If you are looking for the Appendix on Plants in Volume 1 of Western Australian Exploration you won’t find it.
There were 10 Appendixes in Volume 1 but not one on Plants.
The botanical expertise of Professor Alex George wasn’t available at the time Volume 1^ was published. When he was asked to prepare the Appendix on Plants for Western Australian Exploration, 1836-1845 (Volume 2)*, he kindly offered to rectify the deficiency in Volume 1. The two Appendixes appear in Volume 2, starting at page 386.
Professor George has contributed each of the Appendixes on Plants written for the Western Australian Exploration series. Using his vast experience he is able to deduce the scientific names of the various plants mentioned by the explorers from information such as locality, landform, associated vegetation and/or soil. While many can be named with confidence, for others there is insufficient information to be able to suggest a precise scientific name and these are listed as ‘probably’.
This policy of publishing ‘missed’ material continues with the omitted Collie’s 1829 Expedition to the Serpentine River being included in Volume 2. Similarly, biographical information is continually updated as new information becomes available making Western Australian Exploration biographies complete and accurate.
Kim Epton
Series Editor
^ Shoobert J., Western Australian Exploration Volume One December 1826 –December 1835, Hesperian Press, Carlisle, 2005.
* Hercock, Marion & Milentis, Sheryl with Phil Bianchi, Western Australian Exploration, 1836-1845, Hesperian Press, Carlisle, Western Australia, 2011.
Dr Alex George, AM, is a retired consultant botanist, editor and indexer, and holds the position of Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University. He worked at the WA Herbarium for 22 years and then spent 12 years in Canberra as the Executive Editor of the Flora of Australia project. He has also served at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, England, as Australian Botanical Liaison Officer. His taxonomic research has focused on the families Proteaceae, Myrtaceae and Gyrostemonaceae, resulting in naming many new species and several new genera. His main research interests are now Australian botanical history and bibliography.
