Australian Native Plants Available As Cut Flowers or Foliage - Australian Native Plants Society (Australia)

A wide variety of Australian native plants are ideal for use as cut flowers or foliage and many retain their beauty and form for long periods when used in this way. To date, only a relatively small range of native species are commonly available, but there are a number of others that are now being cultivated. Hopefully an expanded range of Australian species and cultivars will become available in the near future.

An existing problem, however, is a common misunderstanding among members of the public, and even among some professionals, regarding ‘true’ native species. The use of plants such as Protea, Leucadendron and Leucospermum (all native to South Africa) in ‘native’ floral arrangements contributes to this confusion.

Tables 1 and 2 below illustrate the many true Australian native species, hybrids and cultivars that are useful as cut flowers and/or foliage. Table 3 lists several exotic species that are often mistakenly sold as Australian natives.

Table 1: Native species that are commonly available as cut flowers or foliage
To view a larger photograph of a particular plant, click on the thumbnail image

Botanical Name	Common Name	Season	Colours	Image
Acacia baileyana	Cootamundra Wattle or Mimosa	W	Yellow, silver foliage
Acacia cultriformis	Knife-leaf wattle		Foliage
Alpinia caerulea	Native Ginger		Foliage Image license: See Footnotes
Anigozanthos	Kangaroo paw, includes hybrids	Sp, Su	Red, Yellow, orange
Banksia baxteri	Bird’s Nest Banksia	S, Au	Green & gold
Banksia burdetii	Burdett’s Banksia	Sp, Su, Au	Orange
Banksia coccinea	Scarlet Banksia	Sp, Su	Red
Banksia formosa (syn. Dryandra formosa)	Showy Dryandra	Sp	Gold
Banksia heliantha (syn. Dryandra quercifolia)	Oak-leaved Dryandra	Au, W	Gold
Banksia menziesii	Menzies’ Banksia	Au, W	Pinkish/lavender
Banksia plagiocarpa	Hinchinbrook Banksia		Bluish in bud
Banksia prionotes	Acorn Banksia	A, W	Orange
Banksia speciosa	Showy Banksia	Su, Au	Cream to yellow
Banksia undata (syn. Dryandra praemorsa)	Urchin Dryandra	Sp	Yellow/Gold
Banksia victoriae	Woolly Orange Banksia	Su, Au	Orange
Boronia heterophylla	Red Boronia	Sp	Deep pink
Boronia megastigma	Brown Boronia	Sp	Brown or Yellow
Caustis species	Curly sedge		Foliage Image license: See Footnotes
Chamelaucium uncinatum	Wax flowers. Hybrids and cultivars	Sp	White, pink, purple
Doryanthes excelsa	Gymea Lily + leaves	Sp + all	Red flowers. Large green leaves
Doryanthes palmeri	Spear Lily leaves	All	Large green leaves
Eucalyptus caesia	Gungurru, ‘Silver Princess’	W, Sp	Pink, silver buds
Eucalyptus crucis	Southern Cross Mallee	All	Silver foliage
Eucalyptus pulverulenta	Silver-leaved Mountain Gum	All	Blue/silver foliage
Eucalyptus pleurocarpa (syn. Eucalyptus tetragona)	Tallerack	All	Large blue foliage, buds
Grevillea cultivars			Various
Ozothamnus diosmifolius	Rice Flower	Sp, Su	White, pink
Philotheca myoporoides	Bendigo Wax Flower	Sp	White
Pycnosorus globosa	Billy Buttons	Sp, Su	Yellow Image license: See Footnotes
Restio species	Rushes		Grass-like foliage
Telopea speciocissima & cultivars	Waratah	Sp	Red, pink, white
Thryptomene calycina	Heath Myrtle	W	Pink
Thryptomene calycina	Heath Myrtle	W	White
Thryptomene ericaea	Kangaroo Island Thryptomene	W	White – shorter stems
Verticordia – various species	Feather Flowers	Sp, Su	White, pink, red, yellow
Xanthorrhea species	Yacca leaves	All	Green

Table 2: Native species of limited availability
To view a larger photograph of a particular plant, click on the thumbnail image

Botanical Name	Common Name	Season	Colours	Image
Acacia aneura	Mulga Wattle	All	Foliage Image license: See Footnotes
Actinotus helianthi	Flannel Flower	Sp, Su	White
Adenanthos sericeus	Wooly Bush	All	Foliage
Banksia robur	Swamp Banksia	W	Greenish-yellow
Beaufortia sparsa	Swamp Bottlebrush	Su, Au	Orange/red
Blandfordia species	Christmas Bells	Sp	Red/yellow
Bowenia serrulata	Byfield Fern	W	Green leaves
Ceratopetalum gummiferum	NSW Christmas Bush	Su	Red
Corymbia ficifolia	Red Flowering Gum	Su	Red
Crowea exalata		Su, Au	Pink form
Crowea exalata		Su, Au	White form
Eremophila nivea	Silky eremophila	Sp, Su	Mauve; silvery foliage
Eucalyptus albida	White-leaved Mallee		Silver foliage
Eucalyptus crenulata	Silver Gum		Foliage Image license: See Footnotes
Eucalyptus erythrocorys	Red-capped Gum	Au,W	Red buds
Eucalyptus gamophylla	Blue-leaved Mallee		Bluish-grey foliage and buds
Eucalyptus kingsmillii	Kingsmill’s Mallee		Buds
Eucalyptus pachyphylla	Red-budded Mallee		Red buds
Eucalyptus perriniana	Spinning Gum		Silver-grey foliage
Grevillea ‘Moonlight’		All Year; especially Sp, Su	White
Grevillea ‘Superb’		All Year; especially W, Sp	Salmon pink to red
Hakea francisiana	Grass-leaved Hakea	W, Sp	Red
Isopogon cuneatus	Coneflower	W, Sp	Pink
Kunzea ambigua	Tick Bush	Sp	White
Leptospermum cultivars	Tea Trees	Sp	Pink, red, white
Maireana sedifolia	Bluebush	All	Foliage
Ptilotus species	Mulla Mulla	W, Sp, Su	Pink
Rhodanthe chlorocephala	Pink Everlasting Daisy	W, Sp	Pink
Scholtzia species		Sp	White or pink
Schoenia filifolia	Showy Everlasting	Sp, Su	Yellow
Verticordia grandis	Scarlet Featherflower	Sp, Su	Red
Verticordia plumosa	Plumed Featherflower	Sp, Su	Pink to mauve
Xerochrysum bracteatum Cultivars and hybrids	Paper Daisies	Sp, Su, Au	Yellow, bronze, brown

Table 3: Non-native species that are often mistakenly sold as Australian natives

Botanical Name	Common Name	Colours	Native to….
Erica species and cultivars	Heaths	Red, pink or white	Africa, Madagascar, Europe.
Leucadendron species and cultivars		Pink or white	South Africa
Leucospermum species and cultivars	Pincushion Protea	Yellow or orange	South Africa
Protea species and cultivars	Protea	Pink or white	South Africa
Serruria florida	Blushing Bride	White	South Africa

Footnotes

Alpinia caeurela: Image by Ethel Aardvark under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
Caustis recurvata: Image by John Tann under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License
Pycnosorus globosa: Image by Andrew Mark Hurley under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License
Acacia aneura: Image by Mark Marathon under the Creative Commons Share-Alike 3.0 Unported License
Eucalyptus crenulata: Image by Melburnian under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License

References

Growing Australian native flowers commercially; NSW Department of Primary Industries

Angus’s Top Ten Australian Plants for Cut Flowers; Angus Stewart

Australian Plants as Cut Flowers; James Frew – Australian Plants online