The colour and form of kangaroo paws make them one of the most rewarding Australian native plants for the home garden. Kangaroo paws are also very good cut flowers. They are exported to many parts of the globe and are grown commercially in the USA, Israel and Japan.

They occur naturally in the southwest of Western Australia in a variety of habitats and soil types.

The size, flower-stalk height and colour of kangaroo paws flowers varies between the species. Many new forms have also arisen as the result of deliberate hybridisation. The overall colour of the flowers is influenced by fine coloured hairs which cover the flowers and, sometimes, part of the stalk.

The flowers appear over spring and summer. The flowers are pollinated by birds. The long flower-stalks usually rise above the undergrowth and 'advertise' the presence of nectar in the flowers. The stalks also provide a perch for visiting birds.

The shape of the flowers and the position of the pollen-bearing anthers is a feature which allows pollen to be deposited on the head of feeding birds.

This pollen is transferred from flower to flower as the birds feed. Different species usually deposit pollen on different areas of the birds' head. This means that pollen from one species is unlikely to be deposited in the flowers of another species.

A major disease of kangaroo paws is a fungus which causes ink disease, Ink disease appears as large black blotches on the leaves. Plants growing in cool moist climates are more susceptible.