Serpentine plant ecology and endemism are compared between upland and lowland landforms in the largest (1000 km(2)) serpentinite region in eastern Australia. The plant communities and soils of serpentine upland outcrops (older in situ soils) and lowlands (younger depositional soils) are described. High Ni soil groups in the uplands recorded more endemic taxa than lower Ni soil groups in the lowlands. Species richness decreased across soil groups as soil Ni concentration increased. Plant communities on soil groups with Ni concentration >0.4 had a species richness of 18-33 species per 0.1 ha compared to communities on soil groups with <0.3 Ni, which had a species richness of 26-47 spp./0.1 ha. The Central Queensland endemics Stackhousia tryonii and Pimelea leptospermoides are the two hyperaccumulators of Ni occurring on ultramafic soils. Callistemon sp. nov. is a serpentine endemic recorded on lowland wet sites with high soil Mg concentrations.
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