During its first few decades, this tree is the runt of the rainforest. And then it starts its growth spurt, and can go on to live for millennia.
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Articles on Native plants
Displaying 41 - 60 of 61 articles
Firewood banksia don’t just survive in Western Australia’s sandy plains, they thrive, showing off with vibrant, pink-red flower spikes.
This native succulent is a tasty bush food.
This retiring violet tucked away in the Australian bush holds the key to future generations of medically-engineered plants.
Native cherries are everywhere, but we know surprisingly little about them.
Australia is the world centre for sexual deception in plants, tricking wasps along the way.
Spinifex grass is a (slightly ugly) Aussie battler that keeps on giving.
European settlers suspected Australia’s high tropical forests hid native rhododendrons.
Scientists are racing against the clock to figure out how to propagate the rare leek orchid before it goes extinct.
Black wattle is part of Australia’s iconic acacia family, but it’s largely regarded as a pest overseas. But this fast-growing plant is a boon to gardeners, improving soil and sheltering other plants.
Grass trees are wonderfully odd. They fit no neat definition, and can live up to 600 years.
Only when flowering is Pilostyles visible externally, the flowers erupting from the stems of its host like a weird botanical Alien.
Sandpaper figs are the swiss army knife of Australian flora.
The Bunya pine is a unique and majestic Australian tree that commands respect.
We’re in the middle of an Insectageddon. But a garden of native plants can help insects, as well as birds and other wildlife.
The globe is greening as plants grow faster in response to rising carbon dioxide. But a new analysis shows they aren’t using more water to do it - a rare piece of good news for our changing planet.
Most of the earthworms in the US Northeast and upper Midwest are nonnative species. Scientists are finding increasing evidence that invasive worms and invasive plants may help each other.
American ginseng, a slow-growing native plant long used in traditional medicine, was abundant in colonial times. Now illegal harvesting and other stresses are pushing it close to extinction.
Some Australian birds are pushing out other species, and even damaging trees. The good news is we can help stop the spread of these birds, by putting native plants in our gardens.
Australia’s risks losing its valuable native plants that could help solve a global food problem. So do we need new laws to stop the seeds being taken overseas?
Top contributors
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Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne
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Assistant Professor of Biology, Baldwin Wallace University
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John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Curtin University
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Associate Professor, University of Southern Queensland
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Research Fellow, Curtin University
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Adjunct Associate Professor, Murdoch University
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Senior Lecturer Above the Bar, University of Canterbury
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Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Environment; Executive Director, Global Carbon Project, CSIRO
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Future Fire Risk Analyst, The University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor in Environmental Science, Western Sydney University
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Research botanist at the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia/Environment Institute, University of Adelaide
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Adjunct Assoc. Professor, The University of Western Australia
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Associate Professor, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney
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Senior research fellow, Western Sydney University
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Lecturer in Natural History, La Trobe University
