedge to 1 metre with long and narrow leaves, rough to the touch. Common in eastern Australia along the Great Dividing Range from the south coast of NSW to northern Queensland in a variety of habitat including rainforest. Deserves to be grown more...

Gahnia sieberiana is one of the most commonly seen members of the genus usually found in damp areas or in areas subject to periodic innundation. Gahnia, after Henricus Gahn, a Swedish botanist. Sieberiana, after Franz Sieber, an Austrian botanist. The common...

Slender twining hairy or almost hairless perennial mostly along coast or in sclerophyll forest. There are quite a few of these small climbers on dry hillsides including the native glycines. They are members of the pea family. Leaves three-foliate. Terminal...

An evergreen perennial climber (vine) growing to 4 m with striated green stems, leaves to 8 cm long, dull green, stiff, with a raised central vein. Has a tuberous rootstock which persists in tough times. It can grow in semi-shade or in the open. It requires...

A terrestrial orchid to 40 cm. Flowers in December and January, dormant (not visible above the ground) during winter, found in open eucalypt forests throughout Brisbane. Three to five leaves to 35 cm long, marked by prominent ribs. Flowering stem to 30 cm...

A small to medium densely growing tree to 15 m with simple, alternate, pseudo-pinnate leaves. Common, hardy, and usually found on margins of rainforest and along scrubby watercourses. Glochidion from Greek glchin or glchis projecting point, barb of an arrow,...

Small twiner in amongst grasses and shrubs with stoloniferous stems (capable of taking root, producing new plants). Leaves are trifolilate, sometimes long and skinny, sometimes rounder. Similar to G. clandestina which has no petiolules (it has sessile...

Perennial herb to half a metre with rounded, sharply lobed leaves throughout the coastal and tableland regions of southern Queensland and NSW. Grows in sclerophyll woodland and forest. Prostrate branches root as they spread. Leaves to around 4.5 cm,...

Tree to 40 m tall, often less, common in subtropical to dry rainforest, wet sclerophyll forest, on the coast and inland ranges north of Coffs Harbour district, NSW. When full grown pyramidal in shape with heavy horizontal limbs and a thick trunk. Ferny,...

Deciduous shrub with many disorganised stems and star hairs, mostly in drier parts. Not considered a rainforest plant. Drought tolerant and hardy. Survives in very harsh conditions. Leaves egg-shaped to broadly heart-shaped with irregularly toothed margins....

Tree to 6 m, bark smooth, grey to dark grey, often more or less blotchy with lichens. Found in warmer rainforest from the coast to the ranges, often in regrowth. Hardy, common, widespread. An important local species, food for birds and insects. Pronounced...

  Upright, slender, grass-like plant to 2 m in moister forest, dry rainforest, riparian areas. Forms erect grass-like tussocks. Perennial herb, not or hardly clumped; rhizome creeping. Fibres were used to make fishing line. There are records of use as string...

Twiner with wiry braches in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia. It occurs in a variety of habitats from coast to mountains, usually in open forest or woodland and sometimes in heath. Violet flowers appear in clusters in...

A hardy, fast growing, small to medium evergreen tree with attractive dense green foliage. Leaves are alternate, pinnate, with 4-8 leaflets. Greenish yellow flowers in sprays September to December. Features showy orange seed-cases that and open to reveal...

Perennial tussock grass to 1.5 m tall, variable in habit. Leaves and stems are green to blue-green and usually hairless or with only a few scattered hairs. The leaf sheath and blade are folded along the mid-rib and leaves are 5–30 cm long. The seed heads...

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Scrambling and climbing vine with shining, green leaves to 8 cm long. Good ground cover for rocks and logs but will only climb to several metres. Found in a variety of habitats from coastal dunes to rainforest edges. Masses of bright yellow five-petalled...

Medium-sized, prickly shrub to 2 m in poorly drained areas. Leaves are alternate, serrate and rough and about 8 cm long. Flowers are yellow with a maroon centre and are produced from spring to autumn. Propagate from seed and cuttings. Can get leggy in tubes...

Fast-growing shrub, capable of growing to 6 m. Attracts fauna particularly insects (notably Scutelleridae), and therefore insect predators. Host plant for caterpillars of the moths Xanthodes transversa, Anomis combinans and Onebala hibisci. Leaves are up to...

Fast-growing shrub or small tree growing to 6 m from southern NSW to north-east Queensland and Melanesia in margins of subtropical rainforest, dry rainforest and in regrowth areas. A very useful pioneer species for rainforest revegetation projects. Leaves...

Shrub to 2 m high in eucalypt forest, rarely in rainforest, mostly on rocky sites, mainly in coastal areas. A promising Lantana substitute. Leaves more or less ovate, to 6 cm long, upper surface not hairy, lower surface usually sparsely hairy. Fruit is a...

Open shrub to 4 m with glossy dark green leaves covered in fine rusty brown coloured hairs on rainforest margins or other damp or sheltered sites. Leaves are green on top, golden brown underneath. Bears masses of purple pea-flowers in winter to spring which...

Spade Flower is a herb to 30 cm in dry eucalypt forest and wallum woodlands, flowering mostly in spring and summer but also throughout the year. Common on sandy soils from Illawarra region NSW to Bundaberg, host plant for common glasswing butterflies. Leaves...

Medium tree to 20 m in all types of rainforest. A popular garden plant whose scent is not as strong but just as pleasant as the exotic Frangipanis common in Brisbane gardens. Simple, alternate leaves to 15 cm, soft, dark green above, paler and sometimes a...

Spreading shrub up to 2.5 m tall widespread in woodland and eucalypt forest. Leaves compound, to 10 cm long, leaflets usually 11-25, sometimes but rarely as few as 5, oblong to elliptic, 10-40 mm long. Pods terete (straightish, long and narrow) to 45 mm...

Pea-flowered shrub with flat, angular or winged branchlets which are entirely leafless except in young growth. The common name of dogwood is said to refer to the smell from the wood when burnt. Most of the year the general effect is of a dense and softly...

A small to medium, very hardy tree to 15 m. Among the first species to regenerate in disturbed Enoggera catchment dry rainforest. Its bark was used by Aborigines as a fish poison. It contains saponins, which break the bonds of water molecules, causing them...

Perennial, densely tufted rush, very common on stream banks and other moist places. Occurs naturally throughout Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Juncus means basket binder, usitatus means ordinary. It is an important locally native plant right on...

Vigorous, scrambling vine capable of forming dense mats. Rusty stems to 4 m with silky hairs. Common on sandy and stony soils throughout Brisbane. Leaves alternate, trifoliolate (in groups of 3). Flowers are dark red or purple in groups of 2-12. Flowers are...

Vigorous, woody twining vine which can grow into the rainforest canopy in most types of rainforest. Leaves simple, alternate, ovate-rounded up to 20 cm long and 16 cm wide, glaucous-white underside and dark green upper surface with a stiff texture. Green,...

An upright, slender plant with strap like leaves and flower stalks to 1 m on a range of habitats, especially woodland and forest, mostly on sandy soils, often on rocky hillsides. Name means scaly seeded. Attracts birds and butterflies. John Hodgon B.Sc....

Shrub to 5 m found near wet sclerophyll forest or rainforest, on sandy soils or on rocky escarpments, north from Port Macquarie, NSW. Fast-growing screen plant. Slightly frost tender. Bark flaky, persistent and fibrous, younger stems hairy, soon...

A dense shrub to 4 m. Common in coastal areas of eastern Australia. Grows along creek banks and in open forest. Was formerly known as Leptospermum flavescens. Leaves are grey green, alternate to 15 mm. Masses of small, white five-petalled flowers to 10 mm...

A perennial ground-covering herb widespread in open eucalypt forest, and moist shady areas. It is also a weed of lawns, footpaths and cultivation. Thin, hairless stems are often purplish in colour, and mostly prostrate. Plants form white, fleshy runners...

A robust matrush found near or in creeks on sandy soils and river stones, north of Taree NSW. Can form clumps up to 2 m high. A useful plant for revegetation and erosion control. The starchy, fleshy bases of the leaves are edible (they taste of raw peas)....

Perennial tussock, sparse in marginal rainforest habitats, also in sandy soils over sandstone and in deep sands. Leaves flat, rather thin, 2-4 mm wide, bluish grey when dry. Stanley and Ross state "Widespread but not common in eastern Moreton Region, usually...

A hardy matrush, similar to Lomandra hystrix but with a W-shaped leaf tip and a slightly more bluish grey colour. Common on drier hillsides where it grows thickly in low clumps. It grows larger in revegetation plantings. Can suffer if mulch is too thick,...

A small grass-like plant with stiff grey-green leaves from 250 - 850 mm high found in Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Also in Papua New Guinea. Creamy, yellow flowers occur in clusters around the base of the...

A lomandra of subtropical and moister dry rainforest. A tufted, grass-like plant growing to 80 cm tall related to the grass tree. Was in Xanthorrhoeaceae, now in Lomandraceae. Grows in most types of rainforest, to 1300 m altitude; north from Mt Royal,...

Tall tree growing to 35 m in forest, much shorter and many-branched in littoral rainforest. Found in all types of rainforest, along margins and in open forests. Bark rough and scaly, leaves simple, appearing in whorls toward branchlet ends; blade glossy dark...

Large tree with red-brown, fibrous-papery, persistent bark. Grows in sclerophyll forest, widespread and common in coastal districts, often on swampy ground or alluvial flats. Leaves ovate (egg-shaped) to elliptic, to 15 cm long, 4-5 cm wide, tip blunt or...

Small to medium-sized tree to about 15 metres with a bushy habit. The leaves are arranged in whorls of three to six, lanceolate to obovate or elliptical in shape, 6–30 cm long and 2–13 cm broad, with an entire or spiny-serrated margin. Flowers are produced...

A pioneer species, fast growing, from Richmond River, NSW to Cooktown, North Queensland and into South-East Asia. Leaves are broadly ovate large, with pointed tip. Useful for establishing a canopy quickly. Weed exclusion underneath trees is often found and...

A woody climber or straggling shrub. Can be rampant, throwing out long-arched stems of new growth. Cut stems release a somewhat milky latex. Common in dry rainforest, subtropical rainforest and along scrubby watercourses. Spines 0.5–2.5 cm long. This plant...

A small tree or shrub to 8 m in dry rainforest from the Richmond River in NSW to the Iron Range in North Queensland and westward into the very dry semi-evergreen vine thickets. Green Kamala is a common plant on the drier marginal rainforest sites and is...

Tree to 20 m high on margins and within warmer rainforest; chiefly north from the Hunter River, NSW. Very useful as an edge plant. A dense shady canopy quickly develops. Leaves with lamina (leaf blades) ovate to oblong, mostly 4-12 cm long, margins entire,...

Uncommon slender climber growing mostly in eucalypt-dominated open forest but also seen in association with dry rainforest margins. Possibly endemic to South-East Qld, but may extend into north-east NSW. Latex white, colleters (glands) present in groups of 3...

Large shrub or small tree up to 12 m tall from the Macleay River, NSW to Cape York, North Queensland in dry and subtropical rainforest and sclerophyll forest. Bark is orange brown, branchlets with fine vertical ridges. Leaves are stiff, slightly glossy,...

Grows mostly in dry and subtropical rainforest, north from Lismore, NSW. From Greek di two and sperma seed, referring to the two seeds in each cell. Also called Orange Bark, Orange Boxwood, Taper-leaf Orang- bark and Orange Tree. Leaves obovate,...

Shrub to 4.5 m high, in rainforest and moist eucalypt forest, north from Camden and the Illawarra region, NSW. Leaves rather thick and tough narrow, mostly 1-8 cm long, 2-15 mm wide, apex pointed or blunt, base tapered, margins toothed or entire, surfaces...

Shrub or small tree to 15 m with hard, fissured bark, fine narrow leaves and white or cream flowers in cylindrical spikes in summer. Widespread, along watercourses or on heavier inland soils in depressions; north from the Macleay River, NSW. Hardy in light...

This small-medium tree has attractive narrow foliage and white papery bark. It is drought-resistant and quite hardy, although it can be affected by frost. An excellent garden and street tree to 12 m tall, with many cultivars. Mostly grows in low-lying river...

An important plant in the wild, where it reaches its natural form - a large spreading tree. It reaches a height of about 10 metres in its natural habitat but is usually smaller in cultivation, where it is typically a small tree with pendulous foliage...

Rounded rainforest shrub, attractively veined foliage, long flowering mauve-purple flowers in summer and sweet edible fruit (which will stain your tongue blue, thus the common name). Attracts Miskin Jewel butterfly, birds. Useful wetland plant. Honey bees...

Small to medium tree in subtropical and dry rainforest, mostly on margins and in regrowth. Deciduous. Almost a pantropical weed, and weedy outside its range. Found throughout Asia, China and India. Native from Iran to northern Australia. When burnt has very...

A tufted perennial grass to 0.7 m that produces year round green growth. It has slender weeping seed heads, giving rise to its common name Weeping Grass. Microlaena is a genus of grass with a single species Microlaena stipoides or Ehrharta stipoides. It...

Shrub to small tree to 9 m high mainly in drier lowland rainforest. Masses of multicoloured fruit and large clusters of sweetly perfumed white flowers can occur at the same time. Leaves 10-45 cm long; leaflets 7-15, more or less ovate, 2-10 cm long, 1-6 cm...

Attractive glossy foliage and bright orange fruit. Good shade species, sometimes slow growing. Timber was used for axe handles. Small, slightly perfumed, cream flowers in large terminal panicles February to May. Yellow-orange, pear-shaped fruit ripe,...

A slender bushy climber in or near most types of rainforest from Victoria to north-east Queensland and inland to the Bunya Mountains. Creamy orange flower in summer. Orange fruit, irregularly shaped. Ripe March - April. A delightful light climber with...

Erect, slender perennial herb with thick, tuberous roots widely distributed in open forest, often in moist soil. Found in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Leaves 10 to 30 centimetres long, linear and bluish green....

Myoporum acuminatum is found in eastern Australia in rainforest or wet eucalyptus forest near the coast, often associated with mangroves, occasionally in drier rainforests, north from Bega. The plant first appeared in scientific literature in Prodromus...

Small tree to 12 m, important dry rainforest regenerator in rainforest and open forest on the coast and adjacent ranges north from Milton, NSW. Often in exposed positions on the coast. Formerly Rapanea variabilis. Leaves mostly obovate to oblanceolate, 3-10...

Small tree to 10 m, branchlets grey or brown, usually with conspicuous white lenticels. Several forms exist, including subspecies longifolia and glabra. Range is north from Dunoon near Lismore. Easily grown small tree which tolerates neglect. Leaves variable...

Tree to 30 m high, trunk to 90 cm wide, branches with conspicuous lenticels. Leaves opposite, ovate to elliptic, usually 5-10 cm long, margins entire, upper surface glossy green, lower surface paler and with small hollow domatia along midvein. Many flowered...

Shrub to 2 m high in sclerophyll forest or open woodland; widespread in coastal districts. Leaves alternate, apex acute, margins toothed or prickly. Upper surface subglabrous, lower surface brown-tomentose, petiole to 10 mm long. Flower heads terminal. Ray...

Creeping and matting grass to 0.3 m that roots at the nodes. Can form a thick ground cover in shaded areas. Widespread in forests in moist and shaded areas. Leaves are lance shaped with wavy margins to 3 cm. Leaves with ligule around 3 mm long, membranous at...

Slender spreading perennial grass to 30 cm high. Leaves are 3-8 cm long. Grows in shady areas often near water. Coastal districts north from Gosford. Roots at the nodes. This graceful Ottochloa can form quite thick mats and drifts if left alone. Will die...

A small, erect and open shrub to about 1.5 metres but sometimes larger. Leaves linear, 10-15 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, apex reflexed, margins tightly revolute; lamina discolorous, upper surface green and scabrous, white woolly lower surface. Small flowers in...

Vigorous twining plant with pinnate leaves having between five and seven lance-shaped leaflets up to 50 mm long, in rainforest and wet sclerophyll forests of north-eastern New South Wales and South-East Queensland. Genus after Pandora of Greek mythology who...

Vigorous woody climber that will ascend into the rainforest canopy. Compound pinnate entire leaves with 3 to 13 linear to ovate-lanceolate leaflets that have distinctive abrupt short points; juvenile leaflets have a few short teeth. Pandorea is after the...

Climber with twining stems to 4 m high, sap watery, in woodland, vine thicket and dry rainforest, north from the Hunter Valley, NSW. Leaves variable in shape, lanceolate or narrow to broad-elliptic, mostly 3-10 cm long, base cuneate, both surfaces hairless...

Parsonsia straminea is a climber (vine) with opposite leaves, watery-milky sap. Climbs by means of roots which form sporadically along the stem of the plant which grip the trunk. Widespread and common in most types of rainforest and sclerophyll forest north...

Large and vigorous woody climber with a dense covering of brown hairs on petioles, young shoots and inflorescences. Leaves alternate, ovate to elliptic, to 25 cm long, base cordate or rounded, upper surface dark green and dull, lower surface with scattered...

Passiflora aurantia is a species of native passionfruit. It is a host plant for larvae of the glasswing butterfly. The name refers to the flower parts symbolically representing Christ's passion and aurantia meaning orange coloured, referring to the...

Small rounded shrub to 4 m with soft, green leaves. Triangular stipules prominent on branchlets, persisting on stems. Terminal buds shiny. Leaves opposite, dark green, softly succulent looking. Beehawk moths feed on the leaves. Found in drier rainforest...

Stout decumbent herb 60-100 cm high; stems not hairy or with very scattered long hairs; found on margins of open swamps; occasional. Leaves narrow-ovate to 20 cm, petiole 10-40 mm long Inflorescences are elongate-cylindrical spikes, very dense, white. Fruit...

Persicaria decipiens is an annual or perennial herb found all throughout the Australian mainland and New Zealand. Sparingly branched, slender stems to 60 cm long. The stems spread along the ground and root at the base then gradually slope upwards. Leaves are...

Upright summer annual to about 1 m, branching occasionally. It has a tendency to sprawl and lean on adjacent plants for support. The hairless stems are green or red. Common in damp places. Possibly introduced. Alternate leaves up to 100 mm long, lanceolate,...

Persicaria lapathifolia - pale smartweed - possibly native or naturalised in South-East Queensland. Erect or ascending annual or biennial, herb, 0.8–1.8 m high. Flowers are white, pink, August to May. Sandy mud, black mud, coarse clay loam. Damp situations,...

Herb with stems creeping, prostrate to decumbent, slender, common in open swamps and still sections of creeks. Leaves to 6.5 cm long (hasteate), 15-32 mm wide, petiole 8-25 mm long. Inflorescence of 2-4 branches with small terminal subglobose flower clusters...

Erect to spreading shrub, young branchlets moderately to densely hairy, in woodland to dry sclerophyll forest, north from Grenfell, NSW. Grows in well-drained soils derived from a variety of parent materials including granite, sandstone, metasediments and...

Shrub or small tree to 10 m high, in dry rainforest or in open forest, north from Ramornie on the Clarence River, NSW. Leaves ovate to more or less circular, to 6 cm long, margins mostly entire, upper surface dark green; lower surface grey and finely...

Pimelea is a genus of about 108 species, in Australia, New Zealand. In Australia there are 90 species (endemic), all States. Herbs, shrubs or small trees, often with very tough bark. Leaves mostly opposite or subopposite, usually paler on lower surface;...

A straggly shrub or small tree to 6 m in subtropical, dry and riverine rainforest north from Lismore to North Queensland, mostly in coastal areas. A good fast-growing screening plant where it has access to water. Often used as a pioneer. Very soft stems,...

A common understorey shrub to 2 m tall in or near rainforest or wet sclerophyll forest. White, tiny flowers appearing in summer. Edible orange globular berry ripe May - July. This is a rigid, many-branched spiny shrub liking full sun or shade. Attracts small...

Large shrub about 3 m with more or less rusty brown undersides of leaves. Pale to strong yellow flowers precede orange fruit with red seed. A rainforest pioneer species. The shoots are rusty brown and hairy. This is a hardy tree that can grow larger in...

Sweet Pittosporum or Victorian Box is a medium-size rainforest tree growing to 10 m. It has a dense shrubby habit and occurs naturally from Biggenden in Queensland down the east coast as far as Victoria. In southern areas of Australia it is spread by birds...

A cluster of many individuals, shield fronds are deeply lobed, fertile fronds stand semi-erect or nodding, becoming pendulous with age. The base of the fertile frond is slender and narrowly wedge-shaped, whilst the upper half of the frond forks out two or...

  Platycerium is a genus of about 18 species of ferns, four of which occur in eastern Australia. Two, the Elkhorn P. bifurcatum and the Staghorn P. superbum are well-known in cultivation. Staghorns are generally epiphytic (growing on trees), or occasionally...

A spreading, loosely branched, soft-wooded shrub to 1 m. Leaves to 10 cm are heart shaped, opposite, serrate, hairy and slightly sticky. Leaves are very aromatic when crushed. Flowers from spring to autumn. Flowers to 13 mm are purple blue in whorls on...

Twiner (vine) with stems and leaves fawn-pubescent, sometimes glabrescent (not hairy) with age, dioecious (separate male and female plants). Leaves with lamina ovate to lanceolate, usually 4-10 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, pubescent (hairy) with spreading soft...

A medium-sized to large evergreen tree growing to 30-40 m tall (less in cultivation) with a trunk up to 1.5 m diameter. The bark of this tree is dark brown, flaky and finely furrowed. Podocarpus elatus, commonly known as the Brown Pine, Plum Pine or...

Sparingly branched tree to 30 m high, glabrescent (smooth, shiny). Leaves usually bipinnate (except for some on flowering shoots only pinnate and with 5-9 leaflets), up to 100 cm long, secondary rachises to 12 cm long; petiole circular in cross section;...

Shrub 1–4 m high, stems rusty, pubescent with spreading simple hairs, often along streams, widespread in sclerophyll forest. Leaves lanceolate to elliptic, to 10 cm long, upper surface hairless and dull dark green; lower surface rusty-hairy. Flowers whitish...

Slender climber (vine) with wiry stems uses its roots to climb trees and rocks in moist rainforest from north-east NSW to north-east Queensland. Simple dark green leaves up to 8 cm long and 2 cm wide; these leaves have a prominent, expanded petiole, to 11 cm...

Pouteria australis, also known as Planchonella australis, is a rainforest tree with milky sap to 30 m in Queensland and New South Wales. It was first described as Achras australis by Robert Brown in his 1810 work Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. Fluted...

Proiphys cunninghamii is a herb in one of the Lily families (it was previously in Liliaceae) found in lightly shaded conditions in rainforest and rainforest margins. It has attractive flowers and dark green heart-shaped leaves on long upright stems....

Groundcover plant to 30 cm (a small, soft herb) in complex microphyll closed forest, Bateman's Bay, south-east NSW to Cape York, North Queensland, NT and Papua New Guinea. Hairy branches and creeping rhizome. Leaves dark green, opposite, hairy above,...

Attractive, open shrub with narrow glossy leaves and small white flowers in spring and summer and edible translucent white fruit, though there is not much sustenance to each one. This can be an attractive, compact garden shrub, where it grows lushly if well...

Shrub to about 3 metres in warmer rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest; widespread, north from Bega district, NSW. Leaves are simple, opposite, hairy and soft, pale green in colour, obovate to elliptic, about 5 to 10 cm in length. Propagation easy from...

Small tree or shrub to 5 m high, mostly smaller, branches stiff, in dry rainforest in coastal districts north from the Hunter Valley and on rocky slopes and ridges in inland districts, widespread. Leaves ovate to elliptic to 4.5 cm, apex obtuse (rather...

Rhizomatous, perennial, herb (fern), to half a metre high in moist sandy soils, along creeks in eucalypt forest. Bob Mesibov, Research Associate, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston notes that in most countries Pteridium spp. are considered...

This is one of the ferns (others include Nephrolepis spp. and even possibly Christella dentata) that are of uncertain origin in Australia. It is likely that P. vittata is native to some areas, but has almost certainly been introduced (from native or foreign...

Erect shrub with hairless stems in dry sclerophyll forest, on sandy to clayey soils, north from Lake Macquarie. Leaves alternate, narrow, obovate, apex rounded and often notched, margins usually incurved. A tough, drought tolerant shrub with showy yellow...

A fern on trees and rocks found from New Guinea down the eastern seaboard of Australia and into Victoria. The fronds have a succulent appearance. The fertile fronds are elongated, and up to 8 cm in length, while the sterile fronds are often nearly circular...

Shrub or small tree to 6 m found in all types of rainforest. Attractive silver-backed bushy foliage. Useful screening tree. Has a pronounced intramarginal vein, so much so that it looks three-veined. White and fluffy flowers in clusters, November to January...

Widespread small tree growing to 10 m. Branchlets brown, becoming downy at the ends. Occurs from southern NSW coast to Gympie, Queensland in subtropical rainforest, dry rainforest and on margins of rainforest and open forest. Simple, opposite with blade dull...

A shrubby tree to 12 m in wet sclerophyl and dry rainforest. This is one of the less well-known of our Enoggera species and one well worth cultivating. The young shoots are covered with fine hairs giving them a brown velvety appearance. Leaves are opposite,...

A medium-sized tree to 20 m along watercourses. Trunk is usually cylindrical or slightly buttressed. Heartwood bright yellow or yellowish brown when first cut. Coppice and young shoots hairy, downy with rust-coloured hairs which are very prominent on shoots...

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Climbing or trailing herb; stems somewhat hairy and sparsely glandular, in a variety of habitats, mostly on heavy soils in grassland. A very variable species. Leaves 3-foliolate. Leaflets ovate to rhombic or circular, usually wider than long, lower surface...

Vigorous climber (vine) with stems up to 10 m long, opposite or alternate leaves up to 8 cm long and 3 cm wide, 4 mm to 8 mm petioles. Climbs using prickly stems and firm stiff spreading leaves. Creamy-white flowers on axillary racemes from August to...

A simple-leaved species which forms a scrambling shrub to 3 metres high. It is a native species, but its natural range extends far beyond Australia into south-east Asia. Moluccanus var. moluccanus has a shallowly lobed leaf, white petals and erect brown to...

Native raspberry with splendid bush tucker fruit is the equal of the exotic raspberry, but more fragile. The fruits are aggregates of succulent drupelets. Rubus probus can form dense thickets in good sun, therefore a good replacement for Lantana to provide...

Rumex brownii is a perennial to 1 m tall, with oblong leaves and flowers in whorls on an open branched inflorescence. The valves have three to five hooked teeth on each side. It is considered a weed in gardens. Plants can contain quite high levels of oxalic...

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Small to medium tree, smaller in the open but larger in natural habitats such as warm temperate, gallery, riverine, subtropical and dry rainforest from Illawarra region to Cape York. Leaves to 10 cm, rhomboid shaped, with 2 to 6 angles along the margins,...

Perennial herb or shrub, mostly 80-150 mm high, in wet sclerophyll forest, often near rainforest or in rainforest regrowth. Leaves narrow-ovate to narrow-elliptic, mostly 50-120 mm long, 10-30 mm wide, base more or less rounded and often asymmetric, margins...

Shrub to 3 m tall with compound leaves to 15 cm long, each with up to 6 pairs of oval-shaped leaflets at about 15 mm intervals along the central spine. Found in coastal districts and adjacent tablelands of NSW from the Illawarra in NSW to Queensland, in or...

Tall shrub to 8 m high with young branches rusty-hairy, in moist eucalypt forest, widespread but not common. Leaves ovate to lanceolate, to 15 cm long, hairless or almost so on upper surface, hairy lower surface, petiole 5–10 mm long. Inflorscences are cymes...

Wiry climber with prickles. Also called Barbwire Vine and Native Sarsparilla. This climber has prickly stems, ovate green leaves to 100 mm long with 3 prominent veins, and white or pink-scented flowers. New growth is pinkish. Red or black fruit is only borne...

Common in moist regions of eastern and southern Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand in margins of subtropical rainforest and as a regrowth plant in cleared scrubby areas. Soft-wooded shrub growing to 4 m with simple, alternate, margins entire or...

A scrambler or climber found in sheltered gullies. Heart-shaped peltate leaves that are firm, but not stiff, hairless. Small greenish flowers in spreading axillary compound umbels in summer. Shiny yellow-orange or red drupe fruits, 5 mm wide....

Foliage Medium tree to 6 - 18 m with simple, alternate leaves in pseudo-whorls, 5-12 cm, shiny bright green with long petioles. Deciduous in cooler areas. Requires good drainage and can withstand drought by means of a water conserving root...

A shrub or small tree to 15 m with downwardly arching branches, Whalebone Tree grows in all types of rainforest, particularly along scrubby watercourses. Small male flowers in short spikes, female flowers solitary, September to March. Edible yellow fleshy...

Small tree to 7 m high, with brown scaly bark, new growth pubescent, widespread in warmer rainforest, north from Milton, NSW. Handsome foliage plant for rainforest garden. Beautiful red fruit in spring and summer. Leaves to 30 cm long; leaflets 3 to 11,...

This commonly planted native is known as Scrub Cherry, Brush Cherry, Creek Cherry, Creek Lilly Pilly, and Creek Satinash or just Lilly Ppilly. It is very similar to Syzygium paniculatum which you can tell apart by looking at fresh seed. S. paniculatum is...

  Large shrub or small tree with rough, rusty brown bark in east coast rainforests from north Queensland to southern New South Wales. Syzygium from Greek syzygos, joined, referring to paired leaves and branchlets of a Jamacian species. Oleosum from Latin...

A shrub to 2 m found in Queensland, NSW, Pacific Islands, Melanesia, New Guinea rainforest and fringing forest along watercourses. Milky sap. This plant belongs to the same family as the highly poisonous Oleander and is toxic. Care should be taken. Leaves...

Open shrub to 6 m with hairy stems and yellowish new growth, greyish green foliage and small purple flowers for most of the year followed by slightly curved seed pods. A Fabaceae (or pea) which tolerates full sun in moist soils, and found in drier areas....

Vigorous woody climber (vine) with smooth, shiny leaves, palmately compound; leaflets mostly three. Leaf margins coarsely and regularly toothed. Teeth sometimes reduced to hard points. Brown flowers in dense axillary clusters from August to November. Each...

One of the most recognizable members of the grass family Poaceae in Australia. Also known as T. australis. A tufted perennial to 1.5 m tall and 0.5 m across. Leaves 10-50 cm long and 2-5 mm wide, green to grey drying to an orange brown in summer. Flowers in...

A perennial herb to 30 cm with a tuberous root system and lily-like flowers characterised by distinctive fringed margins. Widespread in grasslands and woodlands in South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Leaves linear to more or less...

Medium to lage deciduous tree to 55 m (though this height now unlikely due to tip moth) in subtropical rainforest and scrubby areas, often bordering rivers and stream banks. A highly-prized cabinet timber rare because of exploitation. During European...

Woody shrub or small tree to 5 m, evergreen, young branches pubescent, useful in revegetation. Produces canopy quickly which can be lifted by trimming the lower branches. Leaves ovate to lanceolate, to 8 cm long, strongly 3-veined from base, main veins...

Compact shrub to crooked tree to 13 m. Bark grey to brownish black, corky, finely fissured to platy. Leaves alternate or in pseudowhorls at end of branches, new growth pink. The leaf blades have 5-7 more or less longitudinal veins, upper surface is glossy...

Tufted, herbaceous plant growing from 5-40 cm high depending on local conditions. Arrow-shaped leaves to 10 cm long from the base. In exposed situations, plants may die down to a perennial root-stock, particularly during a severe winter or drought. Plants...

  Medium tree to 30 m found in dry or subtropical rainforest from Richmond River, NSW to Cape York, North Queensland, and as far west as Bunya Mountains; found locally in the western suburbs of Brisbane and in D'Aguilar National Park. Also occurs in New...

Photo: Robert...

Small tree or shrub, mostly to 1.5 m high widespread common on rocky, dry hillsides and edges of rainforest. Stems hairless (smooth) or sparsely hairy on juveniles and new growth, later smooth and shiny. Leaves to 6 cm, hairless, upper surface dark green and...

Erect robust shrub to 2 m, branches slightly ridged when young, warted, more or less hairless to stellate-tomentose (star hairs) older branches hairless. Widespread on the coast and ranges. Leaves with central leaflet narrow elliptic, oblong or lanceolate,...

Habit Prostrate or decumbent perennial to about 30 cm high widespread in grassland and open forest. Leaves with 2 leaflets; lower leaflets more ovate, upper ones lanceolate to linear. Pea flower, yellow to orange with dark red markings. This could be Z....