Cronin's Key Guide to Australian Wildflowers [Book Review] PDF
Preview Cronin's Key Guide to Australian Wildflowers [Book Review]
Book Reviews tion, predators and parasites); individual spe- detail about research conducted in other parts cies accounts of the great whales; and finally, ofAustralia,wherehedoesnotwork.Somespe- conservation and management, and the future. ciessuchasfin,seiandBrydeswhalesarerarely A glossary ranges from archaic whaling terms sighted in Australian waters, while humpback, to modern technicalterms. southern right, blueand sperm whales are per- The style is terse and to the point, illustrated hapsthe species aboutwhich mostis known. withgraphs andtables relatingto salientpoints This easily readable book is a useful ad- in the text, black and white historical images, dition to the library of students and whale andexcellentcolourphotosofeachspeciespro- enthusiasts. vided byexperienced researchers. Much ofthe material reflects Bannister’s membership ofthe close-knit Western Australian whale research community, and refers to much current re- search, with a large amount ofinformation on DrPeterGill humpback whales, Bannisters main research BlueWhCal/-ePSotsutdOyffIincce. species. Not surprisingly, there is not so much Narrawong,Victoria3285 Cronin’s Key Guide to Australian Wildflowers by Leonard Cronin & Publisher:Allen Unwin, 2008. 232pages, paperback, colourillustrations. ISBN9781741751116. RRP$35.00 Australiahassomeofthemostbeautifulflowers intheworld,afactwellillustratedinthisfourth book of Cronins Key Guides. Over 590 wild- flowers from all over Australia are described. Thisconstituteslessthan 2% ofAustralia’s flora but it introduces the reader to the major fami- liesoftheAustralianfloweringplants,andhigh- lights some ofthe more unique as well as some ofthe more common species. Scientific terms with similar shapes are grouped together and are kept at a minimum, thus plant descrip- a key to flower shapes is provided, with page tions can be easily understood by the novice numbers indicating where plants with such as well as more experienced plant enthusiasts. flowers can be found in the book. At the rec- The few botanical terms used are explained in ommended retail price of $35.00, this book is an ideal travelling companion when touring a glossaryat the backofthe book. The habit or formoftheplant,keyleafandflowercharacter- Australia, or simply for familiarisation with istics, and flowering periods are succinctly de- Australia’s uniqueand intriguingwildflowers. scribed. Bothscientificandcommonnamesare provided, and the accompanying distribution maps allow one to plan trysts with the seduc- tiveBowerofBeauty,DuskyBushPeaorHorny MariaGibson Cone Bush. PlantEcologyResearchUnit The book has been designed as a straightfor- LifeandEnvironmentalSciences ward and easy to follow field guide. Flowers 221 BurwoodHighway,BurwoDoeda,kViinctUonriivaer3s1i2t5y 28 The Victorian Naturalist
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