John W. Wrigley

A book, first published in 1993. Wrigley and Fagg have published other books together (one on the Eucalypts, I think) and although the Eucalypt is more recent, I like this current book on the Leptospermium alliance better. It's a pretty straightforward botanical reference book, focused squarely on the bottlebrushes, paperbarks and tea trees. There is a nice overview section about the botanists who found/named the different species, a bit about their propagation and commercial uses etc., and very comprehensive sections describing the various genera and species. Quite lavishly illustrated with colour photos of good quality and a number of line drawings to detail the characteristic features of each genera. I quite liked it. Not exactly bedtime reading but it did help me identify a eucalypt look-alike that has been puzzling me for some time. Leaves like a eucalypt, smells like a eucalypt (well more or less) bark like a eucalypt but flowers quite unlike a eucalypt. It seems that it belongs to one of the smaller (in number) genera: Agonis flexuosa or willow myrtle. Actually, there are so many different species of Callistemon and Melaleuca that it all becomes a bit overwhelming and I think you really have to specialise in the genera to get the most out of the book. In fact. I've often mused over the life/role of a systematic botanist wondering how much satisfaction they could get from the job. But clearly some people just love the role. I know there is a certain satisfaction in being able to recognise a species...like greeting an old friend. And even more if you discover a new species and there is the endless intellectual debates about what features should be given prominence in classifying species etc. In fact, it's all a bit arbitrary anyway as there has been horizontal swapping of genes in many/most species.
Anyway, I think the authors have done a good job on this book. It's a useful reference book yet interesting enough to a general reader (like me) ...or maybe one who has a mild interest in botany and Australian native species. Not sure how it is faring under the onslaught of DNA profiling and computer analysis of genetic linkages. I did become more aware of the significance of the south western part of Western Australia in terms of the number of different species that originate there.. And I'm rather glad that I had some small input into developing a management plan for the Gondwanaland National Park covering part of this area (a thousand km of continuous bushland....well that's the aim). Four stars from me.… (mehr)