4.4. Native Flora

Extensive modification of the landscape has taken place in the Lower Murrumbidgee as a result of agricultural development. Surviving vegetation on the Riverine Plains consists largely of dry-area species like bladder saltbush, old man saltbush, cottonbush and bluebush. Networks of current and ancestral rivers support river red gum and black box woodlands. The banks of the Murrumbidgee support river red gums and species of Acacia and Casuarina. Swamps, lagoons, and artificial water storages support species of rush and sedge. Lignum is a common understory species in these areas. Stands of white cypress-pine, accompanied by wilga, yarran, needlewood, rosewood, bull oak, and yellow box, occur on low sandy rises in the region. McPherson’s range, in the Mirrool Irrigation Area, supports many species of eucalypt, as well as white cypress-pine, currawang, quandong and she-oaks. The Narrandera Range supports wattle communities, with scattered white cypress-pine and several species of eucalypt.

A number of threatened plant species occur in the Lower Murrumbidgee. The following list contains those species declared endangered and known from the area. A more thorough listing of endangered species for the Murrumbidgee Catchment (Upper, Mid and Lower) is given under Schedule 4 of the Catchment Action Plan for 2008.
• Austral pillwort (Pilularia novae-hollandiae)
• Bindweed (Convolvulus tedmoorei)
• Winged Peppercress (Lepidium monoplocoides)
Many other endangered species are predicted to occur in the area. Additionally, many vulnerable species are known or predicted to occur in the area.

References and Resources
• Murrumbidgee Catchment Management Authority. 2008. Schedule 4 – Assets and issues of national and state environmental significance. In Catchment Action Plant (2008).

For lists of threatened species found in the Lachlan Plains (north of Griffith), Murrumbidgee (including Hay), Darling Depression, Lachlan (north of Hay) and Murray Basin Sands subregions of the Murrumbidgee Catchment, see:
• NSW Government – Environment and Heritage. Undated. New South Wales threatened species.