The
Grange 
Flora
The Grange’s Heathland
Vegetation
Heathlands support a diverse range of flora and fauna species
and are considered to be one of the most species rich
communities in the world. The Grange Heathland supports over
200 different plants.
What is a Heathland?
Heath communities of southern Australia contain the heath
family Epacridaeceae.
Heathlands are often characterised by sclerophyllous shrubs
growing up to 2 metres high.
Heathland in The
Grange
Notice that the shrubs are a dominant feature, and that the
tall trees are spread apart from each other. There are
different types of Australian heathlands, and these are
often distinguished by their physical structure. For
example heathlands dominated by shrubs 1-2 metres tall with
a dense cover are called “tall closed
heathland”. Heathlands with shrubs less than 25 cms
high are called "dwarf open-heathland".
Southern Victorian Heathland Communities
According to Specht (1994) there are three levels of
vegetation, or storeys which distinguish the
southern Victorian heathland communities.
-
The upper layer is dominated by low shrubs, which possess
small evergreen, broad leaves, which produce new leaves
during late spring to summer. These plants have
deep root systems with special structures called lignotubers
-
Species in the middle-storey contain shallow roots and
are 0.5 to 1.5 metres tall. Their leaves are narrow and
semi-sclerophyllous. The ground layer consists of low
evergreen plants with shallow roots and small leaves
together with sclerophyllous evergreen species that have
varying numbers of leaves in each clump. Seasonal
grasses and geophytes may also be
present, and annual herbs occur if the area has been
grazed or burnt frequently.