Western Australian Native Trees and Plants

Plants will be featured on this page as time permits and according to the flowering season of the abundant flora of W.A.

Christmas Tree

West Australian Christmas Tree (Nuytsia floribunda) These trees bloom in Summer - most spectacular around Christmas time or in the first season after a fire.  They are semi- parasites, feeding partly by runners to hosts some distance away and partly by manufacturing their own food by photosyntheses.  They grow to 7m high and the flowers are up to 25cm long.  They are found over a wide area in sand or granitic soil in open forest and woodland.

Grass Tree (Blackboy) (Xanthorrhoea preissii) WA Christmas Tree in background These grass trees are found in great numbers and grow for hundreds of years. They  are found all over the state of WA and in other parts of Australia.  The trunk is full of resin and can explode in a fire.

Fushia Mallee

Fushia Mallee (Eucalyptus Forrestiana) This is a small tree which flowers over the summer months.  The flowers hang in large bunches making it look very decorative.

Illawarra Flame Tree

Illawarra Flame Tree (Brachychiton Acerifolious) The Flame Tree is not a native of Western Australia but is one of the most spectacular Australian native trees.  In summer its flowers are brilliant.  It doesn't always flower - it is only semi-decidious - but when it does it is brilliant. Below is a Jacaranda alongside an Illawarra Flame.

Bell Fruited Mallee (Eucalyptus Preissiana) This tree has large yellow flowers from Spring to Summer.

Bell Fruited Mallee

Illyarrie

Illyarrie or Red Capped Gum (Eucalyptus Erythrocorys)  Is a small tree which blooms in late summ with large scarlet bud caps and bright yellow flowers.  This tree is found all over the coastal areas and is very popular in cultivated gardens.

Grevillea	Grevilleas were named after Charles Greville who was a founder of the Royal Horticultural Society.  There are about 340 species throughout Australia and over half of these are found in Western Australia.  Birds love grevilleas and it is used a lot in gardens as well as found in the wild.

Rose Gum (Eucalyptus Leucoxylon var. Rosea) This is a lovely bushy small tree which gets covered with rose coloured flowers.  One of the photos of the willie wagtail was taken in this tree near the wetlands.

Rose Gum

Paperbark (trunk above and  flower below)

Paperbark (Melaleuca rhaphiophylla) This tree is found near swamplands and can survive for long period of being under water.  People use the bark from these trees to line wire plant hangers.  The bark is also used to make bark 'paintings'.  At Westfield Park Primary School we have many of these in the school grounds.

Bottlebrush (Callistemon) These plants grow almost everywhere and can range in colour from white - pink - red.  They attract the birds and can be trees or shrubs.

Bottlebrush

Banksia	Banksia (Banksia) The banksia was named after Sir Joseph Banks in 1782 who collected the first plant at Botany Bay in 1770.  There are 76 species in Australia and 59 of these are found in the south west of Western Australia.  They can range in size from trees to ground cover shrubs.  They flower Summer, Autumn and Winter.  Sometimes they need a fire to release the seed.
The Banksia flowers look like candles on trees.

Pincushion Hakea (Hakea laurina) Hakeas belong to the Proteaceae family.  There are about 100 different varieties in Australia (most in W.A.)  The Pincushion Hakea starts its flower as a small round yellow/cream ball (as seen left).  These spikes then open out and you get the effect of a pin cushion.  Lastly the yellow falls off and the pink/red inside opens out.  It blooms from Autumn through Winter and likes our sunny climate.

Pincushion Hakea

Gungurru (Eucalyptus caesia) The Eucalyptus caesia gungurru has an upright habit.  This particular tree is the Silver Princess, which has long weeping branches with bunches of large pink flowers, silvery branches and powdery gumnuts.  It flowers from Autumn right through Winter.  It is one of the most beautiful of our Western Australian flowering trees.

Gungurru

Geraldton Wax

Geraldton Wax (Chamelaucium uncinatum) The Geraldton Wax is a medium shrub which grows to about 4 metres high.  The colours range from white to deep red.  It is grown every where in gardens and along roadsides.  People use it a lot in flower arrangements. Geraldton Wax grows from Geraldton in the mid-coastal area of Western Australia to the south of Perth.

Red Pokers

Red Pokers (Hakea bucculenta) This Hakea is a small tree found growing in sand, often along roadsides. It grows in the same areas as the Geraldton Wax.  The flowers are up to 15cm long and start as yellow then turn to red.

	Red Flowering Gum  (Corymbia ficifolia - formerly Eucalyptus ficifolia) This gum grows best in heavy soils but is found almost everywhere.  They flowers vary from white to red.  It is a popular street and garden tree.
Red Flowering Gum

Mottlecah or Rose of The West (Eucalyptus macrocarpa (rhodantha)) The Rose of The West is becoming very rare in the wild because of land clearing. It is a low, sprawling tree with silvery leaves which are large and powdery.  The flowers measure 8-12cm (3-4 inches) across.  The flowers unfold from their silver caps with a yellow 'bobble' anther at the end of each thin red filament.

Rose of the West

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