This is a work in progress. Some species are incomplete and will be updated over time.
The vegetation of the Northern Tablelands includes eucalypt forests and woodlands, natural and derived grasslands, rainforests, heaths and wetlands. Within these communities there are 2725 plant species, including 2196 endemic natives, 11 non-endemic natives and 516 exotic species (Plant Net). The endemic natives include 188 threatened species. These species include most plant forms: trees, shrubs, grasses, forbs, vines, etc.
This page connects you with information to help you identify, manage and use some of these native plants. Land managers need to be able to identify native plants for many reasons:
- To better understand their uses such as grazing value, timber, fodder, food, flowers, etc,
- To be able to gain more information about the plants,
- To distinguish threatened species and communities,
- To distinguish weeds or plants with detrimental characteristics,
- To identify habitat values,
- For interest sake.
How to use this page
This page provides information sheets that you can view or print. You can search or browse for a species from the list available. We have started with 220 of the more common species and we will add to these over time. You can print either a “Field Guide” or a “Seed Guide” .
Field Guide
These sheets give you a description of the plant, where it occurs, its preferred environment and what it is used for.
Seed Guide
These sheets are designed for people wanting more information about seed collection, seed storage and germination.
Understanding the information sheets
Small numbers in brackets next to text shows the source of the information. To see the reference list click here.
Growth form
This describes the form, height and width of the plant on the New England Tablelands. The plant may be larger or smaller in other areas.
Drought and frost tolerance
How well the plant tolerates frost or drought on the New England Tablelands. We have more severe frosts than many other areas but less severe droughts than some areas.
Suitability for planting
Some species are better suited for farm planting than others because of size, ability to cope with tough environments and ability to compete with weeds.
Species suitable for direct seeding have larger seeds, rapid growth and are large plants.
Distribution map
The distribution map shows the boundary of the New England Tablelands bioregion, with points showing locations where this plant has been collected and stored in a herbarium. Data obtained from the Atlas of Living Australia (www.ala.org.au). It does not mean that the species only occurs where the points are.
This map shows the main towns and roads in the NET bioregion as they relate to the distribution maps.
Acknowledgements
Plants of the New England Tablelands has been compiled by David Carr and other volunteers from the Armidale Tree Group. We acknowledge the information sources from which much of the data has been drawn (see references).
The database and web page was funded by Northern Tablelands Local Land Services through their Small Grants Program. The database and web page were built by Michael Luchich of Alternation.