VEGETATION 
OF 
BRISBANE WATER NATIONAL PARK 
AND 
ENVIRONS 
4P 
OPEN-FOREST to 
LOW OPEN FOREST 
plateau tops 
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Hawkesbury Sandstone 
Narrabeen Group 
Schematic west to east transect through Brisbane Water National Park showing relationships between plant communities, 
geology and topography. (This figure is purely diagrammatic - it is not to scale and there is considerable vertical 
exaggeration). 
tidal creek 
rock platforrn 
by J. S. BENSON & H. FALLDING 
2A 
2B 
4P 
4S 
10 
11 
12 
PLANT COMMUNITIES 
CLOSED-FOREST to LOW CLOSED-FOREST with emergent 
trees; gullies, usually on Narrabeen Group geology. 
“Rainforest” species, with Myrtaceae and Cunoniaceae 
important. 
OPEN-FOREST, dry understorey; Narrabeen group geology. 
Angophora floribunda/Casuarina torulosa with dry 
shrubs, Pultenaea flexilis, Oxylobium ilicifolium 
etc. or Pteridium esculentum. 
OPEN-FOREST, moist understorey; Narrabeen Group 
geology. Eucalyptus deanei/Syncarpia glomuliferal 
Angophora floribunda, with “rainforest” species 
often in understorey. 
OPEN-FOREST, coastal alluvial flats; restricted to 
south of Pearl Beach. Eucalyptus maculata/Angophora 
floribunda, often with moist understorey. 
OPEN-FOREST to LOW OPEN-FOREST, dry understorey; 
Hawkesbury Sandstone. Eucalyptus piperita subsp. 
piperita/E. gummifera/Angophora costata. Rich 
sclerophyllous shrub understorey. 
OPEN-FOREST to LOW OPEN-FOREST, Hawkesbury Sandstone; 
plateaux, deep yellow earth soils. Eucalyptus 
gummifera/E. sieberi/E. punctata. Shrub understorey 
with Proteaceae important; Doryanthes excelsa 
conspicuous. 
OPEN-FOREST, remnant shale cappings; sandy clay soils, 
ridge tops; restricted. Eucalyptusgloboidea/ 
E. umbra/E. gummifera. Distinctive understorey species 
composition with Pultenaea ferruginea, Acacia 
myrtifolia and Banksia spinulosa. 
LOW OPEN-FOREST, coastal; Narrabeen Group, Pearl 
Beach area only. Stunted trees, Eucalyptus 
botryoides/E. umbra/Angophora costata/Banksia 
integrifolia. 
LOW WOODLAND to LOW OPEN-WOODLAND, dry understorey; 
Hawkesbury Sandstone, sandy soils. Angophora 
costata, Eucalyptus umbra/E. eximia/E. haemastoma. 
Includes pockets of mallees, E. luehmanniana and 
E. multicaulis. 
TALL OPEN-SCRUB, Mangroves; alluvium subject to 
tidal inundation. Avicennia marina var australasica/ 
Aegiceras corniculatum. 
CLOSED to OPEN-SCRUB; Hawkesbury Sandstone, poorly 
drained conditions. Banksia ericifolia/Hakea 
teretifolia. 
ROCK OUTCROPS with pockets of HEATH; Hawkesbury 
Sandstone. Casuarina distyla/Baeckea brevifolia/ 
Darwinia fascicularis and monocotyledonous species. 
HEATH, coastal; Narrabeen Group; restricted to areas 
south of Pearl Beach, subject to salt spray. 
Banksia integrifolia/Leptospermum laevigatum, with 
smaller shrubs of Westringia fruticosa. 
REEDLAND-RUSHLAND with WOODLAND of Casuarina glauca; 
in estuaries on alluvial flats and along tidal 
channels. J uncus kraussii/Phragmites australis on 
lower ground. Melaleuca styphelioides/Casuarina 
glauca on higher ground. 
SEDGELAND; Hawkesbury Sandstone plateaux with impeded 
drainage and moist organic soils. Dominated by 
sedges and shrubs such as Sprengelia incarnata and 
Banksia robur. 
Cleared and/or disturbed. 
Some areas of vegetation comprise mosaics of two 
communities (e.g. 6/8) which could not be shown 
separately at this scale of mapping. 
MANGROVE WYONG 
GUNDERMAN 
ti 
Major Roads 
Fire Trails 
Railways 
Creeks 
■inimn 
National Park Boundary_ 
Waterways 
Land outside 
mapped area. 
Sheet names refer to Lands 
Department 1:25 000 topographic 
series. 
Compiled and prepared by the National Herbarium 
of New South Wales, Royal Botanic Gardens, 
Sydney. 
Vegetation survey, mapping and description by 
J. S. Benson and H. Fallding. 
Base map by E. Bie. 
Map reliability: compiled from Lands Department 
1976 colour aerial photography, scale 1 : 25 000, 
with extensive field checking. 
VEGETATION OF BRISBANE WATER NATIONAI 
PARK AND ENVIRONS 
To accompany Cunninghamia Volume 1, Number 1, 1981. 
D. West, Government Printer, New South Wales, 198 
