Natural History

Australian Rushes:
Biology, Identification and Conservation of Restionaceae and Allied Families

Edited by Kathy A. Meney and John S. Pate
Published in conjunction with Australian Biological Resources Study
1999
978 1 876268 018 $94.95 Hb Add to cart

The wild Australian rushes of the family Restionaceae, as well as the closely allied Ecdeiocoleaceae and Anarthriaceae, have long been notoriously difficult to name and study. Recent research has led to a revised classification with many new genera and species – such is the diversity to be found amongst this fascinating group of plants.

Australian Rushes: Biology, Identification and Conservation of Restionaceae and Allied Families brings together in one volume the results of this research, covering almost one hundred and fifty species of thirty-four genera of these important, but until now, neglected rushes.

Birding Sites Around Perth (Revised Edition)

Ron Van Delft for Birds Australia (WA Branch)
2002
978 1 876268 034 $16.40 Pb Add to cart

With over two hundred birds illustrated throughout with photographs and pencil drawings, Birding Sites Around Perth is your essential guide to Perth's best bird watching sites (including Kings Park, John Forrest National Park and Rottnest Island).

This revised and enlarged edition describes forty-six sites and comes complete with excellent location maps, lists of birds regularly seen and notes on species of special interest.

‘If you're not a bird watcher, this book, the result of a year's work by 130 volunteers surveying their sites, will make life a lot easier when something of interest swoops past.’ - Sunday Times

Coastal Plants:
Perth and the South-West Region

Elizabeth Rippey and Barbara Rowland
2004
978 1 920694 056 $29.95 Pb Add to cart

Superbly illustrated with line drawings and watercolours, Coastal Plants: Perth and the South-West Region is an important reference work on the flora of the Perth coastline as well as the islands between Dongara and Dunsborough.

Containing detailed descriptions of over one-hundred-and-thirty plant species - from seagrasses, the beautiful Boronia alata and the mangroves of the Abrolhos Islands to invasive Arum Lilies, giant Tuart Eucalypts and Beach Spinifex – Coastal Plants is a treasure trove of information on the habits and peculiarities of not only plants, but also some of the animal life closely associated with them.

Ernest Hodgkin’s Swanland:
The Estuaries and Coastal Lagoons of South-Western Australia

Anne Brearley
2005
978 1 920694 382 $75.00 Hb Add to cart

Ernest Hodgkin’s Swanland is based on, and inspired by, the life and work of a man intrigued by the natural world. The result of many years’ research on estuarine environments from the Murchison to Esperance in Western Australia, Hodgkin’s work was firmly grounded in the discipline of science, but also combined the best traditions of the naturalist and historian.

Dr Anne Brearley’s more recent and equally acclaimed research has been grafted onto Earnest Hodgkin’s extensive body of work in order to provide a comprehensive guide for the conservationist, scientist, student, observer and visitor.

Focusing on the individual estuaries - their history of formation, geography, geology, water-flows, plants, animals and due to encroaching urbanization - Ernest Hodgkin’s Swanland is the definitive study of Western Australian waterways.

Flora of the South West:
Bunbury, Augusta, Denmark

Judy Wheeler, Neville Marchant and Margaret Lewington
Published in association with ABRS and CALM
2002
978 0 642 568 162 $165.00 (Hb – 2 Volume Set) Add to cart

Internationally renowned as being home to some of the richest flora in the world, every year in spring and summer, thousands of visitors flock to admire Southwestern Australia’s staggering array of wildflowers.

Published in two beautifully illustrated volumes, Flora of the South West, provides a comprehensive guide to the floral treasures of this unique region.

‘A handsome, user–friendly two–volume set, presented in an attractive slipcase. It is sure to delight, as well as inform, botanists and lay readers alike.’ - Landscope

‘The volume reflects the recent effort of Australian botanists to retain high scientific standard and to make the text easily readable and understandable for the wide public.’ - Folia Geobotanica

How To Know Western Australian Wildflowers Part II (Revised Edition)

B.J. Grieve
1998
978 1 875560 297 $82.50 Hb Add to cart

In 1948, Emeritus Professor Brian J. Grieve began compiling a series of comprehensive volumes providing a readily accessible means of identifying thousands of species of Western Australian flora.

How to Know Western Australian Wildflowers is a revision of Part II which, together with Part I, provides readers with a complete catalogue raisonné of the Dicotyledon families as well as the abundant flora of the Southwest of Australia extending from Carnarvon, south to Albany and east to Esperance.

Marine Plants of Australia

John M. Huisman
2000
978 1 876268 336 $82.50 Hb Add to cart

Marine Plants of Australia illustrates over three hundred species of colorful Australian aquatic plants, using dazzling underwater photography and detailed line drawings to document the intricacies of this surprisingly complex and exotic group of plants.

This is an invaluable guide for scientists and teachers as well as anyone interested in the natural world.

Plants of the Kimberley Region of Western Australia (Revised Edition)

Written by John Petheram and B. Kok
Photography by E. Bartlett-Torr
2003
978 1 920694 048 $45.00 Pb Add to cart

Plants of the Kimberley Region of Western Australia continues to be arguably the definitive text on the flora of this spectacular and geographically diverse area.

Documenting over two hundred and forty species, this revised edition includes changes to fifty plant names and also updates the introductory sections about the Kimberley region and the principles of rangeland management, making it an essential reference for ecologists, conservationists, nature lovers and travelers alike.

Reptiles and Frogs in the Bush:
Southwestern Australia

Brian Bush, Brad Maryan, Robert Browne-Cooper and David Robinson
2007
978 1 920694 74 6 $39.95 Pb Add to cart

Containing detailed descriptions of preferred habitats and diagnostic characteristics via its many colour photographs, distribution maps and diagrams, this companion to the tremendously popular A Guide to the Reptiles and Frogs of the Perth Region (1995, reprinted) is the ideal ‘glove-box guide’ to the unique herpetology of Southwestern Australia.

Rica Erickson:
A Naturalist’s Life

Rica Erickson
2004
978 1 920694 277 $34.95 Pb Add to cart
978 1 920694 439 $49.95 Deluxe Edition Add to cart

Rica Erickson: A Naturalist's Life is the autobiography of Rica Erickson, one of the most renowned Australian naturalists of the Twentieth Century.

Born in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields in 1908, Rica has devoted her life to the study of orchids, trigger and carnivorous plants as well as birds and insects. An accomplished botanical artist, she has also produced a wealth of extraordinarily detailed drawings and watercolours – many of which remain standard floral and fauna references.

Rica takes readers on a guided tour through her long and illustrious career, reminiscing about her guides, mentors and associates as well as how she conducted her remarkable research.

Rock of Ages: Human Use and Natural History of Australian Granite

Ian Bayly
1999
978 1 876268 190 $29.95 Hb Add to cart

Rock of Ages provides an engaging account of the beauty, history, biology and recreational potential of Australia’s unique granite landscapes.

Documenting the unusual features of these spectacular and biologically diverse ecosystems, Ian Bayly’s book is a sumptuously illustrated tribute to the grandeur and importance of these Australian natural wonders.

Verticordia:
The Turner of Hearts

Written by Elizabeth George
Illustrated by Margaret Pieroni
2002
978 1 876268 468 $94.95 Hb Add to cart

2002 Western Australian Premier's Book Award Winner
2003 TREAT National Australian Awards for Excellence in Educational Publishing Winner

Illustrated throughout with beautiful watercolours and line drawings by Margaret Pieroni, one of Australia's most talented botanical artists, Verticordia: The Turner of Hearts brings together for the first time all available information on each taxa of Verticordia (101 species, 13 subspecies and 30 varieties) - providing a comprehensive, user-friendly guide to the identification and cultivation of one of Western Australia’s best-known and exquisite wildflowers.