Colour photographs, Illustrations, Maps, Glossary, Index
504 pages, 248 x 170 mm
Publishers:
CSIRO PUBLISHING / Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS)
This latest volume in the acclaimed Flora of Australia series covers the subfamilies Arundinoideae, Danthonioideae, Aristidoideae, Micrairoideae and Chloridoideae. It describes a mixture of tropical and temperate grasses and includes a number of economically and environmentally important groups, such as:
Triodia – iconic spinifex grasses of Australia’s arid areas that are an important major habitat for a variety of species
Wallaby grasses – attractive grasses with distinctive purple and green heads that are a major structural component of endangered south-eastern grasslands
Aristida (kerosene grasses and three-awns) – a large tribe of grasses whose characteristic three long bristles are problematic for the agricultural industry as they can contaminate fleece
Mitchell grasses – of great economic importance for the pastoral industry in Queensland
Couch grass – one of the lawn grasses we take for granted
Parramatta grasses – well-known weeds on the eastern seaboard
Arundo and Phragmites – the reeds along our waterways
The volume includes native and naturalised species, treating five subfamilies, 55 genera and over 450 species. Many of the species treated are endemic to Australia.
It features over 90 pages of illustrations as well as the traditional tightly written authoritative descriptions, identification keys, bibliographic information, and notes on ecology and distribution.
An essential reference for plant taxonomists, ecologists and grassland researchers.
documents five subfamilies of the grass family (the Poaceae), comprising 55 genera and 468 species.
includes 83 line drawings and 64 colour photographs, illustrating nearly every genus, to help readers to appreciate the beauty and variety of Australian grasses.
features the latest taxonomy and distribution maps for these species, as well as new taxa and a complete synonymy of all Australian names.
Classification of Australian Grasses
Subfamily Arundinoideae
Tribe Arundineae
Tribe Amphipogoneae
Subfamily Danthonioideae
Tribe Danthonieae
Subfamily Aristidoideae
Tribe Aristideae
Subfamily Micrairoideae
Tribe Micraireae
Tribe Eriachneae
Subfamily Chloridoideae
Tribe Pappophoreae
Tribe Triodieae
Tribe Cynodonteae
Appendix: new taxa and recombinations
Supplementary Glossary
Abbreviations and Contractions
Publication date of previous volumes
Index
Plant taxonomists and plant physiologists; ecologists and ecological consultants; weed researchers and weed control officers; those with a professional interest in the biology and distribution of grasses in Australia.
“… well-illustrated and documented, a worthy successor to Bentham’s 1878 treatment.”
JF Veldkamp (Blumea v.50 no.2 2005)