| Kangaroo Island has about 890
species of native plants of which 46 are endemic. This website is limited to a few plants readily observed at Western Cove — on this page a selection of trees and shrubs, and flowers on a separate page. |
| Sheoaks
(centre and either side) and Eucalypts are the most common trees at
Western Cove. Sheoaks
grow 15 metres high, have long needle-like leaves, can pass for a
Christmas tree when small, and
make excellent fire wood when big. The large tree behind the central
Sheoak
is a Eucalypt |
| Prickly Acacia (Acacia paradoxa) has
yellow flowers, highly
flammable leaves, grows to a height of 3 metres, and lives up to its
name by being very prickly. |
| Scotch Thistle (Onopordium acanthum) is
native to Europe but quite common at Western Cove. If you
fall over onto this shrub you'll remember the experience since the
stems, branches and leaves are very prickly. Scotch
Thistle grows to 1.5
metres in height. It's an annual plant with pale purple flowers in
winter and spring. It dries and withers away at the start of summer. |
| Leucopogon
has white flowers from August to November,
and grows in coastal limestone areas. At Western Cove the shrub reaches
5 metres in height and width. |
| Hibbertia with large, yellow flowers |
| Belladonna is a medium-size, introduced shrub with blue
flowers |
| Eucalyptus seed capsules, also called "gum nuts" |
| Bottlebrush (Callistemon) grows 3-4 metres high |
| Most species of Grevillea are native to WA or NSW |
|
This bright green plant known as "Scirpus" grows to about one metre in
height |
| Native Hibiscus is an evergreen shrub which grows 2 metres
high with a spread of 2 metres. The flowers are five-petalled on long
stalks, pale purple in colour, and appear in spring. |
| Samphire
(Sarcocornia) grows
around estuaries and saline areas below the high water line. The
western limit of the Western Cove beach merges into a soggy area of
Samphire covering several square kilometres |