The Flowering of Australia's Rainforests: A Plant and Pollination Miscellany by Geoff Williams, Paul Adam

2013·0.56 MB·English

by  Review By: Helen Jeude

298
BOOK REVIEW
A
Geoff Williams and Paul Adam. 2010. The Flowering of Australia's Rainforests: Plant and
Pollination
CSIRO PUBLISHING, Box
Miscellany. (ISBN: 9780643097612, hbk). P.O. 1139, Collingwood,
Victoria
AUSTRALIA. &
3066, (Orders: WAvw.publish.csiro.au (Australia), wAvw.styluspub.com
(U.S.A.
Cana-
&
AU
Avww.eurospanbookstore.com Europe, Middle North US
da), (U.K., East, Africa)). $99.95,
$93.00,
8"
216 X
lOi/i".
pp.,
A
word
of caution before continuing: this is obviously a beautiful book, with attractive cover, excellent photo-
and
graphs, appealing content and information. Be very alert to the second sentence in the Preface: “But
read-
we
ers will find that from time to time have taken a circuitous path that too easily voyages to the shores of other
belong even
t solely or tenuously to the rainforest envii
related knowledge are given an airing in diverse quarters" mi__.
(Italics
.,
you
If are planning to use the excellent and diverse information giver
pen
or pencil close at hand. Note page numbers and
subject content for key find related
ill
you
have
if
1
recorded m
locations of previous discussions of the same them Comparisons
or related topics a find easily.
are not only
helpful but
occasionally unexpected.
After the explanatory
Introduction,
the first chapter, “Flowers and pollination in lore and legend” Avasa
bit unexpected but very A
informative.
nice addition, to be sure. The second chapter, “Categorising rainforest
plants,”
is self-explanatory. Immediately
following are 34 color photographs, beautifully providing an over-
view
of plants and
habitations.
Chapters 3 through 9
are quite diverse in subject They (and sometimes
content. cover a variety of helpful
unexpected)
For
topics. example. Chapter 4
Chapter
is entitled “Being a flower”—a relatively lengthy chapter;
“Introduction
5, to breeding
systems;” Chapter media-
“Spatial and temporal general
6, structure of rainforest:
nisms
that influence
pollination and
reproductive audits
ecology;” Chapter history
“Australian vegetation
m
7,
luence on
plant-polhnator
relationships;” Chapter and Chapter9,
and
8, “Pollination the Australian flora;”
^dromes:
Pollination who
brings
the
‘flower children’ in rainforest?” The catch one’s atten-
definitely
titles
E^rap^ndktmdtrbM'^T^'"^''^^^
rainforests:
implications
for the and confinns
conservation of remnant communities,” echoes
fragmented
parts of the the
Australian European settlements
rainforests. Before the
Ancrraif
”
commuaidrs
on
the eastern existing
coastal fringe,
-dlir,
ta
threatened by
invasion
of exotic weeds and animals and by human impacts.”
Ohvii.
?
""
" Avorldwide
^ut of nearly
awaren &
avvareness.-!!h
e enjeude.
/
Volunteer
Assistant Texas,
Editor, Worth.
Botanical Research Texas, Fort
Institute of
Bot W:
Res. Inst Texas
I. 29*. 2013