Flora and Fauna

Flora
Australia has a huge variety of plant species. About 20,000 vascular plants, 14,000 non-vascular, 250,000 different fungi and more than 3,000 species of lichens. The Australian land is mostly covered by hummock grasslands, but also eucalypt woods, acacia forests and shrublands, tussock grasslands and chenopod/samphire shrubs are to be found in Australia. A very large amount of the plants that live in Australia are well known for their floral appearance, which adjust to the rain seasons.

Fauna
Australia is also well known for its koalas and kangaroos. But these are not the only animals living in Australia. About 83% of the mammals are only seen in Australia. For reptiles, this is 89%, 24% for the fish and insects, and 93% for the amphibians. This is indeed a very large variety of species. The high amount of endemic animals is probably due to the fact that Australia is an island, so it is very isolated. Another reason is the climate, which is also very unique. Also, Australia has more venomous than non-venomous species of snakes, which is a unique thing.