It is in these relicts of the Big Scrub rainforest that we can see Australia's Gondwanan inheritance (White, 1986). The Australian rainforests contain many primitive flowering plants.

As most rainforest remnants are less than five hectares in area, they  are subject to weed invasion,  the impact of cattle grazing and other human disturbances (BSRLG,1998).

The Big Scrub Rainforest Landcare Group (BSRLG) and other community groups are involved in the rehabilitation of many of these remnants and rainforest plantings within the Big Scrub Area.

The Big Scrub remnants have enormous ecological value, from these sites we can gain a glimpse of what the Big Scrub might have been like.  These remnants provide the genetic material to restore the cleared land. 

There is a large diversity of plant species in the Big Scrub Rainforest, many of which are threatened species.

Compared to many other plant communities, the Australian Subtropical rainforest has changed little since Gondwanan times (White, 1986). The Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamiana) occurred in Gondwanan times. This tree can be seen on the edge of the Big Scrub rainforest.

The Big Scrub remnants provide the only remaining habitat for many animal species, particularly those that rely on Lowland habitat for part of the year. Examples of these species are the Coxen's Fig Parrot (Cyclopsitta diopthalma coxeni) (a threatened species), the Noisy Pitta (Pitta versicolor), and various fruit pigeons.

	A fossil of Brachychiton sp. found in NSW,  is thought to have been 50 million years old.  Two species of Brachychiton occur in the Big Scrub Rainforest, the Flame tree (Brachychiton acerifolius), and the Lace Bark tree (Brachychiton discolor) (right).
The White Booyong (Heritiera trifoliolatum) (left) , a tree that is widespread in our Big Scrub rainforest remnants, is also closely related to the Brachychiton fossil.