Australian Native Book Reference

[techpetal]

I am looking for the best reference for Australian Natives. I believe the bible is "Australian Native Plants By John W Wrigley & Murray Fagg". This is a 700 page huge reference. There is also a concise edition that is a tiny 353 pages .

Anyone with an opinion on the concise edition as opposed to the full edition?

Can any other references be recommended?.........PUP!!!!!!!!??????????

Cheers
John

[techpetal]

Bump

[Pup]

Bump

What do you want it for if it for growing Bonsai I recommend Vita and Dorothy Koreshoffs book you to can grow Australian natives.
if it is for Australian plants in general you have it, John W. Wrigley and Murray Fagg have a number of books on our natives.
Some are out of print so you will have to search for them .
My favorite reference is there book called, Bottlebrushes Paperbarks & Tea Trees. ISBN 0-207-16867-9.
This one is also out of print but well worth the search.
If you want others as I said you will have to search. Hope this is of help. Pup

[techpetal]

Thanks Pup,

I will order the Koreshoff book from Boolarong Publishing for it's specifics to Bonsai.

I'll try the concise edition of Wrigley & Fagg as I would like a general reference for identification and maybe some specific info if it helps to collecting stock.

Thanks again

[Kunzea]

Hi Techpetal
That's a big question. There is so much published these days.
I note that you say for 'general identification'. With the Aussie flora so large and diverse, you could be in for a lot of book buying. The refs given by pup are well worth chasing up.

There is all the 'Encyclopedia of Australian Plants suitable for horticulture' by Elliot and Jones. It runs to 8 vols so far with one more to go, plus some small supplements. It covers a lot of species across the whole flora with short, easy to read notes, pictures of many, and often notes on how to grow them. They are a bit pricey, especially if you want to get the whole series now. the vols are in alphabetical order of genera.

Also, there is the 'Horticultural Flora of South East Australia' by R. Spencer. It is being remaindered in many places right now and you could pick it up quite cheaply (5 vols). It covers both native and exotic species that you could expect to find growing in SE Aust. It is a bit more technical, but not so much as a formal 'flora', such as the 'Flora of Australia', which is available as printed books (to buy) or use for free on line. But you would want to have a bit of botanical training to use it effectively.

For specific groups, there are often books like 'Melaleucas A Field and Garden Guide' by I. Holliday. They cover a lot of species, have useful descriptions in plane english, but are not definitive for identifications, though you can often get at least close to what you have if you are persistent.

Cheers
Kunzea

[techpetal]

Thanks Kunzea & Pup

I will hopefully have the Koreshoff book soon and pick up the concise version of Wrigley & Fagg next week.

You say that the "Flora of Australia" is available online for zip cost. I'll chase that option up as well.

I don't have the training to make proper use of a full botanical manual. I'm looking for a good reference that I can use and identify natives for possible collection. Plan to get into specimen collecting but want to glean as much info as possible by utilising taken pics (and a GPS so I can find my way back!) so I can maximise the plants chances.

Thanks
Tech