Flora of Kakadu National Park - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This is a list of plants commonly found in Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin.Kakadu National Park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It covers an area of , extending nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres...

, Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

of Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. Where known, common names are given in English and in Gun-djeihmi, a commonly spoken indigenous language in the area, are given in parentheses.

Barringtonia actuangula (Freshwater Mangrove / An-galnggi) - a small, spreading tree that grows on the banks of freshwater creeks, rivers and swamps. It develops hanging, bright-red flowers between September and December. It is also known as the 'itchy tree': small caterpillars feed on the leaves during the wet season and cause localised skin irritation if touched.
Allosyncarpia ternata (Allosyncarpia / An-binik) - a large, hardy evergreen that is restricted to the stone country of Kakadu and Arnhem Land.
Banksia dentata
Banksia dentata
The Tropical Banksia is a species of small tree in the plant genus Banksia.-Distribution and habitat:It occurs throughout northern Australia, and also extends into New Guinea and the Aru Islands...

(Tropical Banksia / Guibuk) - the only Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

found in the Top End. It has distinctive serrated leaves and the characteristic banksia flower, which appears between January and April.
Brachychiton paradoxum (Red-flowered Kurrajong / An-marrenarnak) - a small, often straggly tree that is widespread on the lowlands. It is deciduous in the dry season, when bright-red bell-shaped flowers appear on short stems from the branches.
Buchanania obovata
Buchanania obovata
Buchananis obovata, or Green Plum, is a small to medium sized understorey tree in woodland native to northern Australia.Leaves are smooth, thick, leathery, broadly oblong, 5–25 cm long and 1.5–10 cm wide. Flowers are small, cream-coloured and 0.5 cm across...

(Green Plum / An-dudjmi) - a medium-sized tree with large, thick leathery leaves. Bunches of green grape-sized plums appear in October to December; they are considered to be some of the best bush tucker around.
Calytrix exstipulata (Turkey Bush / Anbarndarr) - common throughout the lowlands. It bears masses of pink-purple flowers between May and August.
Cochloprerum fraseri (Kapok Bush / An-djedj) - deciduous in the dry season, from May to August, and has distinctive bright-yellow flowers. Its large, fragile pods are filled with a dense, soft cotton-like material.
Curcuma australasica
Curcuma australasica
Curcuma australasica, Native Turmeric, or Cape York Lily, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the Zingiberaceae or ginger family.-NomenclatureDescription:...

(Native Ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....

) - an attractive leafy annual that grows from a tuber. Its hot pink flowers can be seen at Ubirr
Ubirr
Ubirr is located in the East Alligator region of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory of Australia, and is famous for its rock art. It consists of a group of rock outcrops on the edge of the Nadab floodplain where there are several natural shelters that have a collection of Aboriginal...

and Nourlangie Rock in the wet season. It is also related to the turmeric plant, a native of Asia.
Erythrophleum chlorostachys
Erythrophleum chlorostachys
Erythrophleum chlorostachys is a species of leguminous tree endemic to northern Australia, from northeastern Queensland to the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Commonly known as Cooktown Ironwood, the species is found in wide range of environments from arid savanna to tropical rainforest...

(Cooktown Ironwood / An-dubang) - a tall, spreading tree with distinctive rounded dark-green leaves. Late in the dry season it puts out new leaves that are a bright lime-green. The tree's timber is extremely hard and termite resistant. All parts of the tree are highly poisonous to mammals.
Eucalyptus miniata
Eucalyptus miniata
The Darwin woollybutt is a eucalypt which is native to Australia's Top End, found from Cape York in north Queensland across through to the Northern Territory into the Kimberley Region of northern Western Australia. It is a medium-sized tree which can reach 15–25 m in height. The bark is soft and...

(Darwin Woollybutt / An-djalen) - grows to 10-20 metres; it has dark, rough bark on the lower half of its trunk and smooth, white bark on the upper half. Bright-orange flowers appear between May and August.
Ficus virens
Ficus virens
Ficus virens is a plant of the genus Ficus found in India, southeast Asia, through Malaysia and into Northern Australia. Its common name is White Fig; it is locally known as pilkhan and in the Gun-djeihmi language it is called an-borndi. Like many figs, its fruits are edible...

(Banyan / An-borndi) - a large spreading tree with aerial roots and large prop roots from the major branches. It is a strangler fig with edible fruits and makes a great shade tree.
Grevillea pteridifolia
Grevillea pteridifolia
Grevillea pteridifolia is a species of Grevillea native to Australia. Common names include Silky Grevillea, Darwin Silky Oak, Ferny-leaved Silky Oak, Fern-leaved Grevillea, Golden Grevillea, Golden Tree and Golden Parrot Tree. It occurs in Western Australia, Northern Territory, and Queensland....

(Fern-leafed Grevillea / An-dadjek) - a medium-sized slender tree with long, narrow silver foliage. The flowers are bright orange and appear from May to August. The nectar from the flowers attracts many birds.
Hibiscus tiliaceus (Beach hibiscus) - a small tree, 5 to 8 metres high, commonly found in monsoon pockets along the coast and river banks. It has a large yellow flower with a dark maroon centre.
Livistona humilis (Sand Palm / An-gulalurrudj) - a slender fan palm with small yellow flowers on long spikes. Aboriginal people use it for medicines, fibre, dye and food.
Melaleuca argentea (Silver-leafed Paperbark / Gun-god) - a large, spreading tree commonly seen along the waterways. Its pale-yellow flower spikes appear mainly between June and October and produce a sickly sweet fragrance that attracts many animals.
Nelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera
Nelumbo nucifera, known by a number of names including Indian Lotus, Sacred Lotus, Bean of India, or simply Lotus, is a plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae...

(Red Lily / Wurrmarninj) - grows in lowland wetlands. Its leaves are very large and stand erect above the water. Large, fragrant deep-pink flowers appear between March and November.
Nymphaea violacea
Nymphaea violacea
Nymphaea violacea, also known as blue lily, is a waterlily in the genus Nymphaea.- Distribution :Nymphaea violacea is found in Australia, particularly in the Kimberleys and in northern parts of Queensland and the Northern Territory.- Uses :...

(Blue Lily / Barradjungga) - commonly seen along the margins of billabongs. Its violet-tipped white flowers appear between January and July. The seeds and stems can be eaten raw; the tuberous underground bulbs can be eaten after cooking.
Pandanus aquaticus (Water Pandanus / An-djimjim) - commonly grows along the banks of permanent freshwater streams. Its fruit is inedible.
Pandanus basedowii (Sandstone Pandanus
Pandanus
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...

/ An-more) - grows only in the sandstone areas of Kakadu and Arnhem Land.
Pandanus spiralis
Pandanus spiralis
Pandanus spiralis is shrub or small tree up to 10 metres in height native to northern Australia. It is found growing in the wild in northern West Bengal and Sikkim regions of India...

(Spiral Pandanus / An-yakngarra) - grows in a broad range of habitats, often in dense stands. Aboriginal people use it for medicines, fibre and food.
Pityrodia jamesii - a shrub that grows on rocky areas in pockets of sandy soil. Pink-white flowers appear in September to December. The shrub's sticky, fragrant leaves are the main food of Leichhardt's grasshopper.
Sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

spp. (Spear Grass / An-ngulubu) - grows to over 2 metres and becomes the dominant understorey plant towards the end of the wet season.
Terminalia ferdinandiana
Terminalia ferdinandiana
Terminalia ferdinandiana, also called the gubinge, billygoat plum, Kakadu plum or murunga is a flowering plant in the family Combretaceae, native to Australia, widespread throughout the tropical woodlands from northwestern Australia to eastern Arnhem Land.Its vitamin C concentration may be as high...

(Billy Goat Plum / An-morlak) - harvested commercially outside of Kakadu and marketed as the Kakadu plum. It is a medium-sized tree with large broad leaves. It is deciduous in the dry season and between March and June and bears edible fruits known to have exceptionally high levels of vitamin C.
Utricularia fulva
Utricularia fulva
Utricularia fulva is a small to medium sized annual carnivorous plant that belongs to the genus Utricularia. U. fulva is endemic to Australia, where it appears to be largely restricted to the Northern Territory, specifically the Arnhem Land sandstone escarpment. It grows as a terrestrial or...

(Yellow bladderwort) - a small orchid-like plant that grows along sandy creek banks.

See also