You Yangs Granite indigenous plants

This information sheet covers the indigenous plants in the You Yangs granite area.

Zone 15 Consists of poor fertility coarse sandy soils with rock and granite outcrops. Steep to gently sloping hills prone to erosion. The average rainfall is 42 - 50 centimetres.

The information for this zone comes from records of vegetation in the You Yangs Regional Park.

Originally this area had a high diversity of species, many of which are now absent or depleted. Examples of species that are now absent from this area include Silver Banksia and Rosemary Grevillea.

On the granitic outwash fan surrounding the You Yangs, seasonal swamps in broad depressions occur. These areas have a distinct vegetation community consisting of River Red Gum, Prickly Tea-tree, Golden Spray and Rough Paperbark.

On the drier ridges and upper slopes trees include Red Stringybark, Red Ironbark and Moonah. Examples of shrub species were Kangaroo Apple, Rock Correa and a variety of Wattle species.

Tree species
Common name Botanical name Size
(height by width in metres)
1 2
Lightwood Acacia implexa 5-15 4-7 Y Y
Black Wattle Acacia mearnsii 8-25 6-10 X -
Golden Wattle Acacia pycnantha 3-10 2-5 Y -
Drooping Sheoke Allocasuarina verticillata 4-11 3-6 Y X
River Red Gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis 15-35 15-35 - Y
Gippsland Blue Gum Eucalyptus globulus ssp. pseudoglobulus 6 10-30 - Y
Yellow Gum Eucalyptus leucoxylon ssp connata 10-20 6-20 - Y
Red Stringybark Eucalyptus macrorhyncha 10-35 10-20 Y -
Swamp Gum Eucalyptus ovata 8-30 8-20 - X
Red Box Eucalyptus polyanthemos 7-25 5-15 Y -
Red Ironbark Eucalyptus tricarpa 10-30 10-20 Y -
Manna Gum Eucalyptus viminalis 10-20 8-15 YS Y
Cherry Ballart Exocarpos cupressiformis 3-8 3-5 Y X
Moonah Melaleuca lanceolata 1-8 3-6 Y -
Shrub Species
Gold-dust wattle Acacia acinacea 0.5-2.5 2-4 X Y
Myrtle Wattle Acacia myrtifolia 1-3 1-2 Y -
Hedge Wattle Acacia paradoxa 2-4 2-5 Y -
Silver Banksia Banksia marginata 1-10 1-5 X -
Sweet Bursaria Bursaria spinosa var macrophylla 2-6 2-3 Y -
White Cypress-pine Callitris glaucophylla 5 20 X -
Drooping Cassinia Cassinia arcuata 1-3 1-2 Y Y
Rock Correa Correa glabra 1-3 1-3 Y -
Gorse Bitter-pea Daviesia ulicifolia 1.5 1-2 Y -
Eutaxia Eutaxia microphylla 1 1 Y -
Rosemary Grevillea Grevillea rosmarinifolia 1-3 2-3 X -
Shrub Violet Hymenanthera dentata var. angustifolia 2-4 1-2.5 Y -
Australian Indigo Indigofera australis 1-2 1-2 Y -
Prickly Tea-tree Leptospermum continentale 1-4 1-2 Y Y
Sticky Boobialla Myoporum viscosum 0.5-2 1.5-2 Y -
Twiggy Daisy-bush Olearia ramulosa 0.5-2.5 1 Y -
Bootlace Bush Pimelea axiflora 1-3 1-2 X -
Snowy Mint-bush Prostanthera nivea 3 2.5 Y -
Large-leaf Bush-pea Pultenaea daphnoides 1-3 0.5-2 Y -
Seaberry Saltbush Rhagodia candolleana 2 1-2.5 Y -
Fragrant Saltbush Rhagodia parabolica 0.8-2 0.5-1.5 X -
Kangaroo Apple Solanum laciniatum 1-3 1-3 Y -
Groundcover and Tussock Species
Berry Saltbush Atriplex semibaccata 0.1-0.3 1-3 Y -
Common Everlasting Chrysocephalum apiculatum 0.3 1-2 - Y
S - sheltered gullies
X - species once occurred in this area
Y - species is present in areas of remnant vegetation

1=Ridges / upper slopes; 2=Lower slopes / drainage lines


Further contacts


Acknowledgements: David Perry DSE and Mark Trengove

This information sheet is also available in PDF format.





Page last updated: Thursday, 2 November 2023

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