Riverina

The Riverina covers the alluvial fans of the Lachlan, Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers to the west of the Great Dividing Range.

It extends from Ivanhoe in the north to Bendigo in the south; from Narrandera in the east to Balranald in the west. The region also extends outside of these confines as a small strip along the Murray River down to the SA border and up parts of the Darling River too.

This bioregion is observed along approximately two thirds of the Murray River.

Floodplain Woodlands and Forests

Flowing sandy river channels and low lying flood plains support River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) and River Cooba (Acacia stenophylla) communities. The River Red Gum is the most common tree species seen on all of the major western inland river systems, extending into the Murray Darling Depression in SA and north into Queensland in the Darling Riverine Plains.

The understory could include:

• Acacia salicina (Cooba)
• A. stenophylla (River Cooba)
• Chenopodium nitrariaceum (Nitre Goosefoot)
• Exocarpos strictus (Dwarf Cherry)
• Muehlenbeckia florulenta (Lignum)
• Alternanthera denticulata (Lesser Joyweed)
• Centipeda cunninghamii (Common Sneezeweed)
• Chamaesyce drummondii (Caustic Weed)
• Cotula australis (Common Cotula)
• Glinus lotoides
• Oxalis perennans
• Pratia concolor (Poison Pratia)
• Ranunculus lappaceus (Common Buttercup)
• Rumex brownii (Swamp Dock)
• Wahlenbergia fluminalis (River Bluebell)
• Marsilea drummondii (Common Nardoo)

On higher areas with heavier clays towards the edge of the floodplains, Black Box (Eucalyptus largiflorens) woodlands are more common, with an understory of salt-tolerant grasses, saltbushes (Atriplex sp.) and daisies (Asteraceae).

On the highest, rarely flooded terraces, Yellow Box (Eucalyptus melliodora), Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) and Cypress Pine (Callitris glaucophylla) woodlands can be found.

Treeless Plains

Further away still, shrublands of saltbushes (Atriplex sp.), Cotton Bush (Maireana aphylla) and grasslands of Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma sp.) and Speargrass (Austrostipa sp.) become dominant. The once common Myall (Acacia pendula) shrubland has almost vanished.