Some of our plants are noted to have come from the sand hills of Western Australia. These areas have very open soils, often consisting of pure white sand, with sharp drainage and low nutrient levels. Some plants found in these sands can be tricky to grow with less than perfect drainage. Other times, these plants are found in the sand hills only because they cannot compete with other plants in richer, moister soils. They often can grow just fine in heavier soils in cultivation.
Sandy soils can also overlay laterite.
Laterite gravels are composed of iron rich materials, often in the form of small, round nodules, which erode into either light tan or dark red earth. Slopes covered with these ball bearing-like nodules are often quite slippery to walk on. These soils are thought to form as the result of eons of leaching of all soluble nutrients by rainfall under hot, tropical conditions. In these gravels, drainage can often be slow. Plants native to these soils stand a good chance of surviving in poorly drained soils.