(Anigosanthos manglesii).

Australia 's native plants include a number of species of similar plants which produce flowers resembling the forepaws of a kangaroo in both shape and texture. The Mangles' Kangaroo Paw, which is also known as the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw, has one of Australia's most unusual blooms, with vivid green flowers on bright red, wooly stems - the exact reverse of most plants which exhibit red and green colours.

The species was first collected in the Swan River Colony in the early years of settlement and was described by D. Don in 1836. It was proclaimed as Western Australia's state floral emblem in 1960.

Mangles' Kangaroo Paw occurs naturally from the Murchison River in the north to the vicinity of Busselton in the south, and eastwards to Lake Muir, occurring on sandy soil. In the Darling Range it is common on lateritic soils while in a small form it extends eastwards as far as Merredin. The species is common in King's Park, Perth, and in the surrounding bushland.

The plant is a low sub-shrub, with leaves .3 to .6 of a metre in length, sometimes more, rather broad and tapering to an acute apex. The flowering stem may reach 1 to 1.1 metres in height and bears a number of large flowers at its summit. Occasionally it may fork. The stem is clothed with woolly hairs of a deep red or purple colour, while the hairs on the flowers are of a metallic green with the exception of the swollen base where they are of the same red or purple as the stem. Occasionally the base of the flower may be yellowish in colour. Flowering usually commences in August and extends through to early October, although in some years and in some localities it may commence before August and extend into late October.

Sources:
Australia's Wilderness Heritage - Flora & Fauna, 1988.
Fact sheet accompanying the 1997 Gold $100 Floral Emblems of Australia coin.
Western Australian Government Internet Site

• 1997 Gold $150 Floral Emblem
• 1997 Gold $100 Floral Emblem