Australian National Botanic Gardens
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Australian National Botanic Gardens
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The following summary statistics have been compiled to give an indication of the diversity of the Australian vascular flora. At this stage the figures do not include the bryophytes, the lichens, the lichens and the fungi. It is thought that the species richness figures would more than double if these groups were to be included.
Also check out the size of Australia compared with the USA , East Asia, and Europe.
| Total native species | 15 638 |
| Total naturalised species | 1 952 |
| Total native and naturalised species | 17 590 |
| Presumed extinct | 83 |
It is estimated that the total vascular flora of
Australia, based on the yearly rate of published new species, will be just
over 20,000
(reference 7)
| State/Territory | Native species | Naturalised species | Total species described | % of total described flora | % of total land area |
| New South Wales | 4677 | 1253 | 5930 (6363) | 33.7% | 10.46% |
| Northern Territory | 3293 (3604) | 262 (356) | 3555 (3960) | 20.2% | 17.52% |
| Queensland | 7535 (8106) | 1161 (1165) | 8696 (9271) | 49.4% | 22.48% |
| South Australia | 2748 (2850) | 927 (1230) | 3675 (4080) | 20.9% | 12.81% |
| Tasmania | 1627 (1572) | 570 (717) | 2197 (2289) | 13.0% | 0.88% |
| Victoria | 2773 | 820 | 3593 (4000+) | 20.4% | 2.96% |
| Western Australia | 7463 | 853 | 8316 | 47.3% | 32.87% |
| Total Australia | 15638 | 1952 | 17590 | 100% | 100% |
Light green figures in brackets are updates since 1990 by the various State herbaria (reference 7)
| Native | Naturalised | Total | |
|
New South Wales |
30 % |
64 % |
33 % |
|
Northern Territory |
21 % |
13 % |
20 % |
|
Queensland |
48 % |
59 % |
49 % |
|
South Australia |
18 % |
47 % |
21 % |
|
Tasmania |
10 % |
29 % |
12 % |
|
Victoria |
18 % |
42 % |
20 % |
|
Western Australia |
48 % |
43 % |
47 % |
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| genera | species | genera | species | |
|
Myrtaceae |
70 |
1 646 |
147 |
3 000 |
|
Poaceae |
151 |
1 062 |
670 |
9 000 |
|
Fabaceae |
136 |
1 061 |
500 |
12 000 |
|
Asteraceae |
147 |
940 |
1 100 |
25 000 |
|
Proteaceae |
45 |
842 |
75 |
1 500 |
|
Orchidaceae |
90 |
836 |
600 |
30 000 |
|
Mimosaceae |
17 |
833 |
55 |
3 000 |
|
Cyperaceae |
47 |
650 |
90 |
4 000 |
|
Goodeniaceae |
11 |
366 |
17 |
410 |
|
Rutaceae |
41 |
365 |
150 |
1 800 |
|
Euphorbiaceae |
53 |
362 |
300 |
5 000 |
|
Epacridaceae |
28 |
356 |
31 |
426 |
|
Chenopodiaceae |
31 |
300 |
100 |
1 500 |
| Genus | Number of species | Family |
|
Acacia |
~1000 |
Mimosaceae |
|
Eucalyptus |
~850 |
Myrtaceae |
|
Grevillea |
260 |
Proteaceae |
|
Melaleuca |
176 |
Myrtaceae |
|
Leucopogon |
154 |
Epacridaceae |
|
Stylidium |
154 |
Stylidiaceae |
|
Goodenia |
140 |
Goodeniaceae |
|
Hakea |
134 |
Proteaceae |
|
Eremophila |
134 |
Myoporaceae |
|
Hibbertia |
126 |
Dilleniaceae |
|
Pultenaea |
112 |
Fabaceae |
|
Ptilotus |
100 |
Amaranthaceae |
| Type | Area (sq km) | Percentage |
|
CLOSED FOREST (>70% foliage cover) |
36 000 |
0.4 % |
|
OPEN FOREST (30-70% foliage cover) |
359 000 |
4.6 % |
|
WOODLANDS (10-30% foliage cover) |
1 066 000 |
13.9 % |
|
OPEN WOODLANDS (<10% foliage cover) |
1 985 000 |
25.8 % |
|
TALL SHRUBLANDS (shrubs >2m) |
2 392 000 |
31.1 % |
|
LOW SHRUBLANDS (shrubs <2m) |
484 000 |
6.2 % |
|
HUMMOCK GRASSLAND |
45 000 |
0.6 % |
|
TUFTED GRASSES/GRAMINOIDS |
714 000 |
9.2 % |
|
OTHER HERBACEOUS PLANTS |
495 000 |
6.4 % |
|
LITTORAL COMPLEX |
22 000 |
0.3 % |
|
OTHER |
110 000 |
1.5 % |
See profiles of more vegetation types at NLWRA web site
(1) Anonymous (1990). Atlas of Australian Resources - Vegetation. AUSLIG, Commonwealth of Australia.
(2) Beadle, N C W (1981). The Vegetation of Australia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
(3) Anonymous (1993). Census of Australian Vascular Plants (CAVP) Computer Database (June 1993). IBIS data network, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra.
(4) Hnatiuk, R J (1990) Census of Australian Vasular Plants. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
(5) Leigh, J; & Briggs, J (1992) Threatened Australian Plants - Overview and Case Studies. Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Canberra.
(6) Morley, B D; & Toelken, H R (1983) Flowering Plants in Australia. Rigby, Adelaide.
(7) Orchard, A.E. (ed) (1999) Flora of Australia Vol 1 Introduction 2nd Edition, Australian Biological Resources Study/CSIRO, Canberra.
