Native raspberries, limes and geraniums: how did these curious plants end up in Australia?

By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne

While plants can’t walk, they can certainly travel. Some species have travelled vast distances over millennia, moving by different and varied modes.

Some found new habitats when the continent they were riding on slowly crashed into another. Others went on perilous ocean going journeys – think of coconuts washing up on new island shores. Others still have been carried as seeds by birds or other animals – including us.

Many have now become local, endemic to their region of Australia. Some may surprise you.

Native nuts – how macadamia trees began

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