Far from being devoid of life, the region is brimming with unique flora and fauna. During the dry seasons that extend into drought, life clings on. Even then there are wonderful opportunities to see the flora and fauna of this arid landscape.

When it does rain, sometimes the rainfall is so heavy that former dry river beds become raging torrents, mother nature goes into hyper drive and the landscape will turn green, wildflowers and wildlife appear in abundance.
 

For the plant enthusiasts some of the unique flora include the Desert Oak, Ghost Gum, Dead Finish, the Red Cabbage Palm in Palm Valley, Sturt’s Desert Pea, Mulla Mulla, mallees, mulga, salt bush, and the commonly named spinifex. There is a range of bush tucker plants that include the Bush Banana and the Bush Tomato, although extreme care should be taken with the bush tomato as a number of plants look similar but are poisonous. Both the Alice Springs Desert Park and Olive Pink Botanic Garden have a great living collection of plants.

We also have a range of non-indigenous species, some of which have become invasive weeds. Among the many non-native plants are the buffel grass, ruby dock and a number of melon plants that were introduced by the early explorers.

Following are some images of the flora found in Central Australia. Some plants, such as the Red Cabbage Palm can only be found in small localised area, whilst others such as the spinifex grass can be seen everywhere.