The Long Dry Bush Colours of Summer and Autumn in South-Western Australia

About this book

Instead of flowers, this book concentrates on the foliage, in particular what it does in a very dry summer. In many plants the leaves or stems turn shades of yellow, red or brown but do not die. When the first winter rain falls they regreen and resume their normal functions. This unusual mechanism (termed diallagy) is Western Australia's version of autumn colours.

The book illustrates 60 of these plants, showing them in both their coloured and regreened states. There are also photographs of patches of vegetation showing general autumn colour, and of other drought survival strategies. Paradoxically, some plants flower during this season, and a selection of these is also included.

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Biography

For 21 years Alex George was a botanist with the Western Australian Herbarium, then for 12 years executive editor of the Flora of Australia based in Canberra. He has botanised throughout Western Australia in all seasons, collecting and photographing wildflowers and observing how they live. His special interests include Banksia, Dryandra and Verticordia, as well as botanical history and bibliography. He is now a freelance botanist, editor and indexer.