Native trees and shrubs of South-Eastern Australia

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Last updated on May 27th, 2026 at 05:43 pm

Book

Costermans, L. F. 1998. Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia. Rev. ed., repr. with addendum, 1998. Sydney: Lansdowne.

Description

Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia embraces an area that stretches from the Flinders and Mt Lofty Ranges in South Australia, across Victoria and southern New South Wales to the NSW South Coast.
It records the land and its vegetation in a scientifically accurate, but accessible, style. Virtually all species of native trees and larger shrubs in this area are described, and their occurrences are related to the features of their environment, events of the past, geology, landforms, soil, and climatic conditions. The brief descriptions of places of special interest, as well as the eight regional ‘guide-lists’ that cover the coast, hills and ranges, high-mountain country, and various inland areas, assist anyone exploring such regions to identify the trees and shrubs. [Editor’s note: This is the description for the newest publication released in 2009.]

( New Holland Publishers | Native Trees and Shrubs of South-Eastern Australia)

Parts, chapters and sections

Preface vi
Acknowledgments vii

  • Processes which Shape the Land Geological and Evolutionary History p. 6
  • Geological and evolutionary history p. 7
  • Origins and Distribution of Australian Flora p. 14
  • The Importance of the Soil p. 15
  • Some Principles of Plant Ecology p. 18

  • The Far South-cast p. 23
  • Around the Pigeon House p. 26
  • Mount Buffalo p. 28
  • The High Country p. 31
  • *The Prom’ p. 32
  • Fire and Forests p. 34
  • The Grampians p. 36
  • Wyperfeld p. 38
  • The Flinders Ranges p. 40

  • A Common and Widespread Species p. 44
  • B Taller Forests and Moist Valleys of the Ranges p. 58
  • C Near-coastal NSW and East Gippsland p. 66
  • D Higher Mountain Country p. 84
  • E Inland Slopes p. 94
  • F The South-western Area p. 104
  • G The Semi-arid Inland p. 121
  • H The Coast p. 134

  • Descriptions in Family Sequence p. 142
  • The Wattles p. 295
  • The Eucalypts p. 329
  • The Mallee Eucalypts p. 373

Glossary p. 400
Abbreviations p. 407
Index p. 409

About the Author

Leon Costermans was born in Melbourne in 1933. Although his schooling was city- based, he developed an early love of the bush, and spent many weekends and holidays hiking and camping.
After some years in the fields of motion picture production and engineering, which took him throughout Australia, he joined the Victorian Education Department, took a science degree at Melbourne University, majoring in geology and geomorphology, and taught science and mathematics at country high schools.


Leon Costermans has had a long association with the Scout Movement, especially in the training of adult leaders. His first book Trees of Victoria was written in 1966, largely for people such as scouts and walkers who had close contact with the bush, but it quickly became more widely used by the general public, and as a standard reference in schools, colleges and universities.
(Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria Australian | Costermans, Leon. F.   (1933 – )

Leon Costermans has been working as a botanist and botanical illustrator. He is known for his work on the identification of eucalypts. Among others, he illustrated his book Native trees and shrubs of south-eastern Australia. For much of his career he lectured at the State College of Victoria and Monash University. For many years he has led field studies and vegetation surveys, and enthusiastically shared his expertise with environmental and community groups. (Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation| Costermans, Leon Francis (1933 – ))

Leon Costermans: Eucalypt Australia, Field Trip 2025

Credit: Eucalypt Australia, Field Trip with Leon Costermans OAM Saturday March 22nd, 2025 (Vic)
Where to find

The South Australian public library network holds multiple copies. Although not within Alexandrina libraries, it is available as an inter-library loan: See Source at Libraries SA.

Where to buy

Native trees and shrubs of South-Eastern Australia in newer editions is available through the publishing house, local bookstores, and online resellers.

Additional information

NatureMaps to find more about Flinders and South Australian Vegetation

NatureMaps, an online graphics tool, is part of Enviro Data SA supported by the Government of South Australia. It can allow the exploration of specific vegetation which existed across the Flinders Ranges as well as much of South Australia. The information about woodland groups is particularly rich for the Mount Lofty ranges. Using this tool, you can view some of the mapped native habitat which exists today and also existed prior to European colonisation.

To view mapped vegetation within NatureMaps, select the following vegetation layers: the SA Vegetation and Pre-European layers. For more details of how to use NatureMaps, select: Setting Naturemaps to identify plant communities

How geology impacts plants – gardening australia

This 9 minute video discusses how geology influences the plants on the surface of Australia with host Millie Ross from Gardening Australia (2025) and Leon Costermans, geologist and botanist.

References

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Acknowledgement to country

The Missing Library acknowledges the Ngarrindjeri, Peramangk, and Kaurna peoples as the traditional custodians of the lands and waters within its district and respects their spiritual connection to Country and acknowledges that their cultural heritage and beliefs remain important today.

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Digital collections for South Australia