Best trees to plant in the Riverina region

Ground cover
Herbaceous perennials
Shrubs
Tufted perennials

Ground cover

Best ground cover for the Riverina region
Botanical name	Mature size H x W	Tolerates	Special uses	Common name
Carpobrotus modestus	Matures to 3m	Clay Sand Salt Frost	Firebreak Soil erosion control	Inland Pigface
Convolvulus erubescens	Matures to 3m	Clay		Pink Bindweed
Einadia nutans	Matures to 3m	Clay	Fencing Firebreak Soil erosion control	Nodding Saltbush

Herbaceous perennials

Best herbaceous perennials for the Riverina region
Botanical name	Mature size H x W	Tolerates	Special uses	Common name
Calocephalus citreus	20cm x 30cm	Clay Frost	Light grazing	Lemon Beauty-heads
Chrysocephalum apiculatum	20cm x 1m	Sand Clay Salt		Common Everlasting
Wahlenbergia stricta	80cm x 30cm	Clay Frost	Soil erosion control	Tall Bluebell

Shrubs

Best shrubs for the Riverina region
Botanical name	Mature size H x W	Tolerates	Special uses	Common name
Acacia acinacea	2m x 2m	Clay Frost	Windbreak	Gold Dust Wattle
Acacia genistifolia	1.5m x 1m	Clay Frost	Bird habitat	Spreading Wattle
Allocasuarina muelleriana	2.5m x 2m	Frost Sand	Windbreak	Salty She-oak
Bursaria spinosa	3m x 2m	Clay Frost	Bird habitat Soil erosion control Windbreak	Sweet Bursaria
Callistemon sieberi	3m x 3m	Clay Water Frost	Soil erosion control Windbreak	River Bottlebrush
Cassinia longifolia	3m x 3m	Sand Clay Frost	Windbreak	Shiny Cassinia
Dodonaea viscosa	4m x 3m	Sand Clay Frost	Bird habitat Windbreak	Wedge-leaf Hop-bush
Enchylaena tomentosa	40cm x 1m	Clay Salt Frost	Fencing	Ruby Saltbush
Maireana microphylla	2m x 2m	Sand Water Frost	Soil erosion control Windbreak	Heath Tea-tree
Lomatia ilicifolia	80cm x 1.5m	Clay Frost		Cottonbush
Melaleuca decussata	3m x 3m	Sand Salt Water Frost	Firewood Windbreak	Totem-poles

Tufted perennials

Best tufted perennials for the Riverina region
Botanical name	Mature size H x W	Tolerates	Special uses	Common name
Agrostis avenacea	60cm x 50cm	Clay	Honey production	Common Blown Grass
Bothriochloa macra	40cmm x 30cm	Clay	Firebreak Food source	Red-leg Grass
Carex appressa	1m x 1m	Clay Water		Tall Sedge
Carex inversa	30cm x 50cm	Clay Water		Knob Sedge
Carex tereticaulis	1m x 1m	Clay Water		Common Sedge
Chionochloa pallida	1.5m x 50cm			Silvertop Wallaby-grass
Danthonia Austrodanthonia spp.	80cm x 20cm	Sand Clay Frost	Food source	Wallaby Grasses
Dianella spp.	60cm x 1.5m	Sand Clay Frost	Animal habitat	Black-anther Lily-flax
Dichanthium sericeum	80cm x 20cm	Clay		Silky Blue-grass
Eleocharis acuta	80cm x spreading	Water Frost	Animal habitat Bird habitat	Common Spike-sedge
Lepidosperma spp.	1m x 1m	Sand Clay Water	Bird habitat	Sword Sedge
Poa labillardieri	70cm x 1.5m	Clay Water Frost	Bird habitat Soil erosion control	Common Tussock-grass
Themeda triandra	70cm x 50cm	Clay	Animal habitat	Kangaroo Grass

Tolerances

Sand - suitable to plant in deep sand
Clay - suitable to plant in deep clays
Salt - can withstand medium salting
Water - tolerant of persistent waterlogging and low oxygen levels
Frost - tolerant of frosts. Heavy frosts will harm most plants, only plant when frost is unlikely.

Special uses

Wind - suitable for use in windbreaks or provides wind protection.

Fire - has characteristics that may reduce the severity of a fire, for example:

high water content,
bark that is fire resistant, or
dense foliage to reduce wind speed.

Dense planting of such plants near buildings can reduce the impact of a bushfire.