Flora of Australia

My friend from Kinderbookswitheverything recently talked about the responses of her youngest students to a discussion about Australian native plants and flowers.  Talking about Daffodil Day many of her students said: "if a flower is red, it's a rose and if it's yellow, it's a daisy or dandelion".  My friend suggested someone needs to produce a new book about Australian flowers - not one with illustrations like the beautiful book Plantastic (2021) but one with photos of flowers to show a class. This idea has lingered with me.

Thinking of your youngest children in Kindergarten or Grade One here is a list of the flowers I would include in a book like this. I have included some photos from around my area:

Bottlebrush

Flowering Gum

Grevillea

Kangaroo paw

Waratah

Flannel Flower

Boronia

Sturt’s desert pea

Egg and bacon (Eutaxia obovata)

Wattle

Banksia

And a book with photos of Australian flowers should include a section with the National and State flowers:

Image Source: Australian Goverment

National - Golden Wattle

ACT - Royal Bluebell

Victoria - Pink (Common) Heath

Queensland - Cooktown Orchid

New South Wales - Waratah 

South Australia - Sturt's Desert Pea

Western Australia - Red and Green Kangaroo Paw

Northern Territory - Sturt's Desert Rose 

Years ago I had this tiny book in my school library - it is not illustrated with photographs but it could be a good starting point for a list of flowers to include in a book.