• Home
• >
• Environment
• >
• Bushland & wildlife
• >
• Native plants

Native plants

Waverley has 121 locally indigenous native plant species. These plants that occur naturally in our area are evolutionarily suited to the local soils and climate. This means they are generally hardy and drought tolerant and suited to our local animals. Our tough, typcially small leaved plants also provide a distinctly coastal character to our landscape.

Waverley's native plant species are typically low shrubs, grasses and sedges. Fifteen distinct plant communities have been identified in the Waverley LGA. For more information about Waverley's flora, see our latest Flora Survey. Plant communities present in Waverley are:

• Beach Grassland
• Sea-cliff Grassland
• Sea-cliff Sedgeland (3 types)
• Sea-cliff Herbland  (2 types)
• Sea-cliff Heath
• Sea-cliff Scrub
• Sandstone Moist Heath
• Sandstone Dry Scrub
• Sandstone Dry Scrub
• Low Woodland / Low Forest
• Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub
• Fernland
• Imperata Grassland

In some places, additional planting is an important way improve the connectivity of our habitat corridors, and is required for new developments. Refer to the Biodiversity Section of the Waverley DCP 2022, and see the Waverley DCP 2022 Habitat Corridor Map for its location.

See Gardening with native plants for tips on how to choose, plant and care for your native plants at home.

You can purchase plants that are locally indigenous to the Eastern Suburbs area from Randwick Community Nursery and Indigigrow.

It can be difficult to tell the difference between some native plants and common weeds. Anne Loughran's book "Native Plant or Weed" is a great resource with clear pictures that show the plants of the Sydney region that can be confused with weed species.

Threatened native plant species and communities in Waverley

Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub

The Waverley Area contains a small patch of Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub (ESBS). Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub only ocurs in the Greater Sydney regaion. Only 146 heactars of the original 5,300 hectares (less thn 3%) now remains, and this vegetation community is now listed as a Critically Endangered Ecologial Community. ESBS occurs on deep Aeolian (wind blown) sands, and typically includes plants such as Wallum Banksia (Banksia aemula), Heath Banksia (Banksia ericifolia), Old Man Banksia (Banksia serrata), Wax Flower (Eriostemon australasius), Variable Swordsedge (Lepidosperma laterale), Coastal Teatree (Leptospermum laevigatum,) Tree Broom Heath (Monotoca elliptica) and Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea resinifera).  More information about Eastern Suburbs Banksia Scrub is availabe in the recovery Plan

Sunshine Wattle

The threatened plant species, Sunshine Wattle, Acacia terminalis subspecies Eastern Sydney now only occurs in one location within the Waverley area. Click to see the National Recovery Plan for the Sunshine Wattle.

Bibliography:

• Loughran, A. (2006)  Native Plant of Weed? Pick the difference. NSW Department of Primary Industries.
• Fairley, A. and Moore, P. (2010)   Native Plants of the Sydney Region, Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest.
• Robinson, L.  (2003)   Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, Simon & Schuster Australia