Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
Juncaceae is a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the rush family. It consists of 8 genera and about 464 known species of slow-growing, rhizomatous, herbaceous monocotyledonous plants that may superficially resemble grasses and sedges. They often grow on infertile soils in a wide range of moisture conditions. The best-known and largest genus is Juncus. Most of the Juncus species grow exclusively in wetland habitats. A few rushes, such as Juncus bufonius are annuals, but most are perennials.
Chenopodium album is a fast-growing weedy annual plant in the genus Chenopodium. Though cultivated in some regions, the plant is elsewhere considered a weed. Common names include lamb's quarters, melde, goosefoot, wild spinach and fat-hen, though the latter two are also applied to other species of the genus Chenopodium, for which reason it is often distinguished as white goosefoot. Chenopodium album is extensively cultivated and consumed in Northern India, Nepal, and Pakistan as a food crop known as bathua.
Chlorophytum comosum, usually called spider plant or common spider plant due to its spider-like look, also known as spider ivy, ribbon plant, and hen and chickens is a species of evergreen perennial flowering plant of the family Asparagaceae. It is native to tropical and Southern Africa but has become naturalized in other parts of the world, including Western Australia and Bangladesh. Chlorophytum comosum is easy to grow as a houseplant because of its resilience, but it can be sensitive to the fluoride in tap water, which commonly gives it "burnt tips". Variegated forms are the most popular.
Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet banksia, waratah banksia or Albany banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Its distribution in the wild is along the south west coast of Western Australia, from Denmark to the Stokes National Park, and north to the Stirling Range, growing on white or grey sand in shrubland, heath or open woodland. Reaching up to 8 m (26 ft) in height, it is a single-stemmed plant that has oblong leaves, which are 3–9 cm (1.2–3.5 in) long and 2–7 cm (0.8–2.8 in) wide. The prominent red and white flower spikes appear mainly in the spring. As they age they develop small follicles that store seeds until opened by fire. Though widely occurring, it is highly sensitive to dieback and large populations of plants have succumbed to the disease.
Xerochrysum bracteatum, commonly known as the golden everlasting or strawflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to Australia. Described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in 1803, it was known as Helichrysum bracteatum for many years before being transferred to a new genus Xerochrysum in 1990. It is an annual up to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall with green or grey leafy foliage. Golden yellow or white flower heads are produced from spring to autumn; their distinctive feature is the papery bracts that resemble petals. The species is widespread, growing in a variety of habitats across the country, from rainforest margins to deserts and subalpine areas. The golden everlasting serves as food for various larvae of lepidopterans, and adult butterflies, hoverflies, native bees, small beetles, and grasshoppers visit the flower heads.
Ripogonum is a genus of flowering plants confined to eastern Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea. Until recently this genus was included in the family Smilacaceae, and earlier in the family Liliaceae, but it has now been separated as its own family Ripogonaceae.
Banksia grossa is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Southwest Australia. It is one of fourteen species of banksia of the series Abietinae, all of which bear predominantly cylindrical or oval inflorescences. Collected in 1965, it was first formally described in 1981 by Alex George. Its thick leaves and large seeds distinguish it from other members of the Abietinae, and are the basis of its species name.
Galium album, the white bedstraw or hedge bedstraw, is a herbaceous annual plant of the family Rubiaceae.
Utricularia dichotoma, commonly known as fairy aprons, is a variable, perennial species of terrestrial bladderwort. It is a widespread species with mauve or purple fan-shaped flowers on a slender stalk and usually grows in wet locations.
Leptospermum laevigatum, commonly known as the coast tea tree, is a species of shrub or small tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia, but has been widely introduced in other places where it is often considered to be a weed. It has thin, rough bark on the older stems, narrow egg-shaped leaves, relatively large white flowers and flat topped fruit that is shed shortly after reaching maturity.
Angophora hispida grows as a mallee, or as a tree to about 7 m (25 ft) in height. A. hispida's small size, especially when compared to its Angophora and Eucalyptus relatives, leads to it being known by the common name dwarf apple. It is native to a relatively small patch of central New South Wales – from just south of Sydney up to the Gosford area. The plant's leaves are sessile (stalk-less) and hug the stem with heart-shaped bases. Its previous name – A. cordifolia – referred to these cordate leaves. Another distinctive feature are the red bristly hairs that cover the branchlets, flower bases and new growth. This leads to the specific epithet hispida.
Phalaenopsis amabilis, commonly known as the moon orchid, moth orchid, or mariposa orchid, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. It is widely cultivated as a decorative houseplant. It is an epiphytic or lithophytic herb with long, thick roots, between two and eight thick, fleshy leaves with their bases hiding the stem and nearly flat, white, long-lasting flowers on a branching flowering stem with up to ten flowers on each branch.
Angophora floribunda, commonly known as the rough-barked apple, is a common woodland and forest tree of the family Myrtaceae native to Eastern Australia. Reaching 30 m (100 ft) high, it is a large tree with fibrous bark and cream-white flowers that appear over the Austral summer. It grows on alluvial soils on floodplains and along watercourses. Much of the land it grew on has been cleared for agriculture.
Petermannia is the sole genus of plants in the family Petermanniaceae. Petermannia cirrosa, the only species in the genus, is endemic to the states of New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. it is a prickly, wiry stemmed vine which grows to 6 metres in height and has lancelote, ovate or elliptic leaves with an acute apex. The flowers, which appear during summer, have reflexed reddish green or white tepals. These are followed by rounded red berries.
Hakea epiglottis is a shrub commonly known as beaked hakea or needlebush hakea and is endemic to Tasmania where populations consist of functional unisexual plants. In a 1989 publication by John Wrigley & Murray Fagg states specimens at Wakehurst Place, an annexe of Kew Gardens London are specimens believed to be 60-70 years old measuring 3 m (9.8 ft) high and wide.
Ripogonum discolor, known as the prickly supplejack, is a common rainforest vine, found in eastern Australia. The original specimen was collected at the Clarence River.
Ripogonum scandens, is a common rainforest vine native to New Zealand. It can also grow in areas of swamp.
Eucalyptus fasciculosa, commonly known as pink gum, hill gum or scrub gum, is a species of small tree that is endemic to southern Australia. It has mostly smooth, light grey to pinkish bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven, white flowers and conical to barrel-shaped fruit.
Illecebrum is a monotypic genus in the family Caryophyllaceae. It contains the single species Illecebrum verticillatum, which is a trailing annual plant native to Europe, with whorls of small white flowers borne in the axils of the paired leaves.
