SGAP(Qld) publications and book reviews

The Society for Growing Australian Plants, through the Queensland Region and its Branches, publishes a number of books on various aspects of Australian native plants.
We also have reviews of some other publications that may be of interest to members.

Compiled by Jan Sked; published by the Society for Growing Australian Plants Qld. Region

This little booklet is intended as a quick reference to Australian plants suitable for growing in Brisbane and surrounding areas. It is A5 size, soft covered, the sort of book you can tuck in your pocket or handbag and take to a nursery when buying plants, just to check up on sizes and requirements, etc.

It has 24 pages containing information on the SGAP in general, basic cultivation notes, descriptions of various palms and zamiads, ferns and orchids, and a list of 477 trees, shrubs, groundcovers and climbers, giving their botanical name, common name, height, flowering season, flower & fruit colour, sun, shade and soil requirements, whether they attract birds, and a coded reference to the type of use to which they can be put - ie. avenue or street tree, bedding, screening, rockery, groundcover, specimen, shrubbery, shade, perfume, edible fruit, rainforest, etc., etc.

PLANTING AN OUTBACK GARDEN.
By Lawrie Smith and Jan Sked; published by Landplan Studio Inc.

There are few publications which directly assist the outback gardener to create unique Australian gardens using the native plants of their region. The plants that are featured in this book have been chosen because they can tolerate the climatic extremes of the inland. They are able to withstand high temperatures, some degree of frost and extended dry periods. Most of them are indigenous to the arid and semi-arid areas of our continent.

288 plants are listed in catalogue fashion, giving size, species name, common name, flower colour and season, sun/shade and soil requirements, as well as tolerance to frost, salinity and alkalinity. There is a detailed chapter on designing a garden, another on planting and maintenance, general descriptions of the major Australian plant genera, and lists of plants for special purposes. Inside the back cover is a list of nurseries where many of the plants listed may be available.

Altogether, there is a wealth of information in this small package, which is a must for anyone living in the semi-arid and arid areas of our country.

Here at last is a field guide to an important coastal area of southern Queensland by the man who worked so hard to have part of this coastal Wallum area preserved. As he lives at Noosa, it is only natural that his work has taken him around the northern end of the Sunshine Coast, and his book covers that region, south to Coolum Beach. However, as a wildflower guide, it can be used wherever coastal heath occurs in south-east Queensland.

Over 450 plants are described, with line drawings by seven local artists and 32 colour plates by Kathleen McArthur and Bevly Hughes. Dont be put off by the lack of pretty pictures, the line drawings are quite accurate and most plants can be recognised by these alone. The key has been based on the number of petals, type of flower, and colour.

If this guide can increase the knowledge and awareness of the Wallum, it will have achieved its purpose. Anyone who is interested in the coastal Wallum country and its wildflowers will find it an important reference and identification asset.

HONEY FLORA OF QUEENSLAND 3rd Edition.
By S.T. Blake & C. Roff; published by Qld. Department of Primary Industries.

This small (210mm x 150mm) 218-page publication, describing plants important to beekeepers in Queensland, is a re-vamp of the long out-of-print Honey Flora of South-eastern Queensland. The book describes some 81 Queensland plants, with black and white photos to illustrate these plants. These plants are arranged in groups which include Eucalypts and similar species (45), Tea Trees (5), Banksias (5), Wattles (3), Mangroves (2), She Oaks (4), miscellaneous crop plants, weeds, etc. (7).

Additional information of interest to any naturalist, and no doubt vital to beekeepers, include flowering times and the value of the flowers in honey production. Although originally written for south-eastern Queensland, the new sections directed at beekeeping areas in coastal central Queensland, north Queensland and the Paroo district, make the book useful for the whole of Queensland.

MUTOOROO - PLANT USE BY AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL PEOPLE.
Written by Glenn Leiper and published by Eagleby South State School.

This little book is the result of a project by the Eagleby South State School under the guidance of then teacher, Glenn Leiper. MUTOOROO is Aboriginal for place where we go for food.

The book carries descriptions of each of the 225 species of plants grown at MUTOOROO, together with details of their use and an accurate line drawing of each plant by artist Janet Hauser. There is also a chapter on eating habits and food preparation by Aborigines, a list of raw fruits to eat when ripe from the MUTOOROO garden and some recipes for drinks, jams, etc. using native foods.

SOME PLANTS OF THE DARLING DOWNS
Compiled by Len Miller; published by Toowoomba Society for Growing Australian Plants.

This 52-page booklet (A5 size) is a reprint and update of the original one published by the SGAP Qld. Region in 1979. The book contains botanical listings of 23 different areas on the Darling Downs, ranging from Gurulmundi in the north-west to Cunninghams Gap in the east and south-west to Coolmunda Dam. Plants are listed alphabetically by family first, then species. The text has been relieved by a few line drawings.

This would be a very handy little book for anyone contemplating visiting natural areas of the Darling Downs and would also be useful for people living in the area, who wanted to grow indigenous species in their gardens.

THE FLORA OF GIRRAWEEN & BALD ROCK NATIONAL PARKS.
By Bill McDonald, Colleen Gravatt, Paul Grimshaw & John Williams; published by Qld. Herbarium, Dept. of Environment.

Girraween (Qld) and Bald Rock (NSW) National Parks are adjoining areas of exposed granite rock, dissected by creeks and swampy valleys. This, combined with the cooler climate, has produced an unusual and diverse flora. The name Girraween, appropriately, is an aboriginal word meaning place of flowers. Exploration of the flora of the region began with Allan Cunningham as early as 1827 and continues up to the present, with new species still being added to the list of plants.

This book of 100 pages is the first comprehensive publication on the flora of Girraween and Bald Rock National Parks. 144 of the more conspicuous plants are illustrated by line drawings. This makes identification of these species very simple. The introductory chapters are full of information on the history, geology and vegetation patterns of the Parks. Rare and threatened flora of the Parks are also highlighted, with species set out in a table. A checklist of all the vascular plants of Girraween and Bald Rock National Parks is included in the back section of the book.

This book is a must for the serious botanist visiting either of these Parks. The not-so-serious plant observer also will be able to identify many of the plants from the excellent line drawings and 20 colour plates used for illustration.

PLANT IDENTIFICATION IN THE ARID ZONE.
By Jenny Milson; published by Qld. Department of Primary Industries. .

This book is designed to help land managers, staff from DPI and other government bodies, school children, tourists and nature enthusiasts to identify the more common plants of the western region of Queensland. Plants chosen include those which indicate pasture health and those which are the most dominant or of economic importance. As such, it is a publication which can be easily used by the amateur naturalist.

A map shows the area of the state covered by this manual. The introduction gives a brief but useful description of the land types of the region, and colour codes are used with the individual plant descriptions to show the land types in which the plant commonly occurs.

Plants are arranged in four types - weeds; grasses and grass-like plants; forbs, lilies and ferns; and trees and shrubs. Within each of these sections the plants are arranged in order of family. The comprehensive index of scientific and common names provides easy reference to any particular plant. There is a good general description of each of the species included in the book and there are colour photographs of the plants, at least one for each species.

The 220 species selected give a good coverage of the main components of the flora of the region, making it a very useful manual to assist the amateur naturalist visiting these areas. It is highly recommended as a field guide to assist anyone in identification of the plants seen, and as a general reference to the types of plant communities in the arid zone of Queensland.

Mangroves to Mountains - A field Guide to the Native Plants of the Logan-Albert Rivers Catchment.

by Logan River Branch S.G.A.P. (Qld Region) Inc.

The Logan and Albert Rivers catchment encompasses some of the most diverse and beautiful natural environments in Queensland, from the mangroves to the mountains.

This full colour guide invites readers to explore and discover for themselves hundreds of the region's outstanding plants amongst the beauty of their natural habitat.

In its 384 pages this excellent book contains maps of the area, botanical definitions, a comprehensive index and colour photographs and brief descriptions of hundreds of plants of the area. It is cleverly arranged with colour indexing of the pages to facilitate rapid location and identification for field use. A must for exploring the bush in and around SE Queensland.

Food Safety of Australian Plant Bushfoods

by M P Hegarty, E E Hegarty and R B H Wills.

Published by RIRDC, PO Box 4776, Kingston ACT.

Available for free download at http://www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/NPP/01-28.pdf, or in book form for $20 + postage.

At a bushfood industry conference in Brisbane in 1996, a number of plant species were selected as having the best commercial potential. It was suggested that information on the safety of these bushfoods should be collated and made more readily available. This report includes information on the inherent qualities of those species and more recent industry preferences. It includes:

* a survey of relevant scientific and industry literature on individual species

* records of aboriginal uses for food (but not for unrelated purposes,. e.g. medicinals for internal or external use).

* results of previously published, and new, analyses for some selected. Components which may be considered undesirable in foods, depending on the quantity and frequency of consumption and individual tolerance

* nutritional values of selected bushfoods

* a list of some native plants to be avoided as food, and

* an extensive list of references cited in the report.

The report does not extend to safety issues which may possibly develop during or after processing, e.g. problems of storage or contamination. Several studies of bushfood production, properties and marketing are listed in the New Plant Products program on the RIRDC website. Members of the industry provided samples for testing, and many useful personal observations on bushfoods.

In general, commercial bushfoods are consumed in rather small quantities, more often for their particular flavour or aroma than nutritional value. While they may sometimes contain some potentially undesirable compounds, these are usually present in similarly small quantities to those in non-native foods which have been widely used with safety for many years for comparable culinary purposes.

Nevertheless caution must be exercised with regard to correct identification of plants to be used as bushfoods, and in limiting the quantities of unfamiliar foods being consumed.

Modern methods of selection and analysis of material intended for propagation for bushfood are standardising the chemical and other qualities of the resulting products, but individual tolerances of particular species or selections may still differ.

Book Reviews