Common names
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Note that this list consists of plants species mentioned in the regional ecosystem fact sheets. for the Desert Uplands and outliers from other bioregions that occur within the Desert Uplands. It is not a complete list of all the plants species recorded in the Desert Uplands. For the outliers, only species recorded within the Desert Uplands bioregion are listed. It should be noted that some of the fact sheet descriptions for the outliers contain species that have not been recorded within the Desert Uplands. The list includes species that have been recorded as dominants, codominants, common or frequently occurring. Plant species with biogeographically significant, such rare or threatened species, are also listed.
The common names used can vary significantly with locality and within groups of people. A plant may have a number of common names even in the same district. A single common name that applies in the Desert Uplands has been used in this list.
Names ordered by Common name
A
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| ampwey | Acacia acradenia |
| angled broom bush | Jacksonia ramosissima |
| annual pigeon grass | Setaria surgens |
| Aramac mulga | Acacia microcephala |
| artesian milfoil | Myriophyllum artesium |
| Australian dropseed | Sporobolus australasicus |
B
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Baker's mallee | Eucalyptus bakeri |
| barley Mitchell grass | Astrebla pectinata |
| beefwood | Grevillea striata |
| belah | Casuarina cristata |
| belalie | Acacia stenophylla |
| bendee | Acacia catenulata |
| bendo | Eucalyptus exserta |
| Bentham's wanderrie grass | Eriachne benthamii |
| Bentham's wiregrass | Aristida benthamii |
| beyeria | Beyeria viscosa |
| bitter pea | Daviesia filipes |
| black-seeded samphire | Halosarcia pergranulata |
| black speargrass | Heteropogon contortus |
| black tea-tree | Melaleuca bracteata |
| black treefern | Cyathea rebeccae |
| black wattle | Acacia longispicata |
| blackrod | Buchnera linearis |
| blackwood | Acacia argyrodendron |
| Blake's ghost gum | Corymbia blakei |
| blood root | Haemodorum coccineum |
| bloodwoods | Corymbia spp. |
| blue goodenia | Goodenia splendida |
| blue trumpet | Brunoniella acaulis |
| blue trumpet | Brunoniella australis |
| bluegrasses | Bothriochloa spp. |
| bluegrasses | Dichanthium spp. |
| boonaree | Alectryon oleifolius |
| boree | Acacia tephrina |
| bottlebrush | Callistemon chisholmii |
| brigalow | Acacia harpophylla |
| brigalow burr | Sclerolaena tetracuspis |
| brigalow grass | Paspalidium caespitosum |
| broad-leaved paperbark | Melaleuca viridiflora |
| broad-leaved ironbark | Eucalyptus sp. (Caldervale D. Jermyn AQ 582304) |
| broad-leaved parakeelya | Calandrinia balonensis |
| broad-leaved sandstone myrtle | Homoranthus thomasii |
| broom bush | Apophyllum anomalum |
| brown beetle grass | Leptochloa fusca |
| brown bloodwood | Corymbia trachyphloia |
| brown-headed samphire | Halosarcia indica |
| brush wilga | Geijera salicifolia |
| Buchanan button grass | Dactyoctenium sp. (Yarrowmere J.Kemp+ 338411) |
| Buchanan potato vine | Ipomoea sp. (Lake Buchanan E.J.Thompson+ BUC2133) |
| buck spinifex | Triodia mitchellii |
| budgeroo | Lysicarpus angustifolius |
| buffel grass | Cenchrus ciliaris |
| bull mitchell grass | Astrebla squarrosa |
| Burdekin plum | Pleiogynium timorense |
| Burdekin wattle | Acacia burdekensis |
| bushhouse paperbark | Melaleuca tamariscina |
| bushman's clothes pegs | Grevillea glauca |
| bushy dampiera | Dampiera adpressa |
| button grass | Dactyloctenium radulans |
C
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| camel bush | Trichodesma zeylanica |
| cane grass | Ophiuros exaltatus |
| Cape Rive cabbage tree | Livistina lanuginosa |
| carbeen | Corymbia tessellaris |
| catkin wattle | Acacia julifera |
| chaff flower | Achyranthes aspera |
| chain fruit vine | Alyxia spicata |
| Clarkson’s bloodwood | Corymbia clarksoniana |
| clubrush | Schoenoplectus laevis |
| clustered lovegrass | Eragrostis elongata |
| cocaine tree | Erythroxylum australe |
| cockatoo grass | Alloteropsis semialata |
| cockspur flower | Plectranthus parviflorus |
| coffee bush | Breynia oblongifolia |
| comb windmill grass | Chloris pectinata |
| comet grass | Perotis rara |
| common bonamia | Bonamia media |
| common bottlewashers | Enneapogon avenaceus |
| common finger rush | Fimbristylis dichotoma |
| conker berry | Carissa lanceolata |
| conker berries | Carissa spp. |
| coolibah | Eucalyptus coolabah |
| cotton panic grass | Digitaria brownii |
| couches | Brachyachne spp. |
| couch | Cynodon dactylon |
| Cowle's silver-leaved wattle | Acacia cowleana |
| creek wilga | Eremophila bignonifolia |
| creeping blue trumpet | Dipteracanthus australasicus |
| creeping tick trefoil | Desmodium campylocaulon |
| crimson turkey-bush | Eremophila latrobei |
| crumb weed | Dysphania rhadinostachya | Cullen's ironbark | Eucalyptus cullenii |
| cup grass | Eriochloa crebra |
| curly bluegrass | Dichanthium fecundum |
| curly windmill grass | Enteropogon acicularis |
| curly Mitchell grass | Astrebla lappacea |
| currant bush | Scaevola spinescens |
| current bush | Carissa ovata |
| cypress pine | Callitris glaucophylla |
D
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| dainty lovegrass | Eragrostis microcarpa |
| dark wiregrass | Aristida calycina |
| Darwin stringybark | Eucalyptus tetrodonta |
| Dawson gum | Eucalyptus cambageana |
| dead finish | Archidendropsis basaltica |
| desert bloodwood | Corymbia brachycarpa |
| desert caustic bush | Euphorbia sarcostemmoides |
| desert daisy | Streptoglossa adscendens |
| desert heather | Calytrix microcoma |
| desert oak | Acacia coriacea |
| Dietrich's wattle | Acacia dietrichiana |
| dodder | Cassytha pubescens |
| downs pea bush | Swainsona campylantha |
| dropseed | Sporobolus disjunctus |
| dropseed grasses | Sporobolus spp. |
| dwarf dogwood | Leptosema chapmanii |
| dysentery bush | Grewia retusifolia |
E
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Ellengowan poison bush | Eremophila deserti |
| emu apple | Owenia acidula |
| erect kerosene grass | Aristida holathera |
| eucalypts | Eucalyptus spp. |
| Everest's gidgee burr | Sclerolaena everestiana |
F
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| fairy grass | Sporobolus caroli |
| false hopbush | Distichostemon dodecandrus |
| false mint bush | Hemigenia cuneifolia |
| false sandalwood | Eremophila mitchellii |
| feathertop | Aristida latifolia |
| feathertop Rhodes grass | Chloris virgata |
| feathertop spinifex | Triodia bitextura |
| fine-leaved finger grass | Digitaria sp. (Mt Mulligan J.R.Clarkson 5821) |
| fine-leaved ironbark | Eucalyptus exilipes |
| fine-leaved sandstone myrtle | Ochrosperma adpressum |
| finger grasses | Digitaria spp. |
| firegrass | Schizachyrium fragile |
| five minute grass | Tripogon loliiformis |
| flannel weed | Abutilon oxycarpum |
| flat-stemmed pea bush | Leptosema oxylobioides |
| forest bluegrass | Bothriochloa ewartiana |
| forest red gum | Eucalyptus tereticornis |
G
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| geebung | Persoonia falcata |
| ghost gum | Corymbia dallachiana |
| giant redburr | Sclerolaena tricuspis |
| giant speargrass | Heteropogon triticeus |
| gidgee | Acacia cambagei |
| gidgee burr | Sclerolaena spp. |
| Gilbert River box | Eucalyptus microneura | Gilbert River ghost gum | Corymbia gilbertensis |
| golden beard grass | Chrysopogon fallax |
| golden parrot tree | Grevillea pteridifolia |
| goodenia | Goodenia disperma |
| gorge wattle | Acacia faucium |
| grasstree | Xanthhorhoea johnsonii |
| grex box | Eucalyptus moluccana |
| grey beard grass | Amphipogon sericeus |
| grey ironbark | Eucalyptus drepanophylla |
| grey spinifex | Triodia longiceps |
| gristle fern | Blechnum cartilagineum |
| guinea flower | Hibbertia stricta |
| gum-topped bloodwood | Corymbia erythrophloia |
| Gympie messmate | Eucalyptus cloeziana |
H
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| hair plant | Astrotricha pterocarpa |
| hairy native couch | Brachyachne ciliaris |
| hairy panic | Panicum effusum |
| hairy panic | Panicum effusum var. effusum |
| handsome love grass | Eragrostis speciosa |
| high sida | Sida trichopoda |
| hill hibiscus | Hibiscus sturtii |
| hooky grass | Ancistrachne uncinulata |
| hoop Mitchell grass | Astrebla elymoides |
| hopbush | Dodonaea lanceolata |
| hopbush | Dodonaea viscosa |
| hopbushes | Dodonaea spp. |
| hovea | Hovea lanceolata |
I
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| indigoes | Indigofera spp. |
| iron grass | Lomandra leucocephala |
| ironwood | Acacia excelsa |
J
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Jericho wire grass | Aristida jerichoensis |
| jerry jerry | Ammannia multiflora |
| joyweed | Alternanthera micrantha |
K
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| kangaroo grass | Themeda triandra |
| katoora | Sporobolus actinocladus |
| knotty butt grass | Paspalidium constrictum |
| knottybutt neverfail grass | Eragrostis xerophila |
| kurrajong | Brachychiton populneus |
L
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Lake Buchanan blue bush | Lawrencia buchananensis |
| Lake Buchanan burr daisy | Calotis sp. (Lake Buchanan J.Kemp+ 338H) |
| Lake Buchanan fringe rush | Fimbristylis sp. (Lake Buchanan) |
| lancewood | Acacia shirleyi |
| large bluegrass | Ischaemum australe |
| large-podded trefoil | Desmodium macrocarpum |
| Lazarides wattle | Acacia lazaridis |
| Leichhardt's rusty jacket | Corymbia leichhardtii |
| lemon-scented gum | Corymbia citriodora |
| leopardwood | Flindersia maculosa |
| lignum | Eremophila polyclada |
| lignum | Muehlenbeckia florulenta |
| limestone bottle washer | Enneapogon polyphyllus |
| long-leaf matrush | Lomandra longifolia |
| longawn wanderrie grass | Eriachne armitii |
| love grasses | Eragrostis spp. |
| lovegrass | Eragrostis sororia |
| lovegrass | Eragrostis spartinoides |
M
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| mahogany | Eucalyptus mediocris |
| mallee box | Eucalyptus persistens |
| many headed wiregrass | Aristida caput-medusae |
| many-flowered matrush | Lomandra multiflora subsp. multiflora |
| many-seeded wattle | Acacia multisiliqua |
| marine couch | Sporobolus virginicus |
| match sticks | Comesperma pallidum |
| matrush | Lomandra confertifolia |
| medicine bush | Pogonolobus reticulatus |
| Miles Mulga | Acacia aprepta |
| milfoil | Myriophyllum implicatum |
| milfoils | Myriophyllum spp. |
| mimosa | Acacia farnesiana |
| Mitchell grasses | Astrebla spp. |
| mountain coolibah | Eucalyptus orgadophila |
| mulga fern | Cheilanthes sieberi |
| mulga grass | Thyridolepis xerophila |
| Murray lily | Crinum flaccidum |
| myrtle tree | Canthium oleifolium |
| myrtle turkey bush | Thryptomene parvifolia |
N
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| napunyah | Eucalyptus thozetiana |
| narrow-leaved hopbush | Dodonaea stenophylla |
| narrow-leaved ironbark | Eucalyptus crebra |
| narrow-leaved wattle | Acacia tenuissima |
| narrow-leaflet sandstone boronia | Boronia warangensis |
| native cotton | Gossypium australe |
| native couch | Brachyachne convergens |
| native jasmine | Jasminum didymum subsp. lineare |
| native leek | Bulbine bulbosa |
| native millet | Panicum decompositum |
| native oatgrass | Themeda avenacea |
| native sensitive plant | Neptunia gracilis |
| neat lovegrass | Eragrostis basedowii |
| needlewood | Hakea leucoptera |
| neverfail grass | Eragrostis setifolia |
| Newcastle Range bloodwood | Corymbia arnhemicus subsp. monticola |
| nineawn | Enneapogon lindleyanus |
| nineawns | Enneapogon spp. |
| nipan | Capparis lasiantha |
| northern mulga grass | Paraneurachne muelleri |
| northern swamp box | Lophostemon grandiflorus |
O
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| orange spadeflower | Hybanthus enneaspermus |
P
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| paperbarks | Melaleuca spp. |
| paperbark | Melaleuca uncinata |
| para grass | Brachiaria mutica |
| peach bush | Ehretia membranifolia |
| Peak Downs curse | Polymeria longifolia |
| pepper grass | Panicum laevinode |
| pigweed | Portulaca oleracea |
| pink-flowered myrtle | Lithomyrtus microphylla |
| pink tongues | Rostellularia adscendens |
| plume sorghum | Sorghum plumosum |
| poison heartleaf bush | Gastrolobium grandiflorum |
| polymeria | Polmeria lanceolata |
| poplar box | Eucalyptus populnea |
| poplar gum | Eucalyptus platyphylla |
| potato bush | Solanum ellipticum |
| pretty wattle | Acacia decora |
| prickly-leaved pea bush | Labichea rupestris |
| prickly pine | Bursaria incana |
| purple love grass | Eragrostis lacunaria |
Q
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Queensland ebony | Lysiphyllum carronii |
| Queensland flaky-bark | Eucalyptus chartaboma |
| Queensland velvet flower | Keraudrenia lanceolata |
| Queensland yellow jacket | Eucalyptus similis |
| quena | Solanum esuriale |
| quinine tree | Petalostigma pubescens |
| quinine tree | Petalostigma spp. |
R
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| raspy dropseed | Sporobolus scabridus |
| rat's tail couch | Sporobolus mitchellii |
| red Flinders grass | Iseilema vaginiflorum |
| red grevillea | Grevillea decora |
| red mallee | Eucalyptus eucentrica |
| red spinach | Trianthema triquetra |
| reedgrass | Arundinella nepalensis |
| Reid River box | Eucalyptus brownii |
| rhynchosia | Rhynchosia minima |
| river red gum | Eucalyptus camaldulensis |
| river she-oak | Casuarina cunninghamiana |
| rock grass | Eriachne mucronata |
| rough-leaved bloodwood | Corymbia setosa |
| round-leaved myrtle | Micromyrtus rotundifolia |
| round-leaflet sandstone boronia | Boronia eriantha |
| ruby saltbush | Enchylaena tomentosa |
| rusty jacket | Corymbia peltata |
S
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Sally wattle | Acacia salicina |
| salt pipewort | Eriocaulon carsonii |
| saltbush | Einadia hastata |
| samphires | Halosarcia spp. |
| sandalwood | Santalum lanceolatum |
| sand plain red gum | Eucalyptus ammophila |
| sandstone panic | Cleistochloa subjuncea |
| sandstone wattle | Acacia gnidium |
| sarsparilla | Hardenbergia perbrevidens |
| sawsedge | Gahnia aspera |
| scrub boonaree | Alectryon diversifolius |
| scrub leopardwood | Flindersia dissosperma |
| sedges | Cyperus spp. |
| sensitive plant | Neptunia dimorphantha |
| shiny-leaved bloodwood | Corymbia lamprophylla |
| short fruited nardoo | Marsilea hirsuta |
| short-glumed umbrella grass | Digitaria breviglumis |
| shrubby daisy bush | Olearia subspicata |
| silky browntop | Eulalia aurea |
| silky oilgrass | Cymbopogon bombycinus |
| silky umbrella grass | Digitaria ammophila |
| silkyheads | Cymbopogon obtectus |
| silver cassia | Senna artemisioides |
| silver oak | Grevillea parallela |
| silver-leaved ironbark | Eucalyptus melanophloia |
| silver-leaved ironbark | Eucalyptus shirleyi |
| silver-leaved ironbark | Eucalyptus sp. ((Mt Hope Homestead E.J. Thompson+ BUC175) |
| Sim's wattle | Acacia simsii |
| slender canegrass | Leptochloa decipiens |
| slender goodenia | Goodenia gracilis |
| slender native couch | Brachyachne tenella |
| slender nineawn | Enneapogon gracilis |
| slender panic | Paspalidium gracile |
| slender pigweed | Portulaca filifolia |
| slender Queensland blue grass | Dichanthium sericeum |
| slender spurge | Sauropus trachyspermus |
| slender wanderrie grass | Eriachne ciliata |
| slender wattle | Acacia leptostachya |
| small Flinders grass | Iseilema membranaceum |
| small lovegrass | Eragrostis pergracilis |
| small poranthera | Poranthera microphylla |
| small-leaved canthium | Everistia vacciniifolia |
| smooth-barked apple | Angophora costata |
| smooth dropseed | Sporobolus partimpatens |
| smooth goodenia | Goodenia glabra |
| smooth-leaved quinine | Petalostigma banksii |
| snail flower | Galactia tenuiflora |
| soap bush | Alphitonia excelsa |
| soft roly-poly | Salsola kali |
| soft spinifex | Triodia pungens |
| soft twigrush | Baumea rubiginosa |
| spike grass | Elytrophorus spicatus |
| spiked malvastrum | Malvastrum americanum |
| spiked rice-flower | Pimelea trichostachya |
| spikerushes | Eleocharis spp. |
| spinifexes | Triodia spp. |
| spiny mudgrass | Pseudorhaphis spinescens |
| spreading nutheads | Epaltes australis |
| spring dropseed | Sporobolus pamelae |
| spring grass | Eriochloa pseudoacrotricha |
| spurge | Phyllanthus maderaspatensis |
| spurge | Phyllanthus virgatus |
| square-fruited ironbark | Eucalyptus quadricostata |
| sticky wattle | Acacia melleodora |
| supplejack | Ventilago viminalis |
| swamp goodenia | Goodenia sp. (torrens Creek E.J.Thompson+ Hug754) |
| swamp turpentine | Lophostemon suaveolens |
| sweet basil | Ocimum basilicum |
T
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| tar vines | Boerhavia spp. |
| tar vine | Boerhavia burbidgeana |
| teatree | Melaleuca fluviatilis |
| teatree | Melaleuca pallescens |
| thornless blue devil | Eryngium fontanum |
| thread-leaf hopbush | Dodonaea filifolia |
| threeawn wanderrie grass | Eriachne aristidea |
| trigger plant | Stylidium eriorhizum |
| tropical speedwell | Evolvulus alsinoides |
| turpentine | Syncarpia glomulifera |
| twirly windmill grass | Enteropogon ramosus |
U
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| umbrella canegrass | Leptochloa digitata |
| umbrella grass | Digitaria divaricatissima |
| upright zornia | Zornia muriculata |
V
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| varnish-leaved wattle | Acacia laccata |
| velvet flower | Keraudrenia corollata |
| velvet flower | Keraudrenia sp. (Pentland S.T.Blake 9922) |
| vernonia | Cyanthillium cinereum |
W
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| Warlpiri mulga | Acacia adsurgens |
| waltheria | Waltheria indica |
| wanderrie grasses | Eriachne spp. |
| Warrego grass | Paspalidium jubliflorum |
| water bush | Myoporum montanum |
| water grass | Paspalum distichum |
| wattles | Acacia spp. |
| wattle | Acacia armitii |
| weeping lovegrass | Eragrostis parvifolia |
| weeping teatree | Melaleuca leucadendra |
| western beauty-heads | Calocephalus platycephalus |
| western bloodwood | Corymbia terminalis |
| western dogwood | Jacksonia rhadinoclona |
| western long-fruited bloodwood | Corymbia plena |
| western rosewood | Acacia spania |
| White Mountains myrtle | Babingtonia squarrulosa |
| White Mountains pigeon grass | Paspalidium spartellum |
| White Mountains tomato bush | Solanum crassitomentosum |
| White Mountain's wattle | Acacia ramiflora |
| White Mountains wiregrass | Aristida burraensis |
| whitegrass | Sehima nervosum |
| White's ironbark | Eucalyptus whitei |
| whitewood | Atalaya hemiglauca |
| whorled-leaved wattle | Acacia galioides |
| wilga | Geijera parviflora |
| willow primrose | Ludwidgia octovalvis |
| winged windmill grass | Oxychloris scariosa |
| wiregrass | Aristida ingrata |
| wiregrass | Aristida personata |
| wiregrasses | Aristida spp. |
| woodland paperbark | Melaleuca nervosa |
| woolly glycine | Glycine tomentella |
| wrinkly-podded wattle | Acacia torulosa |
Y
| Botanical Name | Common Name |
| yellow berry bush | Maytenus cunninghamii |
| yellow buttons | Chrysocephalum apiculatum |
| yellowwood | Terminalia oblongata |
Compiled by E.J. Thompson and D. Sharp, Queensland Herbarium, Environmental Protection Agency. Fauna images and information supplied by Alex Kutt, EPA, Townsville. G.Morgan, EPA, Townsville made significant contribution to information provided in the fact sheets. Funded by the NHT Bushcare program and Queensland Herbarium, EPA.
Last updated: 03 December 2003
