Plant Finder

Semi-evergreen upright to open shrub (2.5m x 2m). Hybrid between V. carlesii and V.utile both from Asia. Glossy deep green leaves with serrate margins. Ball shaped clusters of small perfumed flowers pink in bud opening white in spring. Useful for a shrub border or informal hedge particularly for its perfumed flower. Several good cultivars available. Frost tolerant but flowers damaged by late frosts. Flowers well in full sun and partial shade.

Native to arid and semi-arid Australia this rounded green shrub grows to 1.5m and has cheerful yellow flowers from late winter to spring. Also called the blunt leaf senna it has a broader leaf than the sturtii

This is an excellent long-lived ground-cover to 1.5m. It has a small leaf and requires some maintenance to keep form. It produces grey-green foliage in the dry parts of all states. This plant is fire retardant.

A small feature or infill tree, particularly below a large tree canopy. Glossy green leaves and bright red berries in fire resistant, frequently used in Brisbane much larger. This plant is not drought resistant. An evergreen tree with a dense, rounded crown of weeping, glossy, dark green foliage. Produces showy sprays of white, fluffy flowers in spring. Prefers moist, well drained soil in a sunny to partly shaded position, and tolerates frost when established. Prune after flowering to maintain compact growth.

It is a beautiful small tree, to 9 m tall, with large, dark green leaves and pale to bright yellow flowers massed in large, cylindrical spikes. Plants flower though summer and autumn and into winter. Cones are grey and covered with the short remains of the flowers. Will grow on a variety of soils including sandy loam, clay loam, shale, peaty loam, volcanic and rocky soils such as sandstone, quartzite, granite and limestone. Frost and fire resistant and fast growing compared to other banksias. Tolerant of some short term waterlogging and will grow in heavy clay and moderately alkaline or sandy soils.

Native to arid Australia, a large tree growing to 12m with soft drooping green foliage growing to the ground. Useful as a feature tree or as a screen. The juvenile form shown is a vertical spike which fills out as a mature tree.

Native to arid and semi arid regions of Australia, this shrub grows to 1m across the majority of inland Australia. Fine hairs cover the leaves and red edible berries appear in spring after flowering. It is a very tough plant.

Native to central Australia, this is the Ghost Gum of Albert Namatjira fame and is a fine landscape feature. Up to 18m high, but often smaller, with powdery white bark and bunched, hanging, foliage and cream flowers. This tree favours sandy soils near rocky ridges and dry creekbeds, not heavier clay soils.

One of the most beautiful of the gum trees, Regularly described as one of the most famous trees in Melbourne, on the roundabout on College Crescent north of Melbourne university

A native shrub or small tree from semi arid areas, generally grown as an ornamental, bushy shrub or tree 3-10m tall. It has rough grey bark, long weeping branches and leaves and often grows along watercourses.

This plant is native to arid areas in non-spinifex habitats. These bushy trees grow up to 7m and provide good foliage, shade, and body to a garden. They have blue green leaves and white to cream flowers. Prone to frost damage when young

While the term 'Mulga' describes a group of related shrub and woodland plants the mulga tree is a dominant element. Mulga occupies much of inland australia occurring on red earths in grove formations. Mulga forms a bushy shrub 3-5m high with long thin leaves. Mulga seed is a bushfood, the timber has aboriginal uses for shields, digging sticks and firewood and it is a valuable fodder tree.

Native to arid areas this decorative ground-cover grows to 20cm high and has silver grey leaves and purple flowers. The fruits are a bushfood and the roots are baked and used for aboriginal toothaches. The quite similar Solanum quadriloculatum has poisonous fruit.

Sturt's Desert Pea provides spectacular ground-cover to 20cm with its pretty leaf form and masses of large red pea flowers with a black centre. Native to arid areas it is found on red loam or sandy soils. This is the South Australian floral emblem.

Native to arid areas. A low shrub to 2m it has a small dark green leaf and large papery lilac flowers. It is naturally found in gravelly or sandy soils near streams and needs cultivation to maintain a dense form. This is the floral emblem of the Northern Territory.

This tree is native to arid areas. It is a good windbreak as a bushy shrub or multi-trunked tree. It features pointy leaves and attractive yellow globular flowers and the traditional melaleuca papery bark. This plant is a food source and nesting site for birds.

This straw-like tussock grass is native to arid areas of Australia and grows up to 1m in height. Distinct from Cymbopogon citreus (Asian Lemon Grass), this plant also has scented foliage but is more useful as a landscape plant for low water use settings.

This scrambling vine is native to arid areas. It has large green ribbed leaves and pretty pink flowers. It is related to the sweet potato and is an important aboriginal food.

As the name suggests, this plant is native to arid areas. It has long fine leaves and produces attractive small red fruit. Quandongs are a native food plant and the fruit can be boiled for making jams.

This shade tolerant pretty shrub grows to 1m. It is native to arid areas and has dark green leaves and purple flowers. Many Eremophilas come from areas in Australia with less than 150mm annual rain. In most areas they can be established and never watered again.