Feature plants

Create a focal point (or make a statement) in your garden with one of these striking plants. Choose from the list based on individual features such as size, foliage or seasonal floral display.

* Delonix regia and Doryanthes palmeri images copyright Queensland Museum

Common Name (Botanical Name)	Features	Growing Preferences	Fauna support
hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii)	Majestic native conifer to 30m with distinctive dark green foliage arranged in whorls; icon species of Brisbane landscape	Adaptable to most soils; hardy; salt spray tolerant	birds, possums
poinciana (Delonix regia)	Popular ornamental flowering tree common in older Brisbane suburbs; thick stout trunk often buttressed; dome shaped canopy is covered in red flowers in summer	Full sun; well drained and composted soil	birds
cabbage palm (Livistona australis)	Tall slender trunked native palm to 20m; large glossy fan-shaped fronds; dense crown; cream/white flowers	Full sun and semi shade; adapts to range of soils; likes moisture	birds, butterflies, flying foxes
spear lily (Doryanthes palmeri)	Very large lily species with thick strappy leaves to 2m long; spectacular red 3m flower spike attractive to birds; also suitable tub specimen	Full sun, well drained and composted soils	birds
tree waratah (Alloxylon flammeum)	Medium-sized bushy tree with glossy, long, dark green leaves; spectacular orange-red oral display in spring	Full sun; well-drained, better soils	birds

Green Choice Guide references and recommended reading

The recommended plants in this section have been sourced from the guide Green Choice Gardening in Brisbane, which is copyright Brisbane City Council 2005.

Hardcopy versions of the guide may be obtained by contacting the Brisbane City Council call centre on (07) 3403 8888.

Following are the references used in preparing the guide.

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries - search on ‘Fruits in the Home Garden’.

Greig, D. 1996, Flowering Natives for Home Gardens, HarperCollins, NSW.

Hauser, J. & Blok, J. 1998, Fragments of Green - An Identification Field Guide for Rainforest Plants of the Greater Brisbane Region to the Border Ranges, 2nd edn, Australian Rainforest Conservation Society, Qld.

Hirschfeld, J. 1991, What to Plant and Where in Brisbane and the Coasts, 2nd edn, Albion Press, Qld.

Jones, D. L. 1986, Ornamental Rainforest Plants in Australia, Reed Books, NSW.

Nicholson, N. & H., 1985-1994, Australian Rainforest Plants, vol.1-4, Terania Rainforest Publishing, The Channon, NSW.

Oakman, H. 1995, Harry Oakman’s What Flowers When, University of Qld Press, Qld.

Queensland Museum 2003, Wild Plants of Greater Brisbane, Queensland Museum, Qld.

Wrigley, J. W. and Fagg, M. 1996, Australian Native Plants – propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping, 4th edn, Reed Books, Melbourne.

Acknowledgements Sustainable Gardening Australia