Australia is a large continent covered by many different climatic regions. Arid and semiarid regions in inland Australia cover the largest part – two thirds of the continent. Northern Australia lies in tropics and eastern coast is in temperate climate. Southern Australia has got Mediterranean climate, and in inland Victoria and Tasmania there are alpine regions. Here is some information about the plants of these areas.
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Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Australian Plant Life in Arid and Semiarid Regions Australian conitient is very dry and large parts, up to 70% of it regularly suffer from droughts. While in northern and eastern parts of Australia the climate is quite moist, in the inland and western parts of the continent huge areas are covered by deserts and semiarid savannah grasslands. Certain Australian plants are adapted to these areas. In the really arid areas there are Mulgas (Acacia aneuora), mallees (multistemmed eucalypts), desert wildflowers and hummock grasses (Spinifex). In the semiarid areas are open woodlands with eucalypts, acacias, paperbarks and she-oaks, and grasslands with Mitchell grass and blue grass.
Spinifex grassland. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Australian Plant Life in Tropical Regions Northern Australia lies in tropics and is affected by monsoonal rains and tropical cyclones. The rains make the area wet enough for tropical rainforests to grow in patches in northern Queensland and the Top End of Northern Territory. Tropical rainforest plants include evergreen, broad-leaved, up to 60m-tall trees, vines, epiphytes, ferns and orchids. Because the thick tree canopy stops the light to reach the rainforest ground, the undergrowth is minimal and most tropical rainforest plants climb up to reach the light. Tropical rainforests are one of the most species-rich ecosystems on the Earth. Australian rainforests for example support 60% of the country’s bat species and the greatest concentration of primitive flowering plants in the world.
Tropical rainforest. Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Tropical Woodlands and Savannah Grasslands But the largest part of the tropical regions is covered by tropical woodlands and savannah grasslands. While Eucalypts don’t grow in tropical rainforests, in tropical woodlands they are the dominant trees, and Paperbarks are particularly common in the Gulf Savannah area in inland northern Queensland. In the inland tropics, savannah grasslands take over.
Eucalyptus woodland. Courtesy of Tourism Northern Territory
Australian Plant Life in Temperate Regions Australian Plant Life in temperate regions varies widely depending on soil, rainfall, sun and winds. The eastern and south-eastern parts of Australia are covered by eucalyptus forests, while inland from the Great Dividing Range the climate becomes drier and woodlands and grasslands take over. South western WA is known for its sclerophyll forests with the endemic karri and jarrah trees; and the massive amount of different wildflowers (10,000 species, 70% endemic). Most of the temperate zones are dominated by eucalyptus trees, casuarinas (she-oaks), acacias, and flowering plants such as waratahs, banksias and bottle brush plants.
Temperate Rainforest Plants Not all rainforests are tropical. In the areas in southern parts of Australia where it rains enough for rainforests to grow, there are temperate rainforests. They are found in places in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and western Tasmania. Temperate rainforests plants include different types of ferns, beech, celery-top pine, sassafras and Huon Pine.
Alpine Vegetation In a country dominated by vast deserts and hot climate, alpine areas are very rare but they do exist in the high altitudes in eastern Victoria and Tasmania. Here, the combination of southern latitudes and high altitudes creates the coldest climate in Australia, where it snow during the winter. The alpine vegetation is interesting in that it changes with altitude. On lower slopes snow gums dominate, while higher up dwarf plants take over. Highest up, above the tree line where it gets too cold for trees to grow, mosses and low grasses take over. The alpine areas are also known for beautiful wildflower displays during spring and summer months.
Coastal Swamps – Mangrove Communities Mangrove communities may look less attractive than many other ecosystems, but they are one of the most important and interesting plant communities on the Earth. Many of them were cleared in the early days and turned into sandy beaches, before we started to understand them.
Mangrove communities are complex ecosystems that support a huge amount of animal species from tiny crabs, oysters, fish and snakes to large crocodiles and everything between. With their thick root systems, which are an adaption to the tidal waters, they work as a filter between the coast and the ocean; their root systems protect many animal species; and are an important prevention for erosion of the coast line. There are many different species of mangroves on the tidal coasts in Australia, like Grey mangrove, Red Mangrove tree, Black and Yellow mangroves.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
