Fruits Of The Australian Tropical Rainforest

A definitive work which covers the fruiting plants of Australia's tropical forests in Queensland extending from Rockhampton to the Torres Strait. The book is divided into two sections, Gymnodperms and Angiosperms laid out in alphabetical order of family, genera and species illustrated in vibrant colour.

This beautifully illustrated field guide covers 504 of the most common fruiting plants found in Australia's eastern rainforests, as well as a few species that are rare in the wild but generally well-known. These spectacular plants can be seen from Cape York to Victoria, with some species also found in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and overseas. Rainforest fruits are often beautifully coloured, and in this guide the species are arranged by colour of ripe fruit, then by size and form. Five broad categories – pink to purple, blue to black, yellow and orange to red, green to brown, and white – allow people with even limited botanical knowledge to identify rainforest fruits. Each species description is accompanied by a leaf drawing, a distribution map, and diagnostic characters to help the reader distinguish similar species. Australian Rainforest Fruits includes stunning artwork by Australia’s leading natural history artist, William T Cooper. It will be sought not just by bushwalkers and natural history enthusiasts, but also by those who admire botanical art at its best.

Based on contributions to a symposium at the 57th ANZAAS congress in 1987, this book describes and interprets the evolution, biology and dynamics of Australia's northern rainforests from scientific, humanistic and eco-political viewpoints. Includes references and an index.

This text takes the reader on a journey into one of nature's richest gardens - the tropical and sub-tropical rainforests of Australia. Photography exposes the diversity of life from the damp leaf-litter of the forest floor to the panoramic heights of the tree canopy.

Rare, unique and irreplaceable – precious native rainforests occupy a precariously small part of Australia while retaining a remarkable level of both biological and chemical diversity unrivalled by any other ecosystem. Australia's ancient history and traditions are intimately intertwined with the rainforest plants that humans have utilised as both food and medicine. Phytochemistry of Australia's Tropical Rainforest is a record of this history and details how our understanding of these plants has led to the discovery of anaesthetics, analgesics, steroids, antimalarials and more. It provides an insight into the habitat, ecology and family associations of hundreds of species and explores their future therapeutic potential, alongside phytochemical studies of the ancient plant lineages. Toxicological evaluations of important poisonous plants are also included. Rainforests provide shelter for unique flora and fauna that are counted among the rarest species on Earth, many of which are illustrated in this book. This comprehensive work is an essential reference for phytochemists, ethnobotanists and those with an interest in rainforests and their medicinal and botanical potential.

This is the story of a year-long journey of discovery by one of Australia's most respected natural historians. The book is a personal account of life in one of the richest, most complicated habitats on earth.