Species Introduced during Colonisation
Endangered Plants and Native Flora in Victoria: Cultural Loss, Colonisation, and Scientific Perspectives
Victoria’s landscapes were once rich with grasslands, wildflowers, woodlands, and wetlands, sustaining Aboriginal communities for tens of thousands of years (Gammage 2011; Pascoe 2014). These environments provided staple foods such as murnong (yam daisy), medicines from wattles and gums, weaving fibres from sedges, and ceremonial plants such as lilies and orchids (Clarke 2009; Gott 2019). Colonisation brought catastrophic change: land clearing, grazing, and agriculture rapidly reduced native vegetation, pushing many species into decline. Today, more than 1,400 species of native plants in Victoria are listed as threatened (DELWP 2021), representing not just ecological loss but the severing of deep cultural relationships. The decline of flora has profound consequences for ecology, anthropology, psychology, and environmental science (Museums Victoria 2023).
Pre-colonial vegetation in Victoria
Grasslands: Western Victoria’s volcanic plains once supported vast native grasslands dominated by kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra), wallaby grasses (Rytidosperma spp.), and yam daisies (Microseris walteri) (Gott 2019).
Wetlands and rivers: Freshwater systems were bordered by cumbungi (Typha spp.), water ribbons (Triglochin spp.), and aquatic lilies (Clarke 2009).
Woodlands and forests: Eucalypts, wattles, banksias, and casuarinas provided medicines, fibres, and totems (Howitt 1904).
Coastal zones: Dunes and estuaries supported saltbush, pigface, spinifex, and other edible or medicinal plants (Museums Victoria 2023).
Aboriginal communities carefully managed these systems through fire-stick farming, selective harvesting, and ecological ceremony, ensuring that species remained abundant and landscapes resilient (Gammage 2011).
Impacts of colonisation on flora
Loss of staple plants
Murnong (yam daisy): Once the staple carbohydrate of Victorian Aboriginal peoples, murnong was almost eradicated within decades of sheep grazing (Gott 2019; Pascoe 2014). Its loss caused hunger, starvation, and conflict.
Native grains: Mitchell grass and kangaroo grass, harvested for flour, were replaced with European wheat and barley (Pascoe 2014).
Medicinal plants: Many orchids, lilies, and herbs were trampled by livestock or ploughed into farmland (Clarke 2009).
Landscape transformation
Grassland destruction: More than 99% of Victoria’s native grasslands were cleared for agriculture by the 20th century (VNPA 2020).
Wetland drainage: Swamps and lagoons were drained for grazing, removing vital aquatic plants (DELWP 2021).
Forest clearing: Extensive logging of gums, wattles, and casuarinas removed not just habitat but Aboriginal cultural resources (Howitt 1904).
Ecological imbalance
Removal of deep-rooted native plants altered hydrology, leading to erosion, salinity, and soil collapse (Gammage 2011).
Invasive weeds displaced fragile wildflowers and orchids (DELWP 2021).
Fire regimes imposed by colonists disrupted native species adapted to Aboriginal burning cycles (Gammage 2011).
Cultural and community impacts
Loss of food security: The disappearance of murnong and native grains undermined Aboriginal diets, forcing dependence on rations and colonial supplies (Gott 2019).
Disruption of women’s roles: Women’s knowledge of plant harvesting and medicine was devalued or made impossible as flora disappeared (Clarke 2009).
Ceremonial interruption: Many plants tied to ceremony and law — including lilies, orchids, and flowering wattles — became scarce, breaking connections between ecological and spiritual calendars (Museums Victoria 2023).
Displacement: Removal from Country severed people from sacred plants that embodied ancestral connections (Howitt 1904).
Modern endangered plants and grasses in Victoria
Examples of threatened species
Murnong (Microseris walteri) — reviving through replanting projects (Gott 2019).
Spiny rice-flower (Pimelea spinescens) — now critically endangered in the western plains (DELWP 2021).
Button wrinklewort (Rutidosis leptorrhynchoides) — grassland wildflower reduced to fragmented populations (VNPA 2020).
Plains rice-flower, native orchids, lilies — many lost through farming and urban expansion (DELWP 2021).
River red gum woodlands — reduced by clearing and river regulation (Clarke 2009).
Grasslands as endangered ecosystems
Temperate grasslands are now considered one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world (VNPA 2020).
Less than 1% of Victoria’s pre-colonial native grasslands survive in remnant patches (DELWP 2021).
Broader implications: science, ecology, anthropology, and psychology
Ecological science
Loss of native flora disrupts biodiversity, carbon cycles, and soil health (CSIRO 2020).
Grasslands and wetlands, once carbon sinks, are now fragmented, contributing to climate vulnerability (VNPA 2020).
Anthropology and cultural history
The loss of plants is also the loss of cultural knowledge tied to them. For Aboriginal communities, this means erasure of food practices, ceremonies, and stories (Pascoe 2014).
Anthropology increasingly recognises Aboriginal ecological knowledge as advanced land management science (Gammage 2011).
Psychology and cultural identity
For Aboriginal peoples, the destruction of sacred flora contributes to intergenerational trauma (Atkinson 2002).
Ecopsychology highlights how disconnection from native plants and landscapes diminishes mental wellbeing for all people (Museums Victoria 2023).
Environmental philosophy
Theories such as ecological imbalance argue that disrupting one keystone species destabilises entire systems (Gammage 2011). The murnong crisis illustrates how colonisation created cascading ecological and social collapse.
Anthropocene studies position colonisation as an early driver of environmental transformation in Australia, linking cultural dispossession with planetary ecological shifts (Pascoe 2014).
Contemporary responses and revival
Replanting projects: Aboriginal groups, botanic gardens, and landcare organisations are restoring murnong fields, grasslands, and wetlands (Gott 2019).
Seed banks: Threatened native species are preserved in seed collections for reintroduction (DELWP 2021).
Cultural renewal: Aboriginal-led programs are teaching youth about plants, food harvesting, and fire management (Museums Victoria 2023).
Policy and law: The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 (Vic) protects threatened plants, though enforcement remains uneven (DELWP 2021).
Bushfood and native seed industries: Revival of Aboriginal grains and foods is creating sustainable industries led by Aboriginal enterprises (Pascoe 2014).
The future of native flora in Victoria
The survival of endangered flora in Victoria depends on:
Cultural authority: Aboriginal knowledge and leadership in land management (Clarke 2009).
Ecological restoration: Protecting and expanding grasslands, wetlands, and remnant bush (VNPA 2020).
Science and tradition together: Integrating Aboriginal land practices with ecological science (Gammage 2011).
Social healing: Restoring flora is also about restoring cultural identity, wellbeing, and balance between people and Country (Atkinson 2002).
Conclusion
The story of endangered plants and grasses in Victoria is one of profound cultural and ecological loss, but also resilience and renewal. Colonisation destroyed staple foods like murnong, erased ecosystems, and severed Aboriginal communities from their plant heritage. The impacts ripple into ecology, anthropology, psychology, and environmental science, reminding us that when balance with nature is broken, human societies also fracture. Reviving Victoria’s native flora is therefore not only an ecological project but a cultural and spiritual one. To heal Country is to heal people, and to restore endangered plants is to restore the law, stories, and Ancestors that they embody.
References
Atkinson, J 2002, Trauma Trails: Recreating Song Lines, Spinifex Press, Melbourne.
Clarke, PA 2009, Australian Aboriginal Ethnobotany: An Overview, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
CSIRO 2020, The State of Australia’s Kelp Forests, CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere, Hobart.
DELWP (Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning) 2021, Advisory List of Rare or Threatened Plants in Victoria, Victorian Government, Melbourne.
Gammage, B 2011, The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney.
Gott, B 2019, The Yam Daisy: A History of Aboriginal Plant Use in Victoria, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.
Howitt, AW 1904, The Native Tribes of South-East Australia, Macmillan, London.
Museums Victoria 2023, Aboriginal Plant Collections and Endangered Species, Museums Victoria, Melbourne.
Pascoe, B 2014, Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture, Magabala Books, Broome.
Victorian National Parks Association 2020, Grasslands on the Edge: Endangered Ecosystems of Victoria, VNPA, Melbourne.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter (22 September 2025)
MLA
Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land, and community.
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledges the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay respect to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples’ communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of their respective communities.