Native plants
From delicate ferns and exquisite orchids to flowering shrubs, towering rainforest trees and arid zone flora, Queensland has the greatest variety of native plant groups in Australia.
More than 8000 species of flowering plants, gymnosperms and ferns - almost 40 percent of all Australian plant species - are native to Queensland. Many are endemic - found nowhere else in the world.
Unlike native animals, many native plants are unfamiliar. So the plight of our native plants does not attract the same attention in the community. Yet many native animals depend on native plants for food and shelter.
The Queensland Herbarium is the hub of research and information about Queensland's plants and plant communities. Their research and mapping program will greatly extend our knowledge of Queensland's plants.
Our native plants can be protected in many ways. National parks and other protected areas protect examples of the state's major plant communities. A permit system controls human activities such as harvesting.
The department is developing strategies to ensure the survival of all Queensland native plants, especially rare and threatened species.
Last updated: 28 November 2003