Most areas of the Australian continent able to support woody plants are occupied

by sclerophyll communities as forests, savannas or heathlands. Common plants in

clude the Proteaceae (Grevilleas, Banksias and Hakeas), tea-trees, Acacias, Boro
nias, and the Eucalypts.
The most common sclerophyll communities in Australia are savannas dominated by g
rasses with an overstorey of Eucalypts and Acacias. Acacia (particularly mulga)
shrublands also cover extensive areas. All the dominant overstorey Acacia specie
s and a majority of the understorey Acacias have a scleromorphic adaptation in w
hich the leaves have been reduced to phyllodes consisting entirely of the petiol
e.[3]
Many plants of the sclerophyllous woodlands and shrublands also produce leaves u
npalatable to herbivores by the inclusion of toxic and indigestible compounds wh
ich assure survival of these long-lived leaves. This trait is particularly notic
eable in the eucalypt and Melaleuca species which possess oil glands within thei
r leaves that produce a pungent volatile oil that makes them unpalatable to most
browsers.[4] These traits make the majority of woody plants in these woodlands
largely unpalatable to domestic livestock.[5] It is therefore important from a g
razing perspective that these woodlands support a more or less continuous layer
of herbaceous ground cover dominated by grasses.