The Nullarbor Plains xeric shrublands stretch across the Great Australian Bight coast of southern Australia, spanning South Australia and Western Australia over the world's largest single exposure of limestone bedrock. This flat, nearly treeless plain is dominated by low chenopod scrub, chiefly saltbush (Atriplex) and bluebush (Maireana), with some mulga woodland along its western edges. The climate is arid to semi-arid, falling into cold-desert and cold-semi-arid zones, and the surface holds no known permanent water sources. Roughly 630 plant species have been recorded here, including endemics such as the Nullarbor emu bush, while red kangaroos, dingoes, and the southern hairy-nosed wombat range above ground and the chocolate wattled bat shelters in the region's caves. About 32 percent of the ecoregion lies within protected areas, though much of the remainder is grazed by sheep. For dry-climate gardeners, the native saltbushes and emu bush exemplify the tough, drought-tolerant plants suited to this harsh limestone country.

At a glance

About the deserts & xeric shrublands biome

Arid and semi-arid lands where low, erratic rainfall and high evaporation limit vegetation to drought-adapted shrubs, succulents, and sparse grasses. Day-to-night temperature swings are large, and life is finely tuned to water scarcity.

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Collections for this ecoregion

No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.

Related ecoregions