Plants of the Victorian High Country: A Field Guide for Walkers
By John Murphy and Bill Dowling
()
About this ebook
Plants of the Victorian High Country allows walkers with little botanical knowledge to identify plants they are likely to encounter along the popular tracks of Victoria's High Country.
This Second Edition has been revised and expanded to describe 133 plants from the montane, sub-alpine and alpine zones, categorising them into five easily distinguished groups: herbs, daisy herbs, low woody shrubs, tall shrubs and trees, and eucalypts. The guide features a glossary of botanical terms, straightforward identification keys, clear photos of the leaves, flowers and stems of the plant, and includes notes on Aboriginal plant usage.
If you are a nature lover, planning to walk in the Victorian High Country, this book is an essential addition to your backpack.
Read more from John Murphy
Teaching Pronunciation, Revised Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreenwood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMiracle Minded Manager: A Modern-Day Parable about How to Apply A Course in Miracles in Business Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSage Leadership: Awakening the Spirit in Work Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIndiana's Catholic Religious Communities Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIf These Walls Could Talk: Buffalo Bills: Stories from the Buffalo Bills Sideline, Locker Room, and Press Box Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Eagle Tells Flying Stories with Associated Drivel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evatt: A Life Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Beech Grove Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIndianapolis Social Clubs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHalf a Citizen: Life on Welfare in Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWatt's Special Purpose Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Plants of the Victorian High Country
Related ebooks
Plants of the Victorian High Country: A Field Guide for Walkers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMistletoes of Southern Australia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Insects of South-Eastern Australia: An Ecological and Behavioural Guide Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Plant Names: A Guide to Botanical Nomenclature Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Guide to Introduced Pest Animals of Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPerth Plants: A Field Guide to the Bushland and Coastal Flora of Kings Park and Bold Park Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlants of Subtropical Eastern Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWildlife of the Otways and Shipwreck Coast Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to the Katydids of Australia Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Guide to Stag Beetles of Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPlanting for Wildlife: A Practical Guide to Restoring Native Woodlands Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tree Hollows and Wildlife Conservation in Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWildlife on Farms: How to Conserve Native Animals Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiscovering Australian Flora: An Australian National Botanic Gardens Experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWetland Weeds: Causes, Cures and Compromises Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bees of Australia: A Photographic Exploration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Australian Native Plants: The Kings Park Experience Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWetland Plants of Queensland: A Field Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSnakes, Lizards and Frogs of the Victorian Mallee Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Land Snails of Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Britain's Rarest Plants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNative Mice and Rats Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlora of the Otway Plain and Ranges 1: Orchids, Irises, Lilies, Grass-trees, Mat-rushes and Other Petaloid Monocotyledons Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReptiles of Victoria: A Guide to Identification and Ecology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBirds of Prey of Australia: A Field Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAustralian Seeds: A Guide to Their Collection, Identification and Biology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Native Bees of Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Guide to Australian Moths Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mosses and Liverworts of Rainforest in Tasmania and South-eastern Australia Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Nature For You
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Silent Spring Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Family and Other Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Solace of Open Spaces: Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lucky Dog Lessons: From Renowned Expert Dog Trainer and Host of Lucky Dog: Reunions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5SAS Survival Handbook, Third Edition: The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Anywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Coffee: A Sustainable Guide to Nootropics, Adaptogens, and Mushrooms Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edible Wild Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Foraging for Survival: Edible Wild Plants of North America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained at a Remote Ranch in Utah Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Delusion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Heartbeat of Trees: Embracing Our Ancient Bond with Forests and Nature Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Corfu Trilogy: My Family and Other Animals; Birds, Beasts and Relatives; and The Garden of the Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5H Is for Hawk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shelter: A Love Letter to Trees Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Fungi: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from around the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Truth & Beauty: A Friendship Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cacophony of Bone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related categories
Reviews for Plants of the Victorian High Country
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Plants of the Victorian High Country - John Murphy
Plants of the Victorian High Country
SECOND EDITION
Plants of the Victorian High Country
A Field Guide for Walkers
JOHN MURPHY AND BILL DOWLING
© John Murphy and Bill Dowling 2018
All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Contact CSIRO Publishing for all permission requests.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Australia.
Published by:
CSIRO Publishing
Locked Bag 10
Clayton South VIC 3169
Australia
Telephone: +61 3 9545 8400
Email: publishing.sales@csiro.au
Website: www.publish.csiro.au
Front cover: (main image) Bogong high plains; (thumbnail images, left to right) Orites lancifolius, Linum marginale, Grevillea victoriae, Bossiaea disticoclada, Brachyscome nivalis.
Back cover: (left to right) Isotoma axillaris, Bulbine bulbosa, Exocarpos cupressiformis, Caladenia alpine, Chiloglottis valida.
Photographs are by Bill Dowling unless otherwise noted.
Set in 9.5/12 Minion
Edited by Joy Window (Living Language)
Cover design by James Kelly
Typeset by Thomson Digital
Printed in China by 1010 Printing International Ltd.
CSIRO Publishing publishes and distributes scientific, technical and health science books, magazines and journals from Australia to a worldwide audience and conducts these activities autonomously from the research activities of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of, and should not be attributed to, the publisher or CSIRO. The copyright owner shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this information.
Acknowledgement
CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands that we live and work on across Australia and pays its respect to Elders past and present. CSIRO recognises that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have made and will continue to make extraordinary contributions to all aspects of Australian life including culture, economy and science.
Original print edition:
The paper this book is printed on is in accordance with the standards of the Forest Stewardship Council®. The FSC® promotes environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically viable management of the world’s forests.
Contents
About this book
The second edition
How to use the book
Aboriginal people in the High Country
Acknowledgements
Other useful books
The environment
Flower types
Plant descriptions
Herbs (other than daisies)
Daisy herbs
Low woody shrubs
Tall shrubs and trees
Eucalypts
Glossary
Plants listed by family
Index
About this book
Our aim is to allow walkers with little botanical knowledge to identify the plants they are most likely to encounter. The book is mostly written in plain English, but we have included a glossary and diagrams to explain those botanical terms we could not avoid.
The three basic plant categories are family, genus and species. So the alpine ash, Eucalyptus delegatensis, is:
•in the Myrtaceae family (all family names end in ‘aceae’)
•of the Eucalyptus genus (all genus names are italicised, with the initial letter in capitals)
•the species delegatensis (all species names are italicised, with no capitals).
While the family name is important to help you determine what goes with what, it is not usually given, so scientific names generally consist of two words – in this case, Eucalyptus delegatensis.
Common names like alpine ash are also given where appropriate, but please remember that there are no agreements about common names and that they are often unreliable labels. For example, the Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian blue gums are actually three different species.
In some cases, individual species can be difficult to distinguish. In these cases we have only identified the genus. Grasses and sedges can be very difficult to identify, so we have not included them in this publication.
Warning:
Many of the fruits of plants are often beautifully coloured and look edible. However, many species are extremely poisonous and we strongly advise that none should be tasted without expert advice. That birds and mammals eat a fruit is not an indication that it is safe for human consumption. Animals feed on many species that are poisonous to us. The same applies to leaves, flowers and root structures.
The second edition
A field trip in December 2017 produced improved and additional photographs for many of the book’s species and 15 new plants have been added. One hundred and thirty-three species are now described.
The original plant descriptions have been revised and expanded. They are now up to date and consistent with Vicflora, the plant database of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. There have been numerous name changes and family assignments since our first edition. Where appropriate, information on the Aboriginal use of the plants has been added as noted in ‘Aboriginal people in the High Country’ below.
How to use the book
We have selected the most common High Country plants. The book has 133 plant descriptions accompanied by 155 photographs. For ease of identification we have sorted them into five easily distinguished groups:
•herbs (other than daisies)
•daisy herbs
•low woody shrubs
•tall shrubs and trees (other than eucalypts)
•eucalypts.
To identify a plant:
1. Determine to which of the five groups the plant belongs.
2. Go to the key for that group and follow the key.
3. Go to the page or pages indicated by the key and compare the plant with the descriptions and photos.
Within the descriptions and photos, the plants are arranged by family. The families are in alphabetical order. This allows those who know their plant families to go straight to the family group and look for a particular plant.
This arrangement is also useful for those with less knowledge of plant families, as the common characteristics of a family are frequently (though not always) apparent. For example, all the Goodeniaceae have zygomorphic flowers.
For words like ‘zygomorphic’, go to the glossary.
For convenience, a list of the plants by family and an index are provided at the end of the book.
Aboriginal people in the High Country
Senior Kurnai man, Russell Mullet, notes that Aboriginal people living in the valleys during winter moved up to the high Alps in summer not only for food, but also to avoid wild fires. It is estimated that ~2000 Aboriginal people lived in the Alps in