Whittlesea is home to a rich variety of indigenous plants that play a crucial role in supporting our local wildlife and adding beauty to our landscape. It's important for us to protect and maintain this native vegetation for a balanced ecosystem and sustainable land management.
We encourage rural landowners to retain existing indigenous vegetation and pastures to preserve habitat and biodiversity links.
Our region has many native plants that have adapted over thousands of years to thrive in our specific soil, climate and terrain. These plants provide essential habitats for wildlife and add natural beauty to our rural areas.
Our city is very diverse in its physical characteristics, which influences the types of vegetation that can occur naturally in any given area. For example, many plants are restricted by their environmental requirements such as soil type, climate, rainfall and topography.
Native vegetation is protected through the Whittlesea Planning Scheme and it is the landowner's responsibility to understand their obligations with regards to any removal of native vegetation. The unauthorised removal of native vegetation on your property or roadsides may result in prosecution and enforcement action if it is determined to be a breach of the Whittlesea Planning Scheme.
Native vegetation is perfect for gardens, restoring natural habitats and creating windbreaks on farms. These plants are tough, low-maintenance and well-suited to our local environment.
If you're interested in adding native plants to your property, take a look at our list of local species.
Download our indigenous plants list
Indigenous plant list(PDF, 385KB)
Indigenous plant list - accessible(DOCX, 198KB)
Native pastures are often overlooked or regarded as inferior quality compared to exotic grasses, but they provide comparable food value to exotic grasses and tolerate grazing well.
Native pastures also offer benefits that include:
- being drought-resistant, deep rooted and able to draw on moisture reserves from deep within the soil profile
- needing minimal or no fertiliser
- providing competition against weed invasion and spread
- growing in summer
- evolving to tolerate the soil types and environmental conditions of the area.
Download our native pastures guides
Benefits of native pastures(PDF, 2MB)
Benefits of native pastures - accessible(DOCX, 2MB)
We have produced a booklet to help residents learn about wattles found in the City of Whittlesea.
More than a dozen species of wattle are indigenous to our municipality and many other species are commonly grown in gardens.
The booklet covers:
- interesting facts about wattles
- a detailed identification guide
- plenty of photos
- plants that are indigenous and those considered environmental weeds in Whittlesea.
Download our Wattles of Whittlesea booklet
Wattles booklet(PDF, 954KB)
Wattles booklet - accessible(DOCX, 1MB)
You can also request a hard copy at biodiversityplanning@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or call 03 9217 2170
We have produced a booklet to help you identify the local eucalypt species.
The booklet includes an identification guide to 21 local species including 18 indigenous and three non-indigenous species. The booklet also includes a handy key and great photos of the identifying features including the juvenile and mature leaves, flower buds, fruits and bark.
Download our Eucalypts of Whittlesea booklet
Eucalypts booklet(PDF, 2MB)
Eucalypts booklet - accessible(DOCX, 1MB)
You can also request a hard copy at biodiversityplanning@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or call 03 9217 2170
We have produced a booklet to help you identify native pea plants, also known as ‘Eggs and Bacon’. In Australia, the pea flower family are an extremely colourful group of plants, with the ‘Eggs and Bacon’ group being amongst the brightest, and taking their name from the distinctive coloration of the flowers.
This booklet covers:
- descriptions of 19 different species indigenous to Whittlesea
- identifying features of pea plants
- drawings of leaf shapes
- leaf arrangement on stem
- a detailed glossary and definition of terms within the pea plant family.
Download our Native Peas of Whittlesea Egg and Bacon Plants booklet
Native Peas of Whittlesea Egg and Bacon Plants booklet(PDF, 2MB)
Request a hard copy at biodiversityplanning@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or call 03 9217 2170