This is a list of Australian floral emblem

Floral emblem

In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to adopt these symbols - some are conferred by...

s. It encompasses the national flower and the official flowers of the constituent states.

After the Federation of Australia

Federation of Australia

The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...

 took place in 1901, the upsurge in nationalism led to the search for an official national floral emblem. Archibald Campbell

Archibald James Campbell

Archibald James Campbell was an Australian civil servant in the Victorian, later the Australian federal, customs service, as well as an amateur ornithologist. He was one of the principal founders of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union in 1901 and served as its President in 1909 and 1928...

 had founded the Wattle Club in Victoria in 1899 to promote interest in and profile of the wattle as a unique Australian flower. The New South Wales waratah was considered alongside the wattle Acacia pycnantha, although lost out to the latter in 1912. The economist and botanist R. T. Baker

Richard Thomas Baker

Richard Thomas Baker was an Australian economic botanist, museum curator and educator.-Early life:Baker was born in Woolwich, England, son of Richard Thomas Baker, a blacksmith, and his wife Sarah, née Colkett...

 proposed that the waratah's endemism to the Australian continent made it a better choice than the wattle, as well as the prominence of its flowers. The South Australian Evening News also supported the bid, but to no avail.

In New South Wales, the New South Wales waratah was proclaimed as the official floral emblem of the state in 1962 by the then governor Sir Eric Woodward

Eric Woodward

Lieutenant General Sir Eric Winslow Woodward KCMG, KCVO, CB, CBE, DSO was an Australian military officer and Viceroy...

, after being used informally for many years.

The Cooktown Orchid (Vappodes phalaenopsis), has been the official floral emblem of Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 since November 19, 1959.

In November 1960, Anigozanthos manglesii was adopted as the floral emblem

National emblem

A national emblem symbolically represents a nation. Most national emblems originate in the natural world, such as animals or birds, but another object may serve. National emblems may appear on many things such as the national flag, coat of arms, or other patriotic materials...

 of Western Australia in a proclamation made by then Premier of Western Australia David Brand

David Brand

Sir David Brand KCMG was the 19th and longest serving Premier of Western Australia and a Member of the Legislative Assembly from 1945 to 1975.-Early life:...

, to promote tourist interest in the State's wildflowers. He had been advised by the State's Tourist Development Authority.

The South Australian Government adopted Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona Formosa) as the Floral Emblem of South Australia on 23rd November, 1961.

The Tasmanian Government proclaimed Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus globulus

The Tasmanian Blue Gum, Southern Blue Gum or Blue Gum, is an evergreen tree, one of the most widely cultivated trees native to Australia. They typically grow from 30 to 55 m tall. The tallest currently known specimen in Tasmania is 90.7 m tall...

as their State floral emblem on 5 December 1962, however it is rarely seen as an official or popular emblem. This led to the Tasmanian Branch of the then SGAP

Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants

The Australian Native Plants Society is a federation of seven state-based member organizations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation....

 promoting the attractive flower Eucryphia lucida

Eucryphia lucida

Eucryphia lucida, commonly known as the Leatherwood is a small tree or large shrub found in forest in Tasmania. An attractive plant utilised in both the horticulture and apiculture industries, it was promoted by the Tasmanian Branch of the then SGAP as an alternative to the Tasmanian blue gum for...

as an alternative in 1966.

Area represented	Image	Common name	Binomial nomenclature Binomial nomenclature Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
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...		Golden Wattle	Acacia pycnantha
Australian Capital Territory Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...		Royal Bluebell	Wahlenbergia gloriosa Wahlenbergia gloriosa Wahlenbergia gloriosa, or Royal Bluebell, is an Australian wildflower from the Campanulaceae family. It grows in high rainfall areas in the Australian Alps, in environs ranging from shady roadside cuttings on Mount Hotham to full sun herbfields on the main range.W. gloriosa has small dark green...
New South Wales New South Wales New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...		New South Wales Waratah	Telopea speciosissima Telopea speciosissima Telopea speciosissima, commonly known as the New South Wales waratah or simply waratah, is a large shrub in the plant family Proteaceae. It is endemic to New South Wales in Australia and is the floral emblem of that state...
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...		Sturt's Desert Rose	Gossypium sturtianum Sturt's Desert Rose Sturt's Desert Rose is a woody shrub, closely related to cultivated cotton, found in most mainland states of Australia and the Northern Territory. It has a life cycle of about 10 years, grows from 1–2 m tall and 1–2 m wide....
Queensland Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...		Cooktown Orchid	Vappodes phalaenopsis
South Australia South Australia South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...		Sturt's Desert Pea	Swainsona formosa
Tasmania Tasmania Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...		Tasmanian Blue Gum	Eucalyptus globulus Eucalyptus globulus The Tasmanian Blue Gum, Southern Blue Gum or Blue Gum, is an evergreen tree, one of the most widely cultivated trees native to Australia. They typically grow from 30 to 55 m tall. The tallest currently known specimen in Tasmania is 90.7 m tall...
Victoria Victoria (Australia) Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....		Pink (Common) Heath	Epacris impressa
Western Australia Western Australia Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...		Red and Green Kangaroo Paw	Anigozanthos manglesii Anigozanthos manglesii Anigozanthos manglesii, commonly known as the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw or Mangles Kangaroo Paw, is a plant species endemic to Western Australia, and the floral emblem of that state....