In this chapter the Committee provides a brief description of the various sectors that make commercial use of Australian flora and discusses current and potential commercial uses of such native flora in Victoria. Opportunities and challenges facing each sector are also identified.
The Committee notes that many of the `native' plants commercially used in Victoria either do not occur naturally in the State, or do occur naturally but are not restricted to the State. Accordingly, the use of native flora in Victoria may involve `Australian native' species or `Victorian native' species.1
The Resource
Australia has one of the largest and most diverse floral resources in the world. Approximately 15,650 species of vascular plants have been described in Australia,2 and with large regions of the continent still botanically unexplored,3 it is likely that many other species have yet to be identified. It is believed that, if plant groups such as lichens and fungi were included, the total number of Australian plant species would exceed 30,000.4
The Australian flora is distinguished not only by its size, but also by its uniqueness - a result of evolution occurring in geographic isolation over a period of at least 30 million years.5 Eighty per cent of the Australian flora, and 30 per cent of Australian plant genera, are endemic to Australia.6 Approximately 3,770 native vascular plant species have been recorded in Victoria,7 of which 201 are endemic to the State.8 Although Australia's large range of climates and soil types has produced a diversity of plants, Australian plants have mostly evolved under conditions of low rainfall and frequent burning, and on soils that are generally low in phosphorus and other nutrients. Many Australian plants have therefore developed characteristic adaptations, such as woody stems, small, hard leaves, high oil content, hard fruits and non-deciduous habit.
Early Utilisation of Native Flora
The utilisation of Australian flora has a long history. For over 40,000 years, Australian Aborigines have used an enormous number of native plant species for food, tools, fibre, building and cultural uses. In Victoria, over 1,000 species of plants have been recorded as used by Aborigines.9 The diversity of plants used specifically for food by Aborigines far outnumbers the variety used by Western societies. It has been estimated that Aborigines regularly used 207 species as food plants, compared with the 94 crops now used in the world.10 The Committee examines the utilisation of Victorian native flora and fauna by Aborigines in Chapter 6.
The first European settlers did not appreciate the value of the native flora for food. Rather, the early history of the utilisation of Australian flora revolved around their value as ornamentals. This was first recognised in the late 18th century by early English explorers and botanists such as Sir Joseph Banks, who, astonished by the beauty, diversity and uniqueness of the flora, exported hundreds of species to botanic gardens, nurserymen and plant collectors in England. By 1800 there were 170 cultivated Australian species in Britain.11 Contrary to the enthusiasm shown by botanists and collectors for the Australian flora, most early settlers were not impressed by the native plants, preferring to import the familiar plants of their homeland for use in gardens.
Baron von Mueller, in the latter part of the 19th century, was perhaps the first European to investigate the economic potential of the flora for industrial or amenity purposes. Von Mueller exported native species to many countries of the world. His work was largely responsible for the establishment of eucalyptus oil extraction industries in many other countries of the world, and the use of eucalypts and other species in California to rehabilitate gold-mining areas, and for fuel and building materials.12
