James Sowerby was an English naturalist, illustrator and mineralogist. Contributions to published works, such as A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland or English Botany, include his detailed and appealing plates. The use of vivid colour and accessible texts were intended to reach a widening audience in works of natural history. The standard author abbreviation Sowerby is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.
Viminaria juncea is the single species in the genus Viminaria endemic to Australia. The genus is in the pea family Fabaceae. It is colloquially known as native broom after its resemblance to the related European broom plants. The Noongar peoples know the plant as koweda.
Arthropodium is a genus of herbaceous perennial plants in the subfamily Lomandroideae of the family Asparagaceae. It is native to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Madagascar.
Dichopogon strictus, commonly known as chocolate lily, is a herbaceous perennial plant species native to Australia.
Diuris, commonly known as donkey orchids, bee orchids, nanny goat orchids or pansy orchids, is a genus of more than sixty species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae and is endemic to Australia, apart from one species endemic to Timor. The name "Diuris" refers to the hanging sepals but the common name "donkey orchid", derives from the ear-like petals common to all species. Many have mainly yellow flowers with darker markings and are thought to mimic nectar-producing flowers which open at the same time.
Blandfordia, commonly known as Christmas bells, is a genus of four species of flowering plants native to eastern Australia. Christmas bells are tufted, perennial herbs with narrow, linear leaves and up to twenty large, drooping, cylindrical or bell-shaped flowers.
Mirbelia is a plant genus belonging to the family Fabaceae and is endemic to Australia, occurring in every mainland state except South Australia. Plants in the genus Mirbelia are prickly, perennial shrubs with simple, sometimes sharply-pointed leaves, or the leaves absent. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups in leaf axils or on the ends of branches, the sepals joined at the base with five teeth. The petals are usually red, orange, purplish or bluish and the fruit is an inflated pod.
Crowea is a genus of small evergreen shrubs in the family Rutaceae, sometimes known as waxflowers. There are three species and many subspecies and cultivars, all of which are popular as ornamentals because of their abundant, attractive flowers which often occur during autumn and winter. Crowea species are all endemic to Australia, where they occur in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia.
Dampiera is a genus of about 70 species of flowering plants in the family Goodeniaceae, all of which are endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus Dampiera are subshrubs or herbs with sessile leaves, flowers with five small sepals and blue, violet or pink, rarely white, two-lipped flowers.
Zieria is a genus of plants in the family, Rutaceae. About sixty species have been formally described, all of which are endemic to Australia except for one species which is found in New Caledonia. They occur in all Australian states except Western Australia but the genus is under review and a number of species are yet to be described or the description published. Zierias are similar to the better known genus Boronia but can be distinguished by the number of stamens in the flowers. The name Zieria honours the Polish botanist John Zier.
Billardiera is a genus of small vines and shrubs in the family, Pittosporaceae, which is endemic to Australia. The genus was first formally described in 1793 by botanist James Edward Smith who named it in honour of Jacques Labillardière, a French botanist.
Calectasia is a genus of about fifteen species of flowering plants in the family Dasypogonaceae and is endemic to south-western Australia. Plants is this genus are small, erect shrubs with branched stems covered by leaf sheaths. The flowers are star-shaped, lilac-blue to purple and arranged singly on the ends of short branchlets.
Thysanotus is a genus of perennial herbs in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae. They are mostly native to Australia with 45 of the 50 known species occurring in Western Australia alone, although a few species range northward into New Guinea and Southeast Asia as far north as southern China.
Conostylis is a genus of perennial herbs in the Haemodoraceae family, commonly known as cone flowers. All species are endemic to the south west of Western Australia.
Caesia is a genus of herbs in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Hemerocallidoideae, native to Australia, New Guinea, Madagascar and Southern Africa. The mostly 3-lobed seed capsules contain rounded black seeds. The genus was named in honour of Federico Cesi (1585-1630), an Italian scientist.
Laxmannia is a genus of tufted perennial herbs in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Lomandroideae, that are endemic to Australia.
Amyema quandang is a species of hemi-parasitic shrub which is widespread throughout the mainland of Australia, especially arid inland regions, sometimes referred to as the grey mistletoe.
Haemodorum is a genus of herbs in the family Haemodoraceae, first described as a genus in 1798 by James Edward Smiith. The genus is native to New Guinea and Australia. The type species is Haemodorum corymbosum Vahl, first described by Martin Vahl in 1805.
Thelymitra antennifera, commonly called the rabbit-eared sun orchid, lemon-scented sun orchid or vanilla orchid is a species of orchid which is native to Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria and northern parts of Tasmania.
Scaevola calendulacea commonly known as dune fan-flower, is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae. It is a small, mat-forming shrub with blue fan-shaped flowers with a yellow centre and grows on sand dunes in eastern and southern Australia.
