Table Of ContentDid you know that there are plants that eat
insects? Plants whose seeds spread in poo?
Plants that move when you touch them?
And plants that grow on other plants?
Plantastic! presents 26 of Australia’s most unique
and incredible native plants. Discover and identify
native plants found in your local park, bushland,
or even in your very own backyard.
With its perfect balance of fun facts, activities,
adventurous ideas and gorgeous illustrations,
Plantastic! will prove just how fantastic Australia’s
native plants really are!
Catherine Clowes is a botanist Rachel Gyan is an illustrator
and a teacher with a passion for passionate about artful storytelling.
Australian native plants. She works Her heart-warming characters are
as a field botanist, is completing a empowered by whimsy, texture
PhD in botany and loves teaching and vibrant colour palettes. Rachel
students about the wonders of the enjoys studying Australian flora
plant world. Catherine wrote this and wildlife, drawing inspiration
book for her two kids, and she is from her surroundings to capture
excited to be able to share it with the beautiful and quirky nature of
other young explorers too! Australia in her work.
CHILDREN’S NON-FICTION
Text: © Catherine Clowes 2021
Illustrations: © Rachel Gyan 2021
All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian
Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO Publishing for all
permission requests.
The author and illustrator assert their moral rights, including the right to be
identified as a creator.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.
ISBN: 9781486313211 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781486313228 (epdf)
Published by:
CSIRO Publishing
Locked Bag 10
Clayton South VIC 3169
Australia
Telephone: +61 3 9545 8400
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.publish.csiro.au
Edited by Nan McNab
Cover, text design and layout by Rachel Gyan
Printed in China by Leo Paper Products Ltd
The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and illustrator and do not
necessarily represent those of, and should not be attributed to, the publisher or CSIRO.
Acknowledgement
CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands that we live and work on
across Australia and pays its respect to Elders past and present. CSIRO recognises
that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made and will continue to
make extraordinary contributions to all aspects of Australian life including culture,
economy and science. CSIRO is committed to reconciliation and demonstrating
respect for Indigenous knowledge and science. The use of Western science in this
publication should not be interpreted as diminishing the knowledge of plants,
animals and environment from Indigenous ecological knowledge systems.
Note for readers: Scientific terms are explained in the glossary at the end of the book.
Australia is an amazing place, with many unique animals and plants.
I bet you already know a lot about Australian native animals, and
you’ve probably read lots of great books about them. But do you know
much about Australian native plants? Do you know that there are some
Australian native plants that trap and eat insects? And others with
seeds that are spread around in poo? Do you know that there are some
Australian native plants that grow on other Australian native plants? If
you don’t know much about Australian native plants, don’t worry; once
you’ve read this book, you’ll know heaps!
You are about to embark on a Plantastic journey exploring 26
amazing Australian native plants! You’ll discover Plantastic Facts about
plants you may have heard of, like Banksia and Quandong, and some
that might be completely new to you, like Noon-flower and Pussy Tail.
You’ll explore the wonder of plants, like what fruits are, how plants get
food and what the different parts of flowers do. This book is packed full
of Plantastic pictures, and it also includes a map to help you find your
favourite plants in the bush! By the time you finish reading this book
you’ll be an Australian native plant-spert!
Australia’s amazing
J – Jasmine (Native) U – Utricularia
native plants
How to use
K – Kangaroo Paw V – Violet (Shrub)
this book
A – Acacia L – Lilly Pilly W – Wollemi Pine
B – Banksia M – Mistletoe X – Xanthorrhoea
C – Christmas Bush N – Noon-flower Y – Yam Daisy
D – Drosera O – Orchid Z – Zieria
Map/Where to
E – Emu Bush P – Pussy Tail
find the plants
F – Fan Palm Q – Quandong Plant ecoregions
G – Gum Tree R – Rice Flower Glossary
H – Hibiscus S – Stylidium Acknowledgements
I – Indigo T – Tree Fern
You can read this book in different ways. You might want to enjoy the
illustrations and discover what the plants look like. You may just read the
first line of our A–Z collection (A – Acacia, B – Banksia). Or you can check
out the Plantastic fact – one quick cool fact about every plant. If you feel
like exploring, you can dip into the Plantastic Activity to find out something
interesting about the plants, then look out for them in your local bushland,
park or garden. Or read the whole book from cover to cover!
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The pictures will help you recognise the plants. The generally you can’t pick plants unless you have a
ones you find in your local area may look slightly government permit. And if the plant is rare, then picking
different. For example, they may have different- a flower or two might mean it doesn’t reproduce, or
coloured flowers or slightly different-shaped fruit or that others don’t get the chance to see it flowering. A
leaves. But if you find a plant that generally looks the good motto to remember when in the bush is ‘take only
same as a picture in this book then you’ve probably pictures, leave only footprints’.
found a species of that plant. Well done!
But… if you find plants in a park, or a friend’s garden
The map at the back of the book will help you work or growing in the street, you probably don’t have to
out which plants you are most likely to find in your part be quite as strict. Check with the owner first. They may
of Australia. There are plants in this book found from not mind if you pick a little bit of the plant for a closer
deserts to mountains and everywhere in between. So look. They might even encourage your interest and
use the map to work out which plants may be growing may tell you all about their plants! You could press your
near you. Even if you live in a city with no bush around, specimens and make a little home herbarium. Place
don’t worry! Many of these plants are grown in parks them between clean sheets of newspaper under a
and gardens. So wherever you are in Australia, you heavy book for a few days. Or you could collect a few
should be able to find at least one plant from this book, seeds and see if you can grow the plant at home.
and probably more.
There are quite a few plants mentioned in this book
Wow, that really is Plantastic! that are edible, but it’s best not to try eating any of
them! That’s because some plants that aren’t edible
A few important things to note before you start this look a lot like plants that are. You need to know for sure
Plantastic adventure: you have the right plant and not one that looks similar.
So, to keep you safe, please don’t eat any plant you
When you’re out in the bush looking at all the amazing
find, just in case!
Australian native plants, stick to paths and avoid going
off track. That way you won’t accidentally squish any of And that’s it.
the lovely plants you’re out looking for. Sticking to tracks
also helps prevent the spread of things like Cinnamon
Fungus, which kills a lot of Australian native plants (for
details flip to ‘B – Banksia’).
Please check before you pick any plants! It might be
tempting to take a flower or two home, but if you’re
on public land, such as a national or state park, then
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Common name: Wattle
Most Acacia have yellow flowers but
there are a few exceptions. One is
a cultivated Acacia called Scarlet
Blaze with red flowers (grown from
an unusual form of Acacia leprosa).
Another is a very rare species of
Acacia called Purple Wattle (Acacia
purpureopetala) that has – you
guessed it – purple flowers.
8
The ‘leaves’ of many Acacia are really leaf
stalks. They have flattened out to look
and function like leaves. These flattened
stalks have a special name: phyllodes.
Phyllodes come in all different shapes
and sizes: spiky, stem-hugging, big and
round … some are even sticky to touch.
But why would a plant have phyllodes
instead of leaves? One reason is because
phyllodes are very good at conserving water, which
helps Acacia grow in areas that are very dry. Leaves
lose water from their surface through little holes called
stomata. Phyllodes generally have fewer stomata on
their surface, so they lose less water less quickly.
The seedlings of some Acacia species grow true
leaves first, then start growing phyllodes instead. You
can sometimes find seedlings with both true leaves
and phyllodes. The true leaves of Acacia look a bit
like the leaves on the ‘I – Indigo’ page.
Acacia have very distinct flowers that are almost
always yellow, a bit like fluffy balls or pipe-cleaners.
These flowers aren’t one single flower, but lots of
tiny little flowers bunched together. When flowers
are bunched together like this, the bunch is called
an inflorescence. Lots of Australian native plants
have inflorescences, such as Banksia, Pussy Tail, Yam
Daisy and Xanthorrhoea, all included in this book.
Next time you find an Acacia, have a look around
and see if you can find any seedlings growing
under it or nearby. Look at the leaves. Can you find
seedlings that have true leaves and leaf stalks
developing into phyllodes?
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