Black and white, with the pattern varying across its range. The back of its neck, upper tail and shoulders (on its wings) are white in males and grey in females, and (across most of Australia) the rest of its body is black. In south-eastern, central and south-western Australia, including Tasmania, its back and rump are entirely white. Its eye is red-brown. Young birds are usually grey rather than black and have dark eyes.

Distinctive feature

One toe faces backwards and three face forwards. It has a square-tipped tail.

Almost completely black with a rusty-red or chocolate-brown patch at the back of its head and on its neck. Its fur can be tipped with grey, particularly on its belly. It has no fur on its lower legs.

Size

23 – 28 cm head and body length, wingspan over 1 m.

The caterpillar (larva) is initially pale yellow with fine hairs, before turning green. It has narrow yellow lines on its body which are sometimes hard to see. The upper side of the butterfly (adult) is white with a black tip on its forewing (front wing) and a black patch on the front edge of its hindwing. A male has one black spot on its forewing, while a female has two black spots. Looking from underneath, the forewing is white with two black spots and the hindwing is yellow.

Size

Caterpillar about 3.5 cm; Butterfly up to 5 cm wingspan.

Its genus name Leptospermum is from Greek leptos (thin) and sperma (seed), referring to its small seeds; and its species name laevigatum is from Latin laevigatus (smooth), probably referring to the appearance of the plant.

Also known as Australian Myrtle and Victorian Tea Tree.

A tall, bushy shrub or small tree, with bark that sheds in strips. Grows up to 6 m tall.

Leaves

Grey-green and obovate (egg-shaped and flat, with the narrow end attached to the stalk). They are 1.5 – 3 cm long and 5 – 8 mm wide.

Flowers

White and usually in groups of two. The flower heads are usually 1.5 – 2 cm in diameter, and made up of five petals that are 5 – 8 mm long, with many stamens protruding from the centre that are 2 mm long.

The adult male is black with a deep-orange to yellow beak, a narrow orange to yellow ring around its eye, and dark legs. The female is grey-brown, with some streaks or mottling, and its back is darker than its belly. The female also has a paler chin than the male, a dull yellow-brown beak, dark legs, and the ring around her eye is less bright. Young birds are also brown but with lighter underparts and a dark grey or black beak.

Size

25 to 28 cm (from head to tail)

The caterpillar (larva) is initially a pale yellow-grey, before turning green with long black hairs along its body. Its head is brown-black with short hairs. The female butterfly (adult) is orange with creamy yellow and dark brown patches towards the tip of its forewings (front wings). The male is less colourful, being brown and orange with no pale patches. It also has an obvious raised vein in the middle of its forewing. Both males and females have a small eye-spot on each wing. The undersides of the wings in both the male and female are paler with faint markings, and their hindwings have very few markings. The female’s hindwing is darker then its forewing. It is difficult to identify these butterflies when they are resting with their wings closed. The males emerge quite a while earlier in the year before the females.

Size

Caterpillar about 3.5 cm long; Butterfly wingspan 5.5 – 7.5 cm (females are larger than males).

Lorea is Latin for 'made of thongs' or 'long strips of leather'; referring to the long terete leaves of this species.

Also known as the Bootlace Oak. Small tree with distinctively deeply fissured, corky and rough bark. It can grow to about 6 m tall.

Leaves

Shiny, dark green needle like leaves are up to 40 cm long.

Flowers

Each bright orange to dull lemon-coloured flower is about 1.5 cm long but is grouped into a spectacular raceme up to 12 cm long.

This frog goes by several common names: Eastern Banjo Frog, Eastern Pobblebonk Frog and Southern Bullfrog. The first two are based on its distinctive 'bonk' call which sounds similar to the string of a banjo being plucked.

Its back ranges from grey, to olive-green, dark brown or black, with dark marbling or flecks. It has a pale yellow stripe running from under its eye to its arm, a dark band above this, and may also have a pale stripe running down its back. Its sides commonly have a purple or bronze sheen, mottled with black. Its belly is white and sometimes mottled with grey. Its back is warty and rough but its belly is smooth.

Distinctive feature

A prominent gland on the outer side of its hind leg (its shin) and a fleshy lump at the base of each hind foot.

Bright yellow and black bands across its abdomen, with a pair of black spots and a black triangle on each yellow band. It has yellow legs, black antennae and two pairs of transparent wings. Nests are commonly built underground with only their small entrance holes visible, which are about 2 - 3 cm across.

Size

1.2 – 1.5 cm long (worker); 2 cm long (queen)

Its genus name Stenocarpus means narrow fruit, referring to its seed pods; and its species name sinuatus means wavy, referring to the edges of the leaves.

Evergreen tree, up to 35 m high, but much smaller when grown in gardens where it reaches a height of only about 10 m with a width of 5 m.

Leaves

Dark glossy green and paler underneath, they can be oval-shaped, lobed or have wavy edges. They are usually 15 – 25 cm long (but can be up to 45 cm long) and 2 – 5 cm wide, and are generally smaller on exposed branches. There is one distinct vein running down the centre of each leaf.

Flowers

Bright red with a yellow tip, and 2.5 – 4 cm long. They cluster in a wheel-like arrangement at the end of a stalk. The cluster can be up to 10 cm in diameter and consists of 6 - 20 flowers.

An adult male has a bright orange breast and throat, with white on its lower belly and under its tail. The upperparts are dark slate grey and there is a clear white stripe on its folded wing. It has a black beak and dark brown legs. A female is mostly grey-brown with a pale buff strip on its wing. Its outermost tail feather is mostly white. A young bird looks like an adult female, but its back has buff streaks and its belly is pale with brown streaks.

Size

12  - 14 cm

Its genus name Epicris means upon (epi) and a summit (acris), referring to the altitude where some species occur; and its species name longiflora means long (longus) and flower (florus), referring to the long, narrow flowers.

An upright to spreading evergreen shrub, typically straggly with branches arching towards the ground, 0.5 – 2 m high.

Leaves

With pointed tip and wide base, they are often described as heart-shaped. Each leaf is 5 – 17 mm long, 3 – 6.6 mm wide, and has slightly serrated margins. It is thin, flat, and sometimes has a rough upper surface.

Flowers

Long and tubular, some have pink-red tubes and white lobes (tips), others are all white. They are 5 – 6 mm in diameter and 12 – 27 mm long, with the lobes being 2.4 – 4.4 mm long. They grow in rows along the branches and are upright at first and then hang down as they reach maturity.

Grey-brown to bronze, with a dark stripe running along each side of its body from its nostril, across its eye to its tail, getting wider from its front legs. Its body pales below the stripe to a cream belly.

This species has a lighter body with a less obvious stripe running along its sides than the Southern Garden Skink.

Size

8 - 10 cm (nose to end of tail).

Grey-brown to bronze, with a dark stripe running along each side of its body from its nostril, across its eye to its tail, getting wider from its front legs. Its body pales below the stripe to a cream belly.

This species has a ‘heavier’ looking body and a more obvious stripe running along its sides, compared to the Northern Garden Skink.

Size

8 - 10 cm (nose to end of tail).

Bushy or straggly shrub, branchlets more or less angled at extremities, smooth or hairy. Bark is smooth, grey to brown. Commonly grows to 2.5 m high.

Leaves

Has phyllodes (flattened leaf stalks) that are rounded, usually asymmetric 0.4 – 1.5 cm long and 2 – 8 mm wide, hairy or smooth. Leaf midrib (large midline vein) is obscure or absent, lateral veins also absent.

Flowers

Bright yellow ball-shaped inflorescences (clusters flowers arranged on a stem) that form in patterns of 5. Flowers appear in late winter and spring and into early summer (July to November).

The adult male has a bright-yellow underbody, olive-green back and wings, and a black head with a bright-yellow collar. Its throat is white, with a broad black band which separates it from the yellow breast. Its beak and legs are black. The adult female has grey upperparts with a pale olive tinge, and is pale grey below with a pale yellowish tinge. Its beak is dark brown and its legs are grey-brown. Both sexes have a red-brown eye. Juvenile birds are rufous above and below, and as they mature, gradually resemble a female, though they retain some rufous feathers in their wings.

Its head and upperparts are mostly dark grey, with a white eyebrow and throat, a narrow grey band across the upper breast and a creamy-buff belly. The feathers of its long tail have white edges and tips, and the tail is often fanned out.

Size

14 – 16 cm long

Giant tussock-like, rosette plant. Grows up to 2.5 m high with a flower stalk up to 5 m high!

Its genus name Doryanthes (meaning spear and flower), and its species name excelsa (meaning high), both refer to its tall flower stem.

Leaves

Long, sword-shaped and forming a clump. Each individual leaf is 1 – 2.5 m long and about 10 cm wide. Shorter leaves up to 30 cm long are found along the flower stem.

Flowers

Located at the top of a single flower stem which grows from the centre of the tussock of leaves. The stem is 2 – 5 m high upon which the flowers form a cluster up to 70 cm in diameter. The individual flowers are bright red (or rarely white), trumpet-shaped and 10 – 16 cm long.

The Honey Bee's head, upper body and legs are black, and its hairy abdomen is striped black and brown (or yellow/orange). It is pale when it first emerges from the nest, but soon develops a darker colouring.

Size

1.2 – 1.6 cm long (Queen bee is slightly longer)

A black and white bird, the pattern varies slightly between sexes. The male has a white eyebrow above a black horizontal eye-stripe, a black face and throat, while the female has a white face and throat, with a broad vertical stripe through the eye, and no white eyebrow. Both sexes have a thin white bill and black legs and feet. Juvenile Magpie-larks have a black forehead, white eyebrow and a white throat.

The genus name Hardenbergia is named after Franziska Countess von Hardenberg and the species name comptoniana after Mary, 1st Marchioness of Northampton whose husband was Charles Compton.

Twining shrub or climber. Its size varies depending on supporting plants or structures it is growing on.

Leaves

Usually crowded, 3 and sometimes rarely 5 foliate. Leaflets are 4 – 6 cm long., and do not spread very widely. Size approximately 2–4 mm long and 1 mm wide, thick, concavo-convex (concave on both sides) and pointed at ends.

Flowers

Blue to purple and in some cases white. Typical pea shape consisting of 5 petals: the "standard", the "keel" (2 fused petals) and two "wings". Flowers are in an often drooping, elongate cluster.

Its genus name Ceratopetalum means horned-petal after one of the species that has petals resembling stag’s horns, and its species name gummiferum means gum-bearing after the gum that oozes out of its bark.

Evergreen shrub or small tree, up to 10 m high and 6 m wide, but much smaller when grown in gardens where it reaches a height of only 2 – 5 m.

Leaves

Glossy green and made up of three leaflets which are 3 – 8 cm long and 0.5 – 3 cm wide when mature. They are thin, with serrated edges, and are a golden orange-red colour when young.

Flowers

Initially creamy white and star-shaped, forming clusters that are 10 cm long. Each flower has five petals that are about 3 mm long. After pollination the white petals fall off, leaving the outer sepals which enlarge to about 12 mm long and turn deep pink to orange-red. These “flowers” consist of five sepals and are also star-shaped. They are commonly mistaken for flowers, but the real flowers are the less noticeable white ones.

Its genus name Grevillea is named after Charles Francis Greville, co-founder of the Royal Horticultural Society, and its species name speciosa means showy, referring to its foliage.

Evergreen shrub, grows up to 3 m tall.

Leaves

Oval shaped with silvery hairs on underside. They are 1 – 5 cm long and 4 – 12 mm wide.

Flowers

Bright red, or occasionally pink, and spider-like in appearance. Each “spider leg” is 2 – 4 cm long and forms in a loose circle on a stalk. The flower heads are approximately 7 cm in diameter and grow at the end of branches or amongst leaves.

Named in 1830 by explorer and botanist, Allan Cunningham. The genus name Grevillea honours Charles F Greville who co-founded the Royal Horticultural Society, and the species name robusta refers to its large size.

Evergreen tree usually grows 20 – 30 m tall but can range from 8 – 40 m in height.

Leaves

Silvery green and fern-like, green on the upper surface and paler underneath. They are 10 – 34 cm long and 9 – 15 cm wide, and consist of 11 – 31 segments that are narrow-elliptic to triangular in shape. The segments are 1.5 – 5 cm long and 2 – 10 mm wide, and they give the leaf a deeply divided appearance.

Flowers

Golden yellow to orange, each one is about 2 cm long but they are arranged in pairs along the flowering stalk to give an overall length of 12 – 15 cm.

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