Robert Brown and the naturalised flora of Australia

Robert Brown noted 29 introduced plant species around Sydney and Parramatta between 1802 and 1804. The list, contained in Brown's miscellaneous papers, was not published by Brown at the time of writing but had to wait for James Britten to publish it in 1906, along with Brown's accompanying notes in Latin. In 1909 Maiden re-published the list for an Australian audience and in 1916 he translated the notes into English and updated the nomenclature of some species. Brown's list represents the first documentation of Australia's naturalised flora following European settlement of Australia's east coast. Although several of the 29 introduced plant species listed were not considered "weeds" at the time, most of the 29 have spread subsequently to become common components of the naturalised flora throughout Australia. Nomenclature and current distribution of these 29 species are presented in the context of the approximately 2800 taxa now comprising the naturalised flora of Australia