Yatteyattah Nature Reserve is a protected area of only 35 hectares, situated near Milton

Milton, New South Wales

Milton is a town in the City of Shoalhaven on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia, not far from Ulladulla. It was founded in the middle of the 19th century...

 in the south coast region of 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...

, 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...

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The monzonite

Monzonite

Monzonite is an intermediate igneous intrusive rock composed of approximately equal amounts of sodic to intermediate plagioclase and orthoclase feldspars with minor amounts of hornblende, biotite and other minerals...

 based soils, moderate climate and 1200 mm of annual rainfall produce a high quality Forest Red Gum

Eucalyptus tereticornis

Eucalyptus tereticornis is a species of tree native to eastern Australia.It has a great many common names, of which Forest Red Gum is perhaps the most widely known...

 forest on the higher plateau. The rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 is of scientific interest as the most southerly sub tropical rainforest remnant in Australia.

Significant tree species include Red Cedar

Toona ciliata

Australian Red Cedar , Toona ciliata is a forest tree in the family Meliaceae which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. In Australia its natural habitat is now extensively cleared subtropical rainforests of New South Wales and Queensland...

, Myrtle Ebony, Deciduous Fig

Ficus superba var. henneana

Ficus superba var. henneana is a strangler fig only occurring in Australia. It is a variety of Ficus superba which occurs in China, Japan and parts of South East Asia....

, Citronella

Citronella moorei

Citronella moorei is a rainforest tree growing in eastern Australia. Common names for this species include Churnwood, Citronella, Soapy Box, Silky Beech, and Corduroy.- Description :...

, Silver Quandong

Elaeocarpus kirtonii

Elaeocarpus kirtonii is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It grows from near Milton, New South Wales to Eungella National Park in tropical Queensland. It grows in tropical, sub-tropical and warm temperate rainforests. Often seen in cooler and moister sites on volcanic soils and on the...

, Whalebone Tree

Streblus brunonianus

Streblus brunonianus known as the Whalebone Tree is a small tree in the fig family. Commonly seen in a variety different types of rainforest, particularly by streams....

 and Bollygum, many of which are near their southernmost limit of natural distribution. Outstanding also is the display of epiphytic ferns, such as Birds Nest Fern

Asplenium australasicum

Asplenium australasicum is a species of plant in the Aspleniaceae family found in eastern Australia.-Taxonomy:Asplenium australasicum was originally described by English botanist John Smith in 1857 as Neottopteris australasica. He had reclassified the already known A. nidus in its own genus...

 and Elkhorn Fern

Platycerium bifurcatum

Platycerium bifurcatum, commonly known as the Elkhorn Fern, is a Platycerium species of fern. It is native to southeastern Australia, in New South Wales, Queensland, and on Lord Howe Island...

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In 1964, a broad swathe was cut through this small forest for electrical power lines, despite the area being surrounded by clear country and declared a protected area.