Flora and Fauna of Tasmania
Plants
Plants, also called green plants (Viridiplantae in Latin), are living multicellular organisms of the kingdom Plantae. They form a clade that includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts and mosses, as well as, depending on definition, the green algae. Plants exclude the red and brown algae, and some ...more ↓
Sunflower Family
Asteraceae or Compositae (commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, or sunflower family) is an exceedingly large and widespread family of Angiospermae. The group has more than 23,000 currently accepted species, spread across 1,620 genera (list) and 12 subfamilies. In terms of numbers of species, Asteraceae is rivaled only by Orchidaceae. (Which of the two ...more ↓
small-leaf bramble
Rubus parvifolius, native raspberry, or small-leaf bramble, is a scrambling shrub occurring in heathland and eucalyptus woodland native to eastern Australia.
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus /ˌjuːkəˈlɪptəs/ L'Heritier 1789 is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs (including a distinct group with a multiple-stem mallee growth habit) in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more than 700 species of eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small number are found in adjacent areas ...more ↓
Sundews
Drosera, commonly known as the sundews, comprise one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginous glands covering their leaf surfaces. The insects are used to supplement the poor mineral nutrition of the soil in which they grow. Various species, ...more ↓
Jersey cudweed
Helichrysum luteoalbum, commonly known as Jersey Cudweed or Weedy Cudweed, is a cosmopolitan weed.
silver wattle
Acacia dealbata (known as silver wattle or blue wattle) is a species of Acacia, native to southeastern Australia in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory and widely introduced in Mediterranean, warm temperate, and highland tropical landscapes.
Tasmanian blackwood
Acacia melanoxylon, commonly known as the Australian Blackwood, is an Acacia species native in eastern Australia. The species is also known as Sally Wattle, Lightwood, Hickory, Mudgerabah, Tasmanian Blackwood or Black Wattle.
Drosera arcturi
Drosera arcturi is a perennial, insectivorous species of sub-alpine or alpine herb native to Australia and New Zealand. It is one of New Zealand's two alpine species of sundew, the other being Drosera stenopetala.The specific epithet, which translates as "of Arthur" from Latin, is a reference to Mount Arthur, Tasmania, the type locality of the species.
Fork-leaved Sundew
Drosera binata, commonly known as the Fork-leaved sundew, is a large, perennial sundew native to Australia and New Zealand. The specific epithet is Latin for "having pairs" - a reference to the leaves, which are dichotomously divided or forked. This species occurs naturally in Australia, primarily in coastal areas from Fraser Island in Queensland, south down through New ...more ↓
Empodisma minus
Empodisma minus, commonly known as the spreading rope rush, is a herbaceous plant or grass in the family, Restionaceae.
Manuka
Leptospermum scoparium, commonly called mānuka, manuka myrtle,New Zealand teatree,broom teatree, or just tea tree, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, native to New Zealand and southeast Australia.
Tea Trees
Leptospermum /ˌlɛptɵˈspɜrməm/ is a genus of about 80-86 species of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the greatest diversity in the south of the continent; but one species extends to New Zealand, another to Malaysia, and L. recurvum is endemic to Malaysia.
Field woodrush
Luzula campestris is a rush commonly known as field wood-rush, Good Friday grass or sweep's brush.
star acacia
Acacia verticillata (Prickly Moses; Prickly-leaved Wattle; Star-Leaved Acacia; Prickly Mimosa; Whorl-Leaved Acacia) is a perennial shrub to small tree native to Australia and Tasmania. The species is a common understorey shrub in both wet and dry sclerophyll forests as well as scrub and heath. In coastal environments it will often have much ...more ↓
toad rush
Juncus bufonius, known commonly as toad rush, is a common species of rush found worldwide. It grows in moist and muddy places and is considered a weed in many areas. This is an annual monocot that is quite variable in appearance. It is sometimes described as a complex of variants labeled with one species name. It is generally a green clumping grasslike rush with many thin ...more ↓
Water Fern
Azolla filiculoides (Water Fern) is a species of Azolla, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas as well as most of the old world including Asia and Australia.
brass buttons
The small marsh flower Cotula coronopifolia (also spelled C. coronipifolia) bears the common names brass buttons, golden buttons, and buttonweed. The flowers are bright yellow discoid inflorescences that look like thick buttons. Individual plants spread stems along the ground and send up the knobby flowers at intervals. The plant is native to ...more ↓
water chickweed
Montia fontana, commonly known as blinks or water-blinks, water brickweed or annual water miner's lettuce, is a herbaceous annual plant of the genus Montia. It is a common plant that can be found in wet environments across the globe, from the tropics to the Arctic. It is quite variable in morphology, taking a variety of forms. It is sometimes ...more ↓
Common Heath
Epacris impressa, also known as Common Heath, is a shrub that is native to the south-east of Australia. The pink-flowered form, often referred to as Pink Heath, is the floral emblem of the state of Victoria.
lesser hawkbit
Leontodon taraxacoides is a species of hawkbit known by the common name lesser hawkbit. It is native to Europe and North Africa but it can be found in many other places across the globe as an introduced species and often a noxious weed. This is a dandelion-like herb growing patches of many erect, leafless stems from a basal rosette of leaves. Atop the stems are solitary ...more ↓
Hound's Tongue Fern
Microsorum pustulatum (kangaroo fern or hound's tongue, in Māori: kōwaowao, pāraharaha) is a species of fern within the Polypodiaceae family. This species occurs widely in New Zealand and also in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania in Australia. An example occurrence on North Island, New Zealand is in the Hamilton Ecological District ...more ↓
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres tall. They are generally found in a wide variety of landscapes; ...more ↓
biddy-biddy
Acaena novae-zelandiae (bidi-bidi,biddy-biddy, or bidgee-widgee) is an ornamental plant native to New Zealand and Australia. It can also be found elsewhere as an introduced species, and is considered a noxious weed in some areas, such as Hawaii and California. The common name bidi-bidi is a corruption of the Māori name for this plant, piripiri.
maidenhair spleenwort
Asplenium trichomanes (commonly known as maidenhair spleenwort) is a small fern in the spleenwort genus Asplenium. It is a widespread and common species, occurring almost worldwide in a variety of rocky habitats. It is a variable fern with several subspecies.
Manna Gum
Eucalyptus viminalis, Manna Gum, also known as White Gum, Ribbon Gum or Viminalis is an Australian eucalypt.
Geranium potentilloides
Geranium potentilloides is a species of geranium known by the common name cinquefoil geranium. It is native to the eastern half of Australia, where it is widespread, as well as New Zealand, and Indonesia. It is also present in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States, where it is an introduced species. It is a plant of several woodland, grassland, and forest ...more ↓
new zealand or flat-leaved rush
Juncus planifolius is a species of rush, commonly known as grass-leaved rush or broad-leaf rush. It naturally occurs in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and South America.
red-purple ragwort
Senecio elegans is a species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names wild cineraria, purple ragwort, and redpurple ragwort. It is native to southern Africa, and it is cultivated as an ornamental plant for its colorful flowers. It has been known to escape cultivation and become naturalized in areas of appropriate climate; it can be ...more ↓
New Zealand spinach
Tetragonia tetragonioides (or previously T. expansa) is a leafy groundcover also known as New Zealand spinach, Warrigal greens, kōkihi (Māori language), sea spinach, Botany Bay spinach, tetragon and Cook's cabbage. It is native to New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Chile and Argentina.
Waxlip Orchid
Glossodia major, commonly known as the Waxlip Orchid is a small terrestrial orchid, found in eastern Australia. This plant first appeared in scientific literature in 1810, in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae authored by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown.
Australian Indigo
Indigofera australis, known as Australian Indigo, is an attractive species of leguminous shrub in the genus Indigofera (Fabaceae family). The genus name "Indigofera" is Neo-Latin for "bearing Indigo" (Indigo is a purple dye originally obtained from some Indigofera species), while "australis" from the Latin, means "southern", referring to the ...more ↓
Spiny-headed Mat-rush
Lomandra longifolia, commonly known as Spiny-head Mat-rush,Spiky-headed Mat-rush or Basket Grass, is a perennial, rhizomatous herb found throughout eastern Australia. The leaves are 40 cm to 80 cm in long, and generally have a leaf of about 8 mm to 12 mm wide. It grows in a variety of soil types and is frost, heat and drought tolerant. Labillardiere ...more ↓
Pterostylis curta
Pterostylis curta is a species of orchid endemic to New Caledonia and eastern and southeastern Australia. It is the type species of the genus Pterostylis.
Diuris sulphurea
Diuris sulphurea (Tiger Orchid) is a species of orchid which is endemic to Australia. It occurs in South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and the Queensland. It was one of many species first described by the botanist Robert Brown. It has grass-like leaves and yellow flowers with red-brown blotches.
Blackthorn
Bursaria spinosa is a small tree or shrub in the family Pittosporaceae. The species occurs in mainly in the eastern and southern half of Australia and not in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Reaching 10 m (35 ft) high, it bears fragrant white flowers at any time of year but particularly summer. A common understory shrub of eucalyptus woodland, it aggressively ...more ↓
Grasstrees
Xanthorrhoea is a genus of flowering plants native to Australia and a member of family Xanthorrhoeaceae, being the only member of subfamily Xanthorrhoeoideae. The Xanthorrhoeaceae are monocots, part of order Asparagales. There are 28 species and five subspecies of Xanthorrhoea.
Milkmaids
Burchardia umbellata (milkmaids) is a perennial herb native to woodlands and heath of southern Australia. It typically flowers in September, in dry sclerophyll forests.
Myrtle Beech
Nothofagus cunninghamii, the Myrtle Beech, is an evergreen tree native to Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. It grows mainly in the temperate rainforests. It is not related to the Myrtle family.
Button Grass
Gymnoschoenus sphaerocephalus, commonly known as button grass, is a species of tussock-forming sedge from southeastern Australia. It forms part of a unique habitat in Tasmania.
Centaurium spicatum
Schenkia spicata is a species of annual herb in the Gentianaceae family. It has a very wide old world distribution, ranging from north Africa, through Europe and into Asia.
Alpine Coral-fern
Gleichenia alpina, commonly known as Alpine Coral-fern, is a small fern species that occurs in Tasmania and New Zealand.
Oxylobium ellipticum
Oxylobium ellipticum, known as the Common Shaggy-pea is a common small plant in the pea family, found in south-eastern Australia.
King billy pine
Athrotaxis selaginoides is a species of Athrotaxis, endemic to Tasmania in Australia, where it grows at 400–1,120 m altitude. In its habitat in the mountains, snow in winter is very usual. It is often called King Billy Pine or King William Pine (believed to be in reference to the Tasmanian aborigine William Lanne), although it is not a true pine.
Utricularia monanthos
Utricularia dichotoma, commonly known as fairy aprons, is a variable, perennial species of terrestrial bladderwort. The specific epithet is Latin for "dividing into pairs" and refers to the double arrangement of flowers which this species often displays.
Drosera spatulata
Drosera spatulata, the spoon-leaved sundew, is a variable, rosette-forming sundew with spoon-shaped leaves. The specific epithet is Latin for "spatula shaped," a reference to the form of the leaves. This sundew has a large range and occurs naturally throughout Southeast Asia, in southern China and Japan, Micronesia, New Guinea through to the eastern territories of ...more ↓
Drosera pygmaea
Drosera pygmaea is a tiny, carnivorous, rosette-forming biennial or annual herb native to Australia and New Zealand. The specific epithet which translates as "dwarf" from Latin is a reference to the size of this plant which grows to between 8 and 18 mm in diameter.
Allocasuarina verticillata
Allocasuarina verticillata or drooping sheoak is a nitrogen fixing native tree of southeastern Australia. Originally collected in Tasmania and described as Casuarina verticillata by French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in 1786, it was moved to its current genus in 1982 by Australian botanist Lawrie Johnson.
Tasmanian Waratah
Telopea truncata, commonly known as the Tasmanian waratah, is a plant in the Proteaceae family endemic to Tasmania in Australia. It grows as a multistemmed shrub or small tree, with red flower heads, known as inflorescences, appearing over the Tasmanian summer (November to February). Yellow-flowered plants are occasionally seen.
Hen and Chicks Fern
Mother spleenwort, Asplenium bulbiferum, is a fern species native to Australia and New Zealand. It is also called hen and chicken fern and, in the Māori language, pikopiko, mouku or mauku. Its fronds are eaten as a vegetable.
Tasmanian flax-lily
Dianella tasmanica, commonly known as the Tasman Flax-lily or Tasmanian Flax-lily is a herbaceous strappy perennial herb of the family Xanthorrhoeaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, found in southeastern Australia and Tasmania. It has leaves to 80 cm, flower stem to 1.5 m, and the berries are not edible. Blue flowers in spring and summer are followed by violet ...more ↓
Utricularia dichotoma
Utricularia dichotoma, commonly known as fairy aprons, is a variable, perennial species of terrestrial bladderwort. The specific epithet is Latin for "dividing into pairs" and refers to the double arrangement of flowers which this species often displays.
Celery-top Pine
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius (Celery-top pine) is an endemic gymnosperm of Tasmania, Australia. It is found in rainforest as a dominant, in eucalypt forest as an understorey species, and occurs occasionally as a shrub in alpine vegetation. It is confined to areas of high rainfall and low fire frequency.
Shield Sundew
Drosera peltata, commonly called the shield sundew or pale sundew, is a climbing or scrambling perennial tuberous species in the carnivorous plant genus Drosera. Among the tuberous sundews, D. peltata has the largest distribution, which includes eastern and western Australia, New Zealand, India, and most of Southeast Asia including the Philippines. ...more ↓
Shining Tea-tree
Leptospermum nitidum, commonly known as Shining Tea-tree, is a shrub species that is endemic to Tasmania. It grows to about 2 metres high and has narrow leaves that are about 2 cm long. The flowers are white.
Xanthorrhoea australis
Xanthorrhoea australis, the Grass-tree or Black Boy is an Australian plant. It is the most commonly seen species of the genus Xanthorrhoea . Its fire-blackened trunk can grow up to several metres tall and is often branched. In certain Aboriginal languages, it is called 'Bukkup' or 'Kawee'.
Dicksonia
Dicksonia is a genus of tree ferns in the order Cyatheales. It is regarded as related to Cyathea, but is considered more primitive, dating back at least to the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossil record includes stems, pinnules, and spores.
Oyster Bay Pine
Callitris rhomboidea, or Oyster Bay Pine, is a species of conifer in the Cupressaceae family. It is found only in Australia. It is native to South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, and has also naturalised in parts of Victoria and Western Australia.
Purple Dewplant
Disphyma is a monotypic genus of succulent shrubs. Commonly known as Round-leaved Pigface and New Zealand Iceplant it occurs in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Its sole species, Disphyma crassifolium, is divided into two subspecies, D. crassifolium subsp. crassifolium and D. crassifolium subsp. clavellatum.
Silver Banksia
Banksia marginata, commonly known as the Silver Banksia, is a species of tree or woody shrub in the plant genus Banksia found throughout much of southeastern Australia. It ranges from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, to north of Armidale, New South Wales, and across Tasmania and the islands of Bass Strait. It grows in various habitats, including ...more ↓
Podocarpus lawrencei
Podocarpus lawrencei is a species of podocarp native throughout the Australian high country, from southern Tasmania through to the New South Wales highlands. Common names are Errinundra plum-pine and mountain plum-pine (though it is neither a pine nor a plum). It grows on exposed sites to 1,800 m, often forming living carpets over rocks through wind pruning.
Diselma archeri
Diselma archeri (syn. Fitzroya archeri (Hook.f.) Benth. & Hook.) is a species of plant of the family Cupressaceae and the sole species in the genus Diselma. It is endemic to the alpine regions of Tasmania's southwest and Central Highlands, on the western coast ranges and Lake St. Clair, at an altitude ranging from 910-1220 m.
Athrotaxis laxifolia
Athrotaxis laxifolia is a species of Athrotaxis, endemic to Tasmania in Australia, where it grows at 1,000–1,200 m altitude.
Athrotaxis cupressoides
Athrotaxis cupressoides is a species of Athrotaxis, endemic to Tasmania in Australia, where it grows at 700–1,300 m altitude. Its common name is Pencil Pine, although it's not a member of the Pine family.
Selaginella uliginosa
Selaginella uliginosa is a small perennial plant found in Australia. An ancient and primitive plant, usually under 10 centimetres tall, it is often seen in sunny moist areas. The specific epithet uliginosa is from Latin, referring to the plant's preference to grow in swampy locations.
least adder's-tongue
Ophioglossum lusitanicum, the least adder's-tongue, is a small fern of the family Ophioglossaceae. It is categorised as Vulnerable by the IUCN (2001).
Hymenophyllum cupressiforme
Hymenophyllum cupressiforme is a southern hemisphere species of filmy fern. Found in moist sheltered areas, in or near rainforests. Occasionally found in drier protected areas. Leaves one cell thick. A small epiphytic fern found on tree trunks, rocks and fallen logs.
Blechnum wattsii
Blechnum wattsii or the hard water fern is a common fern growing in rainforest and open forest. Often seen near creeks in much of south eastern Australia.
Ehrharta stipoides
Microlaena stipoides or Ehrharta stipoides is a species of grass that occurs naturally in all states of Australia as well as in New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and the Philippines. It has also been introduced into Hawaii and Reunion Island and has been reported as invasive in both. Common names used include weeping grass, weeping rice grass and ...more ↓
Running Postman
Kennedia prostrata, commonly known as Running Postman or Scarlet Runner, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, endemic to Australia.
Caladenia lyallii
Caladenia lyallii, commonly known as Mountain Caladenia, is a species of orchid that is endemic to Australia & New Zealand.
Richea pandanifolia
Richea pandanifolia (Pandani or Giant Grass Tree) is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, endemic to Tasmania.
Man Fern
Dicksonia antarctica (soft tree fern, man fern) is a species of evergreen tree fern native to parts of Australia, namely south-east Queensland, coastal New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania.
Grevillea australis
The Grevillea australis is the only Grevillea to occur naturally in Tasmania. It has several variations in the wild, and is therefore a very variable species.
Pultenaea juniperina
Pultenaea juniperina, or prickly bush-pea, is a plant of the family Fabaceae native to Eastern Australia. It is a shrub to 3 metres sporting showy yellow-orange flowers with red markings. The leaves are 10 – 25 mm long and 1 – 4 mm wide with a pungent leaf apex (stiff pointy tip), hence the use of "Prickly" in the common name. It is widespread and common in heaths, ...more ↓
Stylidium graminifolium
Stylidium graminifolium, the grass triggerplant, is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae). This species used to belong to the Stylidium graminifolium complex, but the name was conserved for this single species when two others were split from the complex and introduced as new species in 2001.S. graminifolium ...more ↓
