Alice Springs Flora •

Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander

One of the iconic trees found in Central Australia is the Desert Oak (Allocasuarina decaisneana). Found growing in its natural habitat in locations like Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and Wurre / Rainbow Valley Conservation Reserve.

Desert Oaks, Rainbow Valley, NT
Desert Oaks, Rainbow Valley, NT

In the arid outback, the Desert Oaks is an important tree that provides shade. It is also a significant tree in the country of Mina Mina, an important women’s dreaming site where women gather for ceremonies. Depicted in many works of aboriginal artists, it became known internationally through the paintings of the renowned Dorothy Napangardi.

Desert Oak (Allocasuarina decaisneana), Alice Springs Desert Park
Desert Oak (Allocasuarina decaisneana), Alice Springs Desert Park NT

Visitors to Alice Springs can see the Desert Oaks at the Alice Springs Desert Park and the Olive Pink Botanic Garden.

Check out Flora Index on the Desert Oaks and read about the importance of desert oaks to the Aboriginal people.


  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Plantae
  • Phylum: Charophyta
  • Class: Equisetopsida
  • Subclass: Magnoliidae
  • Superorder: Rosanae
  • Order: Fagales
  • Family: Casuarinaceae
  • Genus: Allocasuarina
  • Species: Allocasuarina decaisneana

Alice Springs FloraAlice Springs Flora Index Acacia ligulata Annual Yellowtop Apple Bush Bougainvillea Burdekin Plum Carob Tree (Ceratonia siliqa) Cattle Bush Desert Cotton (Aerva javanica) Desert Oak Eremophila Wildberry Feijoa sellowiana Flannel Cudweed Fork-leaf Corkwood Ghost Gum Golden Everlasting Kurrajong Lemon-flowered Gum MacDonnell’s Desert Fuchsia Native Bluebell Native Tomato Needlewood Olive Tree Perennial Yellow Top Rat’s Tail River Red Gum Inland River Red Gum Rosy Dock Round-leaved Mallee Scurvy Grass Silky Eremophila Stemodia viscosa Striped Mintbush Sturt’s Desert Pea Sturt’s Desert Rose Tangled Leschenaultia Tar Vine Weeping Bottlebrush White Cedar Yellow Billybutton Yellow-keeled Swainsona Yellow Oleander

Alice Springs FaunaAlice Springs Native Bees Alice Springs Beetles Alice Springs Birds Alice Springs Gastropods (Gastropoda) Alice Springs Insects Alice Springs Marsupials Alice Springs Reptiles Alice Springs Spiders