Forest Trees of Australia
300
of Australia's Most Important Native Trees Described and Illustrated
by D.J. Boland,
M.I.H. Brooker,
G.M. Chippendale, N. Hall, B.P.M. Hyland,
R.D. Johnston, D.A. Kleinig, M.W.McDonald & J.D. Turner
NEW 5th
Edition
(Australian Publication)
Hardcover
195 x 265mm
736pp
Published by CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, VIC.
R.R.P.$140.00
ISBN 0-643-06969-0
As reviewed (Edition 4) in The Australian Woodworker Issue 94
Forest Trees of Australia is a volume from the CSIRO. It doesn't cover any species in its entirety, focusing instead on species selected by the criteria that they are of importance to the timber industry, conspicuous in the landscape, or of environmental importance.
It contains a total of 137 eucalypt species and 86 non-eucalypts, including more rainforest species, which had previously been omitted.
The book uses black and white photography rather than colour, and by and large this is extremely effective - especially in the detailed shots of leaf venation, which come up well using a unique flash photography technique. There is also extensive use of scanning electron micrographs (S.E.M.) for showing unique botanical detail, which can be seen with the naked eye or aided by a small handlens, but which aren't possible to photograph with traditional macrophoto-graphic techniques. Also included are photos of seedlings grown from authenticated seeds.
The particular advantage of this book is the inclusion of images showing several phases of leaf growth - such as juvenile, intermediate and adult. All the detail photographs come with a graduated rule in centimetres, to indicate the size of objects being viewed. There is also an attempt to include two different photos of the bark, one of a young tree and the other of a mature tree - which can be surprisingly different.
Drawings illustrating the meaning of botanical terms for leaf shapes, apices, bases edges and venation, cross-sections of leaf blades, floral bud opercula, bud shapes, fruit shapes, fruit discs, and fruit valves are included.
The greater the number of visual factors taken into account, the more accurate the assessment will be. Unless you've got four generations of bush men in your blood, and can identify a Flindersia bourjotiana by smell and taste, this book (together with Field Guide to Eucalypts) is your best bet for accurately identifying trees in the wild.
Photos: Black & White with Colour Section
Units of Measurement: Metric
Contents
Preface
to the Fifth Edition
Changes for the Fifth Edition
Contributions of each
author
Acknowledgments
Book
structure explanatory notes:
Order of presentation of families, genera
and species
Presentation of species descriptions
Introduction:
Origin of Australian trees
Variation and adaptation of Australian
trees
Kinds of trees - some important Australian families
Factors controlling
the distribution of Australian tree species
Gymnosperms
Araucariaceae
Cupressaceae
Podocarpaceae
Angiosperms
- Dicotyledons
Apocynaceae
Avicenniaceae
Bombacaceae
Caesalpiniaceae
Casuarinaceae
- Casuarinas
Chrysobalanaceae
Cochlospermaceae
Combretaceae
Cunoniaceae
Elaeocarpaceae
Eucryphiaceae
Fagaceae
Lauraceae
Meliaceae
Mimosaceae
- Acacias
Monimiaceae
Moraceae
Myrtaceae
- Eucalypts
-- Angophoras
-- Ghost Gums
-- Bloodwoods
--
Eudesmids
-- Symphyomyrtus (gums, Boxes, Ironbarks, Mallees, Mallets)
---
Eastern Blue Gums, Red Mahoganies and grey Gums
--- Red Gums
--- Mallees,
Mallets and Marlocks
--- Gums
--- Boxes and Ironbarks
--- The Boxes
---
The Box-ironbarks
--- The Terminales Boxes, Gums and Ironbarks
--Monocalypts
(Tingles, Jarrah, White Mahoganies, Stringybarks, Blackbutts, Ashes, Peppermints)
---
Stringybarks
--- Ashes
--- Peppermints
- Melaleucas
Proteaceae
-
Banksias
Rhizophoraceae
Rubiaceae
Rutaceae
Santalaceae
Sapindaceae
Sterculiaceae
Verbenaceae
Angiosperms - Monocotyledons
Arecaceae
- Palms
Abbreviations
Glossary
Illustrations
of Botanical Terms Used in the Text
References
Index