The city of Perth is well known and treasured for its areas of protected bushland in the heart of the city. Kings Park and Bold Park represent a significant part of the natural heritage of the Swan Coastal Plain and are an important part of city life. The city is also a gateway to the incredible biodiversity to be found in south-west Western Australia.
Perth Plants provides a comprehensive photographic guide to all plants known to occur in the bushlands of Kings Park and Bold Park, both native plants and naturalised weeds. There are 778 species included, representing approximately one-quarter of all the plants in the greater Perth region, and one-tenth of all species known for the south-west of Western Australia.
This new edition contains 22 additional species and updated photography throughout. It is an essential reference for anyone interested in the plants of south-west Western Australia, and particularly the Swan Coastal Plain.
Foreword to the second edition
Foreword to the first edition
Acknowledgements from the first edition
Photographic credits
Acknowledgements for this second edition
Map of Kings Park and Botanic Garden
Map of Bold Park
Introduction
Native flora
Introduced flora
Appendix. Non-naturalised plants
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Russell Barrett worked as a Research Botanist with the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority in Perth prior to moving to the Australian National Herbarium, CSIRO, in Canberra. He is an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Western Australia in the School of Plant Biology and a Research Associate at the Western Australian Herbarium. He grew up in the remote Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, developing an early passion for plants. An experienced taxonomist and photographer, his work has taken him to many remote parts of the state, discovering many new species of plants along the way.
Eng Pin Tay is a Herbarium Botanist at the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, Perth. Before this, he worked for 18 years with tropical plants in Singapore as Curator of the then Parks and Recreation Department and as Senior Research Officer at the Singapore Botanic Gardens and nature reserves under the National Parks Board. A keen photographer, traveller and experienced botanist, his work has taken him to many natural areas in South-East Asia and botanic gardens around the world.
"This field guide provides an excellent point of entry into one of the most charismatic floras on the planet, that of southwestern Western Australia. I really wish I had had this book when I was recently doing field work there for the first time. [...] The strength of this field guide lies in presenting thousands of images (several per species) of consistently good quality, and these have been updated from the first edition.[...]"
– Tanja Schuster, Australian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter 167, June 2016
"This book, like our flora, is a gem. Easily accessible, well laid-out and with informative but easy to understand text, you can use it on any ramble around Perth and chances are you'll be able to work out what plants you've found."
– Kevin Thiele, Western Australian Herbarium, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth