australasia

This hillside features plants from Australia, New Zealand and high elevations of islands in the South Pacific. Representatives of the Myrtle family include tea trees (Leptospermum, Kunzea) and paper barks (Melaleuca). You will also see banksias (Banksia) and grevilleas (Grevillea) of the protea family and Southern beeches (Nothofagus). Close relatives of these plants can be found in South America and Southern Africa. This wide distribution can be traced back to an ancient geological time when these southern continents were grouped together in a single land mass called Gondwana.