Using native plants

Australian native plants supplied all the survival needs for Aboriginal people for 40,000 years or more. This included their food, medicines, tools, utensils, ceremonial materials, housing and hunting equipment. 

Plants which were highly valued included: banksias, Gymea Lilies, Xanthorrhoeas or Grass trees, Geebung, Dianella or Flax Lily, the Mint bushes and the Bunya Pine. 

Today, we continue to use native plants for medicine, food, fodder, street trees, in our gardens, windbreaks and for reclaiming degraded landscapes. 

These articles bring some of these uses to light, although we still have much to learn!

For using native plants in gardens, see our Gardening with native plants page.