Native plants of the Macedon Ranges

The Macedon Ranges supports a wide range of indigenous plant communities in various locations, altitudes and soils; from sheltered gullies of towering Mountain Ash to volcanic plains of open dry forests and grasslands.

We have prepared a guide to the native flora of the Macedon Ranges(PDF, 11MB) that is intended for beginners who are new to learning about local plant species. The guide includes many of the most common species a bushwalker is likely to see, but is only a small selection of the many hundreds of the flora species found in the Macedon Ranges. This guide can also be used to learn more about flora species and their uses in a native garden setting.

Native plants in your garden

Sustainable Gardening Australia, together with Western Water have put together a sustainable gardening booklet. This booklet has information on plant selection of local plant species in our region from page 24. Species include climbers, ground covers, grasses, shrubs and trees. The section on habitat gardening gives you some great tips on how to attract native animals to your garden through plant selection.

For tips on plant selection for the area you live in, visit revegetating your property.

Finding and recording native species

You can search for and record sightings of native species in a number of ways:

Classification of species

The Macedon Ranges Shire contains many different ecosystems that are characterised by different types of plants. These ecosystems are known as ecological vegetation classes (EVC). 

An EVC classifies vegetation into groups according to their floristic, structural, and ecological features. There are over 100 EVCs in the Macedon Ranges region.

Individual EVCs have species lists for plants and can inform land managers of the correct species of plant to use for a specific area. They are important in guiding land management activities, particularly tree planting.

Learn more about EVCs

Legislation and protecting threatened species

The Macedon Ranges is home to many threatened species of plants. There are several key pieces of legislation that classify threatened species. These include: