Protecting plants in WA

Western Australia is renowned for its unique flora. From the forests of our south west to the spinifex grasslands and saltbush of central WA and the Boab trees of the Kimberley, our diverse plant life is treasured by locals as well as by tourists.

The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) has a key role in protecting our native plants, and does so through the management of lands and waters reserved under the CALM Act, a range of conservation initiatives operating on other lands, the activities of the WA Herbarium, and programs such as Saving our Species, scientific research, regulation of the taking of native flora and clearing of native vegetation, and the protection of threatened species and ecological communities.

How many plant species are known from Western Australia?

Despite the efforts of many botanists and amateur naturalists since the time of the first European settlement, there is still much that needs to be discovered about our flora. We do not know the precise number of species present in Western Australia: the figure is thought to be about 13,000 of which around 3,000 species are yet to be formally named. Current data is available through the WA Herbarium.

Recent studies have however, provided information, which indicates the need for conservation:

• More than 2,800 Western Australian plant species are considered threatened, rare or poorly known.
• Many species are geographically restricted due to specific habitat requirements.
• Many species in these categories are confined to the south west of the State.
• More than 1,500 Western Australian species have been commercially exploited.
• Spread of disease, changes in land usage, drainage, and other threatening processes, may place the long-term survival of many species in jeopardy.

To find out more about WA's flora search FloraBase.

What plants in WA are protected?

Any plant that is native to WA is protected under the State's primary wildlife conservation legislation called the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950. Under this Act "Flora" is legally defined as any plant (including any wildflower, palm, shrub, tree, fern, creeper or vine) which is either native to Western Australia or declared to be flora under the Act, and includes any part of flora and all seed and spores thereof. Classes of flora protected throughout the State under the Act include all Spermatophyta (flowering plants, conifers and cycads), Pteridophyta (ferns and fern allies), Bryophyta (mosses and liverworts) and Thallophyta (algae, fungi and lichens). Further special protection is applied to threatened flora (declared rare flora).

Am I allowed to pick, collect or harvest WA native plants?

Any activity which involves taking part of or the whole of a WA native plant may require a licence or permit to do so (for more information on licenses and permits see the flora licensing webpage). Please note that the term "to take" in relation to any flora under the legislation, includes "to gather, pluck, cut, pull up, destroy, dig up, remove or injure the flora or permit the same to be done by any means". This therefore covers everything from scientific sampling and hobby collecting to commercial harvesting of flowers and seed. Note that Threatened flora cannot be taken without special permission from the Minister for the Environment. Clearing of native vegetation may also require a clearing permit issued under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.