Guests browsing plant shelves during an evening at Stem & Vine in Baltimore

The plant atlas · Region 04

Plants of Australia

The most isolated continent on Earth grew plants found nowhere else, and a few of them have made themselves at home in yours.

The continent

A continent mostly underwater

Australia is more than a country. Zoom out and it becomes Australia and Oceania, a region that runs from the Outback to the far islands of Polynesia.

That larger entity contains the nations of Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, along with the thousands of islands in the Central and South Pacific that make up Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, the last of which includes the U.S. state of Hawai’i. Thanks to a unique physical geography dominated by the Pacific, and isolation from the rest of the world, Australia and Oceania holds a vast number of endemic species, plants and animals found nowhere else on the planet. The geography did most of the work:

In total land area Australia is the smallest continent, but most of Australia and Oceania lies beneath the Pacific, a body of water larger than all the Earth’s landmasses and islands combined
Oceania divides into three island groups: continental islands, high or volcanic islands, and low or coral islands
Australia’s landscape is dominated by the Outback’s deserts and semi arid land, while New Zealand features glaciers and Papua New Guinea, highland rain forests

During the last glacial period, sea levels sat low enough for travel, and many plants and animals reached the islands from southern Asia. After the seas rose and separated the landmasses, those species adapted to their individual island environments and produced new, endemic ones. Each of those histories ends in a care note. The conditions a species adapted to are the conditions it still expects from you, and they’re the reason our shelves hold plant science and plant culture side by side.

Potted ficus and rubber plant leaves in soft window light

Silhouette map of Australia and Oceania, where pothos and many ferns began

Golden pothos trailing from hanging planters over the garden cart at Stem & Vine in Baltimore

The pothos spilling off our garden cart started out on the islands of Oceania.

Worth repeating

Three fun plant facts about Australia and Oceania

Built for fire

Frequent wildfires have produced a remarkable adaptation in many species of eucalyptus, which make up three quarters of Australia’s forests: they resprout after fire, or carry seeds that survive prolonged blazes.

Seeds that sail

Coconut palms and mangroves, common throughout Australia and Oceania, produce seeds that can float on salty water for weeks at a time.

The kōwhai tree

The kōwhai, whose bright blossom New Zealanders chose as their national flower, has traditionally served as a source of medicine, yellow dye, and territorial markers for the Māori of Aotearoa, the Indigenous name for New Zealand.

Meet the plants

Popular plants from the Australian continent

Three Australian natives that settle happily into rooms half a world away.

Yellow kowhai blossoms, the national flower of New Zealand

Umbrella Tree

Schefflera actinophylla · Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia · Easy care

A plant both graceful and whimsical in appearance, the umbrella tree, so called because its compound leaves form rosettes shaped like small umbrellas, makes a great houseplant in almost any kind of space. While it loves bright light, it also does well in medium and even low light conditions. The fast growing shrub does show sensitivity to overwatering, though, so if you’re lucky enough to share your home with one of these beauties, err on the side of dryness.

Did you know? In its native Australia, where the wild tree develops striking fuchsia colored flowering branches that radiate from its center, it’s considered an environmental weed for its fast spread and the damage its roots can do to pipes and plumbing.

Weeping Fig

Ficus benjamina · Northern Australia, Southeast Asia · Intermediate care

The ficus family is large and full of popular houseplants, but Ficus benjamina, the weeping fig, is usually the one people mean when they say ficus. This elegant plant, chosen as the official tree of Bangkok, sports slender, light gray branches and dense, glossy dark foliage. Like some of its cousins, the weeping fig requires simple but conscious care, and it will definitely let you know when it’s unhappy. Under stress from movement, drafts, an inconsistent watering schedule, or poor light, this indoor tree might quite dramatically shed its leaves, and leave you weeping.

Did you know? The weeping fig is one of the best plants for improving air quality indoors, with some of the top removal rates for airborne toxins such as formaldehyde and benzene.

Kimberley Queen Fern

Nephrolepis obliterata · Australia · Easy care

If you want easily maintained verdant lushness in your home, the Kimberley queen fern may be the answer to your prayers. Unlike its better known cousin, the Boston fern, this excellent air purifier grows its fronds upright into space like a collection of drawn swords, making it the perfect occupant for an empty corner or a spot beside a doorway. Like all ferns, the Kimberley queen thrives in humidity and consistently moist soil, but this species tolerates a drier environment. Good news for pet owners: this Australian royal isn’t toxic to our four legged companions.

Did you know? Ferns have existed on Earth for more than 360 million years, arriving 200 million years before flowers. Many dinosaurs were exclusive herbivores that ate a diet of ferns, mosses, and conifers.

Ferns and a palm from Australia and Oceania

Australian native plants run from rainforest ferns to island palms, and a few of them rank among the best indoor plants for a low maintenance home.

Birds Nest Fern

Asplenium nidus · Queensland, tropical Asia, and the Pacific · Easy care

The rosette of wavy, bright green leaves unfurling from a dark center is where the birds nest fern gets its name. It takes bright indirect light and adjusts to medium light levels, and it keeps its green leaves glossy when the soil stays evenly moist. Water around the rim of the plant and keep the center dry, because water that sits in the crown invites rot.

Did you know? In the wild these ferns often live high in tree branches, where the rosette catches falling leaves and rain.

Kentia Palm

Howea forsteriana · Lord Howe Island, Australia · Easy care

Few Australian indoor plants are as patient as the kentia palm, a low maintenance plant with arching fronds that accepts low light and a slow pace. It likes well draining soil and a drink once the top few inches have dried. Keep it out of direct sunlight, which scorches the fronds.

Did you know? Lord Howe Island, a speck in the Tasman Sea, is the only place the kentia palm grows wild.

Staghorn Fern

Platycerium bifurcatum · Eastern Australia · Intermediate care

Antler shaped fronds rise from a flat shield of leaves, and at home a staghorn fern hangs from a wall mount or in hanging baskets, which makes it a showy indoor plant for a bright spot. It wants bright indirect light and a good soak when the shield feels dry.

Did you know? Staghorns are epiphytes. In the wild they cling to tree trunks and draw moisture from the air and the debris that collects behind them.

Looking for the fiddle leaf fig or the peace lily? Neither one is among the Australian plants. The fiddle leaf fig is West African and the peace lily is a tropical American native, so they live with the plants of Africa and the plants of the Americas.

Isolation made these plants unlike anything else on Earth.
That’s exactly why they stand out in a room.

Keep exploring

From the atlas to your windowsill

The Outback is a long way from the Amazon. On our shelves they’re steps apart.

Round out the trip with the plants of Africa, the plants of Asia, and the plants of the Americas, or start over with the full plant care guide. And all four regions are in leaf at the shop on Charles Street in downtown Baltimore.

Africa Asia The Americas Plant care guide

Ferns and hanging plants filling the garden room at Stem & Vine in Baltimore

Get in touch

Oceania is closer than it looks from Baltimore

Trace a pothos vine back to the islands, or bring us the fern question you've been sitting on. Hosting soon? The three spaces are a short detour on your way out.

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