Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research

Australian Flora and Vegetation Statistics

Vascular Flora of Australia (references: 4 + 5)

Total native species	15 638
Total naturalised species	1 952
Total native and naturalised species	17 590
Presumed extinct	83

Species of Vascular Flora for each Australian State (reference: 4)

	Native	Naturalised	Total
New South Wales	4 677	1 253	5 930
Northern Territory	3 293	262	3 555
Queensland	7 535	1 161	8 696
South Australia	2 748	927	3 657
Tasmania	1 627	570	2 197
Victoria	2 773	820	3 593
Western Australia	7 463	853	8 316

Percentage of Total Flora Occurring in Each State (reference: 4)

	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 %

Largest Plant Families (>300 species) in Australia
[Australian figures refer to native species] (references: 2, 3, 4 + 6)

	Australia		World
	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

Largest Genera (>100 species) in Australia
[native species only] (references: 2 + 3)

Genus	Number of species	Family
*Acacia*	772	Mimosaceae
*Eucalyptus*	569	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

Present Structural Vegetation Types of Australia (reference: 1)

Type	Area (sq km)	Percentage
CLOSED FOREST (>70% foliage cover) (rainforest etc.)	36 000	0.4 %
OPEN FOREST (30-70% foliage cover) (mostly eucalypt forest)	359 000	4.6 %
WOODLANDS (10-30% foliage cover) (mostly eucalypt and acacia)	1 066 000	13.9 %
OPEN WOODLANDS (<10% foliage cover) (eucalypt, acacia + cleared grazing land)	1 985 000	25.8 %
TALL SHRUBLANDS (shrubs >2m) (mallee, mulga, arid acacias)	2 392 000	31.1 %
LOW SHRUBLANDS (shrubs <2m) (heath, arid chenopods, alpine)	484 000	6.2 %
HUMMOCK GRASSLAND (spinifex 'grass steppe')	45 000	0.6 %
TUFTED GRASSES/GRAMINOIDS (Mitchell grass etc)	714 000	9.2 %
OTHER HERBACEOUS PLANTS (mostly pastures)	495 000	6.4 %
LITTORAL COMPLEX (mangroves etc)	22 000	0.3 %
OTHER (urban, intensive cropping, no veg, etc)	110 000	1.5 %

References

(1) 'Atlas of Australian Resources - Vegetation' (1990) AUSLIG, Commonwealth of Australia.

(2) Beadle, N C W (1981) 'The Vegetation of Australia', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

(3) 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', ANPWS, Canberra.

(6) Morley, B D; & Toelken, H R (1983) 'Flowering Plants in Australia', Rigby, Adelaide.

Statistics assembled by Murray Fagg (anbg-info@anbg.gov.au),
Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra.

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Updated 11 March, 2002 by Andrew Lyne

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