Australian_Geographic_-_February_2016_

January. February 31

nature watch

RED AND GREEN

KANGAROO

PAW

Anigozanthos manglesii

Kangaroo paws are

restricted to WA’s

south-west, and are

found nowhere else

in the world. These

strap-leaved plants

produce bright red

flower stalks that grow

to about 1m and bear

vivid green flowers. The

stems and bases of

the flowers are covered

in hairs. When mature,

the flowers split open

to reveal their smooth,

pale green interiors.

TASMANIAN
BLUE GUM
Eucalyptus globulus

This large, straight-
trunked tree grows to
about 70m tall in open
forests in south-eastern
Tasmania, on Bass Strait
islands and in parts of
southern Victoria. Its
common name comes
from the waxy blue-
green colour of its
juvenile leaves. The
plant’s cream-coloured
flowers are a good
source of nectar for
bees and the resultant
honey is dense and
strongly flavoured.

STURT’S DESERT

ROSE

Gossypium sturtianum

Closely related to

species of commercial

cotton, this is not a rose

at all. It’s a drought-

tolerant shrub that is

found on rocky slopes

and in dry creek beds

throughout Central

Australia, and produces

pretty mauve- and

lilac-coloured flowers

with red centres.

The five-petalled flower

is depicted on the NT’s

flag with seven petals,

representing Australia’s

six states and the NT.

COOKTOWN

ORCHID

Dendrobium bigibbum

This orchid was selected

during Queensland’s cen-

tenary celebrations in

1959 as the state’s floral

emblem. An epiphyte

that grows on the trunks

of large trees, its natural

range is restricted to the

Cape York Peninsula in

the far north, where it

flowers for six weeks in

autumn and winter. It’s

widely cultivated and

exported commercially,

but protected wild

specimens are threat-

ened by illegal collecting.

TASMANIA QUEENSLAND

NORTHERN

TERRITORY WESTERN AUSTRALIA