Yule Brook Botany Reserve, also known as Yule Brook Reserve and Cannington Swamps, is a 34.6 hectare parcel of land in the Perth

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

, Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 suburb of Kenwick

Kenwick, Western Australia

Kenwick, Western Australia is a mixed residential, light industrial and semi-rural suburb located in the south-east of Perth, Western Australia, located within the City of Gosnells...

. It is owned by the University of Western Australia

University of Western Australia

The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...

, and used by them for botanical

Botany

Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...

research and teaching.

It was purchased by the university in 1949, and carefully surveyed the following year by botanist N. H. Speck. In 1979 it was gazetted as a reserve, ensuring that it cannot be developed without the approval of both the local council and the state government's metropolitan planning authority.

The site is especially valuable for botanical research, as it is located where two sand ridges cross a seasonally wet lowland. Hence there is a very great variety of habitats and vegetation within a small area. Numerous studies have been published based on experiments and observations in the reserve, and some species have been published based on type specimens collected within the reserve.