Flora: The plants of a particular region, habitat or geological period
The plants of a particular region, habitat, or geological period: "the desert flora give way to oak woodlandsFlora is a feature in the Australian environment that cannot go unnoticed. The diversity of flora in Australia is great, compared to most other countries in the world. The different areas in the nation give a broader theme of what the plants in Australia are about. The landmass encases deserts, plains, rain forests and urban areas, just to name a few.
Acacia tree in Central Australia
Scientists have discovered over 285 000 species of plants in Australia alone, including vascular, non-vascular, fungi and lichen plants. Since the settlement of Europeans in 1788, the country has seen the extinction of 61 plants and the endangering of over 1000 others. Most modern plants originated from when Australia was still joined to other landmasses and was covered in sub tropical rain forest.
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
The vegetation in Australia is vast. There are many different types of plants and many species of these plants. One example of this, is the acacia, with over 1000 species. An aspect of most Australian plants that enable them to survive is their adaptation to the arid environment of Australia. One exception to this is the cool and humid temperate forests in Tasmania and Eastern Australia. These are leftover ruins of the grand Gondwanan rain forests that have not disappeared.
Huperzia serrata, or Northern Firmoss, is one of the 61 extinct plants.