Alexander Morrison National Park

Alexander Morrison National Park is ‘breakaway' country renowned for its incredible diversity of endemic wildflowers.

There are no visitor facilities in the park. Drive the Coorow-Green Head Road in late winter or spring (August-November) to experience the wildflowers in bloom.

The impoverished soils of the northern sandplains, severely depleted of trace elements such as nitrogen and phosphorus, have allowed this unique flora to evolve in these harsh conditions.

Plants to look for include: Proteaceae family - numerous species of banksia, 20 species of dryandra, grevillea, smokebush and hakea. The Myrtaceae family - colourful verticordia (morrison, featherflower), honeymyrtle, eremaea, calitrix and calothamnus. Leschenaultia, kangaroo paws, pea and conostylis species are prolific. The proliferation of poison peas saved this area from clearing for stock pasture.

Named after Alexander Morrison (1849-1913), who was the first official Western Australian government botanist in the Bureau of Agriculture between 1897-1906, the land was declared a National Park in 1970. He collected specimens extensively in Western Australia and Victoria, briefly at Gawler in South Australia, and undertook an excursion to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) in 1896. Morrison amassed a sizeable private herbarium that was bequeathed to Edinburgh University and has since been shared around the world herbaria.

This information was provided by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions: dpaw.wa.gov.au