Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, and the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a total land area of 2,529,875 square kilometres, and the second-largest country subdivision in the world, surpassed only by Russia's Sakha Republic. The state has about 2.6 million inhabitants – around 11 percent of the national total – of whom the vast majority live in the south-west corner, 79 per cent of the population living in the Perth area, leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated.
![<i>Banksia</i> A diverse genus of exquisitely flowered Australian [[Proteaceae]].](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/Banksia_in_the_Blue_Mountains.jpg/320px-Banksia_in_the_Blue_Mountains.jpg)
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. Banksias range in size from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up to 30 metres tall. They are found in a wide variety of landscapes; sclerophyll forest, (occasionally) rainforest, shrubland, and some more arid landscapes, though not in Australia's deserts.
Eucalyptus marginata, commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with rough, fibrous bark, leaves with a distinct midvein, white flowers and relatively large, more or less spherical fruit. Its hard, dense timber is insect resistant although the tree is susceptible to dieback. The timber has been utilised for cabinet-making, flooring and railway sleepers.
Bunbury is a coastal city in the Australian state of Western Australia, approximately 175 kilometres (109 mi) south of the state capital, Perth. It is the state's third-largest city, with a population just behind that of Mandurah.
Eucalyptus diversicolor, commonly known as the karri, is a eucalypt native to the wetter regions of southwestern Western Australia.
The Wheatbelt is one of nine regions of Western Australia defined as administrative areas for the state's regional development, and a vernacular term for the area converted to agriculture during colonisation. It partially surrounds the Perth metropolitan area, extending north from Perth to the Mid West region, and east to the Goldfields-Esperance region. It is bordered to the south by the South West and Great Southern regions, and to the west by the Indian Ocean, the Perth metropolitan area, and the Peel region. Altogether, it has an area of 154,862 square kilometres (59,793 sq mi).
Eriophyllum, commonly known as the woolly sunflower, is a North American genus of plants in the sunflower family. The genus is native to western North America, with a concentration of narrow endemics in California.
The Ashby's Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in heath and spinifex country along the coast of Western Australia between Geraldton and Exmouth.
Banksia meisneri, commonly known as Meisner's banksia, is a shrub that is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It has crowded, more or less linear leaves and in winter and spring, spikes of golden brown flowers followed by furry fruit which usually only open after fire.
Banksia scabrella, commonly known as the Burma Road banksia, is a species of woody shrub in the genus Banksia. It is classified in the series Abietinae, a group of several species of shrubs with small round or oval inflorescences. It occurs in a number of isolated populations south of Geraldton, Western Australia, with the largest population being south and east of Mount Adams. Found on sandy soils in heathland or shrubland, it grows to 2 m (7 ft) high and 3 m (10 ft) across with fine needle-like leaves. Appearing in spring and summer, the inflorescences are round to oval in shape and tan to cream with purple styles. Banksia scabrella is killed by fire and regenerates by seed.
Banksia tricuspis, commonly known as Lesueur banksia or pine banksia, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a stunted tree or shrub with narrow leaves and cylindrical spikes of golden-coloured flowers and it occurs in a geographic range of just 15 square kilometres near Jurien.
Banksia verticillata, commonly known as granite banksia or Albany banksia, is a species of shrub or (rarely) tree of the genus Banksia in the family Proteaceae. It is native to the southwest of Western Australia and can reach up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. It can grow taller to 5 m (16 ft) in sheltered areas, and much smaller in more exposed areas. This species has elliptic green leaves and large, bright golden yellow inflorescences or flower spikes, appearing in summer and autumn. The New Holland honeyeater is the most prominent pollinator, although several other species of honeyeater, as well as bees, visit the flower spikes.
Banksia violacea, commonly known as violet banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia. It generally grows as a small shrub to 1.5 m (5 ft) high with fine narrow leaves, and is best known for its unusually coloured dark purple-violet inflorescences. The colour of the inflorescences, short leaves, and flattened follicles which are sticky when young, help identify this species from others in the field. It is found in low shrubland in southern regions of Western Australia from Esperance in the east to Narrogin in the west, growing exclusively in sandy soils.
Chamelaucium, also known as waxflower, is a genus of shrubs endemic to south western Western Australia. They belong to the myrtle family Myrtaceae and have flowers similar to those of the tea-trees (Leptospermum). The most well-known species is the Geraldton Wax, Chamelaucium uncinatum, which is cultivated widely for its large attractive flowers.
Eriophyllum confertiflorum, commonly called golden yarrow or yellow yarrow, is a North American species of plants in the sunflower family, native to California and Baja California. It has wooly leaves when young, and yellow flower heads. "Eriophyllum" means "wooly leaved."
Persoonia elliptica, commonly known as snottygobble or spreading snottygobble, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub or small tree with egg-shaped or lance-shaped leaves and groups of cylindrical yellow flowers. It usually grows in woodland or forest dominated by jarrah or marri within 50 km (30 mi) of the coast.
Persoonia falcata, commonly known as the wild pear, is a shrub native to northern Australia.
Persoonia coriacea, commonly known as the leathery-leaf persoonia, is a shrub native to the wheatbelt in Western Australia. First collected by one Max Koch on 30 November 1923, it was described by James W.C. Audas and P.F. Morris in 1928. Within the genus Persoonia, P. coriacea is classified in the lanceolata group, a group of 54 closely related species with similar flowers but very different foliage. These species will often interbreed with each other where two members of the group occur; in the case of this species, it hybridizes with P. helix.
Persoonia sulcata is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, erect or low spreading shrub with narrow, linear leaves and cylindrical yellow flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf axils. It grows in woodland or on rocky slopes and is found in several disjunct populations.
