PLANT

Acacia
obliquiner
via

COMMON NAME
Mountain
Hickory Wattle
FLOWERS LATE
WINTER AND
SPRING
Erect or spreading
shrub or tree 115

USES
Wood was
used for
carving of
implement
s,
weapons
and
ornaments

m high; bark
deeply fissured,
dark brown;
branchlets angled
or flattened
towards apices,
glabrous,
commonly
pruinose.source

Aciphylla
glacialis

Alpine Celery
Flowering in
JAN
Description: Sprawli
ng herb with robust
rootstock, 3070 cm
high.
Leaves leathery,
crowded at the plant
base, 23-pinnate,
fan-like; lamina ovate
or elliptic in outline,
1328 cm long
including the 616 cm
long sheathing base,
segments linear,
segments 2040 mm
long, apex acute with
an aristate tip; basal
sheath 1020 mm

Leaves
and Stems
were
eaten raw
during
spring and
summer.
Seeds
were
moistened
, then
crushed
into a
paste and
taken to
relieve
urinary

IMAGES

wide.
Male inflorescence
slender, spreading,
the female more
robust and contracted
with thicker
peduncles; 716
umbellules per
umbel. Flowers 2.53
mm diam. Petals 1
1.5 mm long.
Stamens often
exceeding the petals
in the male flowers, in
female flowers
stamens reduced and
sterile.

disorders

Baeckia
gunniana

Alpine Baeckia
FLOWERS DECAPRIL
Baeckea
gunniana is a
glabrous, densely
branched and
aromatic shrub
around 0.5-1 metre
in height, although it
can reach 2 metres
in lower altitudes. It
is sometimes
prostrate or
spreading over
rocks and boulders.
The leaves are
opposite, small and
crowded, and
oblong to obovate
shaped with a blunt
apex and range from
2-4 mm long and
0.6-0.8 mm wide.
The flowers are
white in colour, and
are small and
numerous, being
around 4-5 mm in
diameter and borne
solitary in the upper
leaf axils.

Leaves
were
sundried,
then
soaked in
hot water
and the
liquid is
taken as a
mildly
sedative
drink.
Leaves
and
branches
were
placed on
a low fire
and the
vapour
inhaled to
relieve
coughs
and colds.

Caladenia
spp.

Mountain
caladenia
(orchid)
FLOWERING
NOV-JAN
Grows in high
altitude (usually
above 1000 m)
forest, subalpine
woodland or alpine
tussock-grassland,
mainly in eastern
mountains with
outlying
occurrences in the
Grampians.

In winter
the two
year old
tuber was
eaten raw
or cooked

Clematis
aristata

Old Mans
Beard,
Travellers Joy.
Flowering in spring,
the species is most
attractive with its
masses of creamy
white flowers borne
on short branches in
the axils of upper
leaves. The flowers
are 2-3cm across
and consist of four
lanceolate petal-like
sepals arranged in a
star pattern. They
enclose numerous
silky stamens or
slender, plumed
styles as the flowers
are usually either
male or female. The
styles on the female
flowers persist to
form curved feathery
appendages on the
tightly clustered fruit.
In this stage the
plant is very
decorative and
inspires two of the
common names Goatsbeard or Old
Man's Beard.
Leaves are
opposite, trifoliate
with faintly but
irregularly toothed
margins. Juvenile
foliage is purplish
with white or silver
markings.

Fluffy
fruits were
placed in
coolamons
(carrying
trays)
used as
babies
cradles, to
soak up
urine and
faeces
Leaves
were
rubbed on
tired feet.
Leaves
were
crushed
and the
vapour
inhaled to
relieve
headaches

Dianella
tasmanica

Tasmanian Flax
Lily
The strap-like leaves
are up to 950 mm
long and between
14 to 32mm wide,
indented along the
mid vein, with a
toothed edge that
has a tendency to
curl backwards on
some leaves. There
is a red edge on
most leaves near
the base of the
flattened clumps. On
branching stems the
small clusters of
lavender to violet
flowers, with yellow
stamens and
anthers, are
produced in spring
to summer, followed
by large blue berries
10 to 25 mm long.
The fruit can be
eaten and has a
taste similar to

Fruit was
eaten raw,
in autumn.
Rhizome
was
cleaned,
pounded
and
roasted
for eating
in autumn
and
Winter.

grapes. The fruits

are bird dispersed.
Aboriginal people
have used the fruit
to
dye Lomandra leave
s when making
baskets.

Eucalyptu
s
delegaten
sis

Alpine ash
Eucalyptus
delegatensis,
commonly known
as alpine
ash, gum-topped
stringybark,
and white-top, is
a sub-alpine or te
mperate tree of
southeasternAustr
alia. A straight,
grey-trunked tree,
it reaches heights
of over 90 metres
in suitable
conditions. The
tallest currently
known specimen
is located
in Tasmaniaand is
87.9 m tall.[1] This
height is sufficient
to make it the 10th
tallest species
oftree. Among
eucalypts,
only Eucalyptus
regnans grows
taller.

Fresh gum
was
collected,
mixed
with warm
water and
applied to
sores, cuts
and
scabies.
Bark from
the young
roots was
roasted
until crisp
then
pounded
and eaten.
Leaves
were dried
and
smoked to
relive
breathing
difficulties
Leaves
were
mashed to
a pulp,
which was
then taken
to relieve
extreme
diarrhoea
Inner bark
was used
sa tinder
for
lighting
fires in
wet
weather.
Juvinile
leaves
were
boiled

until the
water had
turned
green, the
liquid was
cooled,
strained
and used
as a wash
for
muscular
pain and
to relieve
fever
Microseris
lanceolata

Yam Daisy
Common name:
Yam Daisy,
Murnong, Native
Dandelion
Family name:
Asteraceae
Botanical name:
Microseris
lanceolata
Flowering/fruiting
season:
Summer - autumn
flowering
Location:
In ACT, common in
subalpine habitats
and sparsely
distributed at
lower altitudes
(Burbidge & Gray,
1976:395-6)

Roots
were
roasted
and eaten
Leaves
were
eaten, raw
or cooked.
Flowers
were sun
dried, and
if needed
soaked in
warm
water and
taken to
ensure a
peaceful
sleep

Pimelia
alpina and
Pimelia
ligustrina

Bootlace bush,
rice flower
Description: Erect or
prostrate shrub to 30
cm high, stems
glabrous.
Leaves crowded and
confined to end of
branches, narrowelliptic, mostly 410
mm long, 24 mm
wide, concave.
Flowers in bracteate
heads; peduncles to
2.5 mm long,
glabrous. Bracts 4,
elliptic to ovate, 57
mm long, glabrous.
Flowers 518 per
head, all coarsely
hairy, usually pinkish
red or rarely white;
bisexual flowers 78
mm long, female
flowers 57 mm long.
Fruit 34 mm long,
green, enclosed in
the now brown
hypanthium base.

Pimelia ligustrina
Description: Peduncl
es glabrous, or
almost so; bracts
glabrous on inner
surface, hairy on
outer surface. Bracts
green, sometimes
ciliate on the margins,
usually reflexed in
fruit; receptacle
commonly elongating
in fruit. Shrub to 2 m
high in open forest.
Leaves variable in
shape, mostly 2060
mm long. Peduncles
glabrous or almost
so. Bracts 415 mm
long, 210 mm wide.
Flowers 15130 per
head; pedicels often
golden-hairy.

Bark was
stripped
from the
stems
woven
into string
for dilly
bags,
hunting
snares or
fishing
nets.
Head or
neck
bands
made
from the
root bark
were worn
to cure
headaches

Podocarpu
s
lawrencei

Mountain plumpine
The Mountain Plum
Pine is one of
Australias few
native conifers from
a plant family which
has existed in the

Fruit was
eaten raw
or cooked,
in autumn.
Seeds
were
roasted,
moistened
, pounded,
to a paste
and eaten

southern
hemisphere since
the time of the
super-continent

Males cones

Gondwana (180
my). The natural
habitat is low heath
in the alpine areas
of south-eastern
Australia, including
Tasmania.
An adaptation to the
harsh alpine
environment is its
habit of clinging to
and taking the form
of exposed granite
boulders. This
enables the plant to
maximize the light
and warmth
available for growth
during the snow free
season. It is the
longest lived alpine
species but, in that
harsh environment,
the growth rate is

Female cones and fruit

very slow. A
specimen from near
Mt Kosciuszko was
found to be 170
years old but had a
trunk diameter of
only 6 cm.
On the female plant
the reproductive
structure does not
resemble cones.
When ripe, it
develops into a
bright red, succulent
berry-like structure,
above which is
attached a hard
green seed. The
male cones in spring
and the red fruit in
summer each stand
out against the dark
green foliage.

Rubus
parvifolius

Native
raspberry or
bramble
Description: Scrambl
ing shrub with stems
to c. 1 m long; young
stems finely
pubescent to
tomentose,
glabrescent with age.
Leaves pinnate with
mostly 3, sometimes
5 leaflets; leaflets
ovate to rhombic,
14 cm long, 0.83.5
cm wide, margins
toothed, upper
surface glabrous
and wrinkled, lower
surface white-

Fruit eaten
raw in
summer.
Leaves
were sun
dried then
soaked in
hot water
and the
liquid
taken by
woman to
ease
childbirth

tomentose; petiole 1
2.5 cm long; lateral
leaflets sessile,
terminal petiolule 10
15 mm long.
Flowers in short
terminal panicles or
solitary in upper axils.
Petals red or pink,
shorter than the
sepals.
Fruit almost globose,
c. 10 mm diam., red.
In southern districts
the leaves are usually
5-foliolate.

Spagnum
cristatum

Sphagnum
moss
Common name
Sphagnum Moss
Family
Sphagnaceae
Grimwade Sheet
No.
113A
Original
identification
Sphagnum
cymbophyllum
Distribution (from
Flora of Victoria)
This is not
included in Flora
of Victoria, which
only covers
vascular plants,
but is treated in
volume 51
of Flora of
Australia. It
occurs
in NSW, ACT, Vi
c. and Tas, as
well as in New
Zealand. It is the
commonSphagn
um species in
alpine areas of
southeast
Australia.

Dried
leaves
were used
as
padding in
paperbark
napkins in
babies
and
menstruat
ing
woman

Get map from Australia's Virtual Herbarium

Tasmanian
xerophila

Alpine pepper

Tasmannia

Fruit was
used to
flavour
fish

xerophila,
commonly known
as alpine
pepperbush, is a
shrub of eucalypt
forest, alpine
grassland and
rocky terrain
of New South
Wales andVictoria,
Australia.
Leaves are thick,
oblanceolate, 16
cm long, 515 mm
wide, glabrous,
green on both
surfaces. Flowers
are white to yellow,
1 cm wide. Black
globose berries are
510 mm long.[1]

Viola
betonicifol
ia

Native violet
Viola
betonicifolia,
commonly known
as the arrowhead
violet, showy
violet or mountai
n violet, is a small
perennial
herbaceous shrub
of theViola, which
contains pansies
and violets. It
occurs from India
and Pakistan in

Flowers
were
eaten

Wahlenber
gia
gloriosa

southern Asia
throughout
eastern Australia
and Tasmania. It
grows in shaded
habitat in forests.
Native bluebell
W. gloriosa is a
small, slender,
creeping to semierect perennial herb.
It has spreading
rhizomes with
several to many
simple and erect
stems. The small
dark-green leaves
are usually opposite
with oblong wavy
edges that broaden
toward the apex.
The deep blue to
purple bell-shaped
flowers are erect on
long slender stems
with a few distant
narrow bracts.
Flowers are about 3
cm in diameter and
there are usually 5
petals. The petals of
the flower are edible
and they make a
delightful addition to
a mixed salad of
greens. The fruit is a
small capsule of
obconic shape.

Flowers
were
eaten