Wildflowers of Western Australia - Beacons of Resilience

The wildflowers of Western Australia epitomise resilience.

Over their 115-million-year existence in Western Australia’s southwest they have adapted, diversified, and made the most of the harshest and inhospitable conditions.

Drought, fire, intense heat, soils that lack nutrients, few pollinators - not the most ideal situation.

And yet they endure. Continue to thrive.
Here is a profile of five stunning WA plants endemic to the Fitzgerald River National Park and the features that make them beacons of resilience:

1. ROYAL HAKEA - Hakea Victoria

The Royal Hakea - iconic species endemic to the Fitzgerald River National Park displays its colourful leaves - hardened and spiky to protect its delicate velvety flower.

The Hakea is a genus of Australian wildflowers belonging to the Proteaceae family, with about 150 species, the majority are endemic to the southwest of Australia.

The Royal Hakea is a much-admired species of Hakea endemic to the Fitzgerald River National Park with exceptional characteristics that allow it to survive in the dry and hostile conditions of that area. Most distinctive are its rough, thick and leathery leaves that grow stacked like colourful concave bowls with sharp crinkly edges helping it reduce water loss and also being pecked by birds of larger animals.
Like all hakeas, over its 18-million-year evolution, this plant has created a thick and hard woody pod to protect its tiny seed from birds and fire. The pods are serotinous, that is, they release their seeds during fire.

2. CORKY HONEY MYRTLE - Melaleuca suberosa

Sometimes when you look at the Corky Honey Myrtle is looks like it belongs underwater with its dense leaves and asymmetrical branches.
Like other plants in the Myrtaceae family, Melaleuca suberosa, possesses qualities that allow it to survive extreme heat and dry conditions. Its thick and ridged bark acts as insulation protecting it from heat and reducing loss of moisture. The compact and crowded leaves also offer ptoection and reduce water loss.
It also has a deep and widespreading root system that can access water even in poor, sandy and rocky soils.

3. WESTERN TINY BLUE ORCHID - Cyanicula aperta

This tiny orchid belongs to the - despite its delicate appearance grows on rocky outcrops and sandy, loamy soils. Like other native West Australian orchids in it relies on a special - mycorrhizal - relationship with soil fungi who by infecting the germinating seeds allow nutrients and water that the plant would not access with its own root system. Another important adaptation is that it is stimulated by fire - often flowering profusely after hot fires - this is due to many reason, but on of them is that fires remove completion, let in more light and allow the flowers to be highly visible to pollinators as they contrast against the burnt ground.

4. SCARLET BANKSIA - Banksia coccinea

Banksias are another member of the Protaeceae family. Paleo-botanists estimate that protaeceae have been around for approximately 60 million years and are perhaps the first angiosperms that adapted to the challenging climate of the southwest of Australia.

Like other Banksias (and many proteaceae), the Scarlet Banksia has ‘proteoid’ roots - roots that are clustered together to optimise its absorption of water and nutrients. They can also go deep into its preferred sandy soils to get at any moisture found there.
Its seed is also protected and released with fire. An additional quality is its tolerance to the salt content of coastal winds.
The Banksia coccinea is a principal food source for another endemic species of the southwest of Australia, the Honey Possum. This tiny marsupial relies on their nectar and in turn area major pollinator for the species.

5. LONG-LEAVED CONE BUSH - Petrophile longifolia

Another genus of the Proteaceae family common to Australia’s southwest is the Petrophile - literally meaning lover of rocks.

The Long-Leaved Cone Bush is a priority 3 species meaning that while it is not yet threatened it is moving in that direction.
They are a great example of adaptation, unlike the other variations of the species, its flowers are displayed just above the ground.

Could it be that it diversified to optimise pollination by non-flying insects?

Like other proteaceae it also has a seed protected by a wood casing that is released during fire.

In January 2026, bushfires caused by lightning burnt approximately 170,000 hectares of the Fitzgerald River National Park. The National Park makes up the core of the UNESCO listed Biosphere Reserve: the Fitzgerald Biosphere (one of only four in Australia). It is considered of global significance because of its rich and unique endemic biodiversity.
The resilience that these plants display reflects adaptation over millions of years and shine beacons of hope for the survival of nature and our planets biodiversity.