Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants
Encyclopedia
The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state
-based member organizations for people interested in Australia
's native flora
, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.
A national conference is held biennially for members of the state-based societies. The combined membership is over 9000 people.
Initially the focus was on growing and learning about Australian Flora
more for home and amenities plantings - members included botanists and horticulturists as well as enthusiastic laypeople. As time has gone on, there has been an increasing focus on conservation, and advocacy for conservation, of Australian Flora. The Wildflower Society in Western Australia has been particularly diligent in liaising with government bodies in that state and the New South Wales body is a member of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.
The national association changed its name to the Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) in 2008.
, John Wrigley, Rodger Eliot, Angus Stewart
and Ivan Holliday to name a few.
Over the years, important texts on Australian Flora have been either published by members, or funded by SGAP, including:
Membership to these societies totals about 9000 people. The vast majority of members live in Australia, though there are members in Europe and America.
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
-based member organizations for people interested in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's native flora
Flora of Australia
The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens...
, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.
A national conference is held biennially for members of the state-based societies. The combined membership is over 9000 people.
History
The Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAP) was established in 1957 by a group of people who "pledged to promote the establishment and breeding of Australian native plants for garden, park and farm". By 1958 active regional Societies had been established in six States and the ACT with the Federal Association (ASGAP) being formed in 1962Initially the focus was on growing and learning about Australian Flora
Flora of Australia
The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 20,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens...
more for home and amenities plantings - members included botanists and horticulturists as well as enthusiastic laypeople. As time has gone on, there has been an increasing focus on conservation, and advocacy for conservation, of Australian Flora. The Wildflower Society in Western Australia has been particularly diligent in liaising with government bodies in that state and the New South Wales body is a member of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.
The national association changed its name to the Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) in 2008.
Promotion of Australian Flora
Over the years, many important figures in Australian Botany and Horticulture have been members, Alex GeorgeAlex George
Alexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
, John Wrigley, Rodger Eliot, Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart
Angus Stewart is an Australian horticulturist, gardening author and TV presenter on Gardening Australia. He is especially interested in Native Plants, and has been heavily involved in breeding of Kangaroo paws....
and Ivan Holliday to name a few.
Over the years, important texts on Australian Flora have been either published by members, or funded by SGAP, including:
- The Banksia Book, by Alex GeorgeAlex GeorgeAlexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
(1981, 1987 & 1996) - The Grevillea Books (vols 1-3), by Neil Marriott & Peter Olde
- Encyclopedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation (vols 1-9), Rodger Eliot, David Jones & Trevor Blake
- Native Plants of the Sydney District by Alan Fairley & Philip Moore
- Field Guide to Plants of the Dry Tropics, by Keith Townsend
- Across the Top - Gardening with Australian Plants in the Tropics, by Keith Townsend
Regional (State-Based) Bodies
The societies are:- Australian Plants Society (SGAP Victoria) Inc
- Australian Plants Society - NSW Region
- Australian Plants Society - Tasmania Region
- Australian Plants Society - SA Region
- Australian Native Plants Society - Canberra Region
- Society for Growing Australian Plants (SGAP) - Queensland Region
- Wildflower Society of Western AustraliaWildflower Society of Western AustraliaThe Wildflower Society of Western Australia is a member of the Australian Native Plants Society . In each of the other states of Australia, there is a region of the ANPS and they share many of the aims of the WSWA .-Objects:The Objects of the WSWA as outlined in its Constitution are: To...
Membership to these societies totals about 9000 people. The vast majority of members live in Australia, though there are members in Europe and America.
List of species and topics studied
- AcaciaAcaciaAcacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
- BanksiaBanksiaBanksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
- BonsaiBonsaiis a Japanese art form using miniature trees grown in containers. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese hòn non bộ...
- BrachychitonBrachychitonBrachychiton is a genus of 31 species of trees and large shrubs, native to Australia , and New Guinea . Fossils from New South Wales and New Zealand are estimated to be 50 million years old, corresponding to the Tertiary.They grow to 4 – 30m tall, and some are dry-season deciduous...
and allied genera - Container Plants
- Correa
- Daisy (Australian)
- Dryandra
- EpacrisEpacrisEpacris is a genus of about 35-40 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, though formerly often treated in a separate family Epacridaceae. The genus is native to eastern and southeastern Australia , New Caledonia and New Zealand...
- EremophilaEremophila (plant)Eremophila is a genus of plants of the family Scrophulariaceae, with species known by the common names of Emu Bush, Poverty Bush or Fuchsia Bush. Currently, there are 215 recognised species, all of which are endemic to Australia...
- EucalyptusEucalyptusEucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
- FabaceaeFabaceaeThe Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
- FernFernA fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
- Food Plants (Australian)
- Garden Design
- GrevilleaGrevilleaGrevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees...
- HakeaHakeaHakea is a genus of 149 species of shrubs and small trees in the Proteaceae, native to Australia. They are found throughout the country, with the highest species diversity being found in the south west of Western Australia....
- HibiscusHibiscusHibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...
and related genera - IsopogonIsopogonIsopogon is a genus of 35 species of mainly low-growing and prostrate perennial shrubs in the family Proteaceae endemic to Australia. They are found throughout Australia, though Western Australia has the greatest variety with 27 of the 35 species found there...
and PetrophilePetrophilePetrophile is a genus of evergreen shrubs, in the protea family Proteaceae, which are endemic to Australia. Commonly known as Conebushes, they typically have prickly, divided foliage and produce prominently-displayed pink, yellow or cream flowers followed by grey, conical fruits... - MelaleucaMelaleucaMelaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
(including Callistemon, CalothamnusCalothamnusCalothamnus is a genus of shrubs, in the family Myrtaceae, which are endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The name Calothamnus, ascribed to the genus by botanist Robert Brown, is derived from the Greek words kalos and thamnos .Species include:*Calothamnus accedens Hawkeswood...
and allied genera) - OrchidsOrchidaceaeThe Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
(Australian) - Palm and CycadCycadCycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
(Australian) - ProstantheraProstantheraProstanthera, commonly known as Mintbush, is a genus of plants of the family Lamiaceae. There are about 90 species within the genus, all of which are endemic to Australia. The word is derived from the Greek, which refers to an appendage...
and WestringiaWestringiaWestringia is a genus of Australian shrubs. As with other members of the mint family their upper petal is divided into two lobes. There are four stamens - the upper two are fertile while the lower two are reduced to staminodes... - RainforestRainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
- RhamnaceaeRhamnaceaeRhamnaceae, the Buckthorn family, is a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs and some vines.The family contains 50-60 genera and approximately 870-900 species. The Rhamnaceae have a worldwide distribution, but are more common in the subtropical and tropical regions...
- SucculentsSucculent plantSucculent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climates or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaves, stems, and also in roots...
(Australian) - VerticordiaVerticordiaVerticordia, a genus of the Myrtaceae family, are woody shrubs with small and exquisite flowers. They are mostly found in Southwest Australia, with several outlier species in northern regions. A revision of the genus in 1991 produced a classification within Verticordia of 3 subgenera, 24 sections,...
- WallumWallumWallum, or Wallum country, is an Australian ecosystem of coastal south-east Queensland, extending into north-eastern New South Wales. It is characterised by floristically-rich shrubland and heathland on deep, nutrient-poor acidic sandy soils and regular wildfire. Seasonal changes in the...
(Coastal Banksia heath) - WetlandWetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s - Wildlife and Native Plants