Flora

• 1,431species of native flora (28% of the state total)
• 126considered threatened
• 475exotic plants, 14 of them Weeds of National Significance

The most commonly recorded flora for South Gippsland are austral bracken, prickly tea-tree, common heath, messmate stringybark and silver banksia.

The South Gippsland BPP area is home to 1431 species of native flora (28% of the state total) of which 126 are considered threatened. Additionally, there are 475 plants identified as exotic or located outside of their natural range. Most of these are environmental weeds which are recognised as impacting on native plants and animals. Of these, 14 are Weeds of National Significance.

Some key flora strongly associated with South Gippsland include southern blue gum, Strzelecki gum and bog gum. The South Gippsland BPP Foundation Document is a resource for exploring more detail on the flora and fungi of South Gippsland.

Candidate species for project focus

The plan suggests these threatened species as candidates for continued or new project focus:

• Nationally threatened (EPBC-listed): Strzelecki gum
• State threatened (FFG-listed): bog gum, southern blue gum

Ideas in the plan for projects that build on past efforts include:

Saving South Gippsland’s Threatened Eucalypts (focus on Strzelecki gum, southern blue gum and bog gum) – protecting existing stands of these threatened eucalypts and encouraging natural regeneration in and around larger patches of these species.

Source: South Gippsland Biodiversity Protection Plan (October 2024), section 3.1.2 Native flora and fungi and section 3.4 Threatened species; species figures from Victorian Biodiversity Atlas records cited in the plan.