"This book describes, in non-technical terms, the major trees, shrubs, grasses and herbs which are of importance to graziers in the arid natural grazing shrublands of the Gascoyne, Murchison and Goldfields of Western Australia. A significant number of the species have spectatular flowers and will be of interest to tourists as well as to miners, students and naturalists." - back cover.

This fully updated third edition provides a modern synthesis and review of the latest advances in understanding native vegetation across Australia.

Australian vegetation has interested botanists and naturalists since Europeans first encountered Australia and its plant life. This 1994 edition of Australian Vegetation reviews the vegetation of the continent as a whole. In the introductory section, chapters on phytogeography, vegetation history and alien plants set the scene for further sections covering all the major vegetation types. The plant life of extreme Australian habitats is also discussed, and the book closes with a chapter on the conservation of Australian vegetation. Each chapter, written by experts on each particular habitat type, will inform and stimulate the interests of students and professional botanists, especially those fortunate enough to see for themselves the unique vegetation and flora of Australia.

The book contains detailed descriptions of the unique desert environment with particular emphasis on vegetation and survival strategies of plants. Nine expeditions through the Southwest of Western Australia over a period of 15 years triggered the interest of the authors to explore also some deserts in the region, which leads to three further excursions into the sandy dunes of the desert. Observations of plant life in the deserts focused not only on identifying plants, but also on gaining some understanding of the aboriginal desert people of centuries past, and their own survival strategies in such extreme conditions. Also part of the Canning Stock Route was followed and explored, but the most rewarding and interesting finds were done criss-crossing the desert away from highways, tracks, and paths. The most remote areas showed species richness and surviving strategies which by far exceeded expectations.