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.
Kangaroo paws belong to the genus Anigozanthos, which has 11 species. The closely related Black Kangaroo Paw is called Macropidia fulginosa.
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.