General view of the botany of the vicinity of Swan River is an 1831 scientific paper by Scottish botanist Robert Brown. It discusses the vegetation of the Swan River Colony (in what is now Western Australia), and comments on its affinities with other regions. It has been described as "an essential step taken in our knowledge of the boundaries of the SW province". [1]
Brown's paper was based on information derived from three plant collections: the collection of botanist Charles Fraser, made during an 1827 expedition under James Stirling; a collection received by Brown from Alexander Macleay, Colonial Secretary of New South Wales; and a collection received by Brown from James Mangles. Brown had already made use of these and other collections in preparing his Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae , published the previous year. In the course of his studies of Australian flora, he had prepared several manuscripts on the flora of the Swan River Colony: a list of plants of the Swan River Colony; a manuscript entitled Chloris Fluvii Cygni; and another entitled Proteaceae in occident.-meridionale... King George's Sound and Middle Island... Swan River... Baie de Geograph. [2]
During 1830, Brown helped established the Royal Geographical Society, sitting on the committee that drew up its constitution, and subsequently sitting on its inaugural council. He read his General view of the botany of the vicinity of Swan River at one of the first meetings of the society, on November 22, 1830, and it was printed the following year in the first volume of the society's Journal. [2] In 1866 it was reprinted in John Joseph Bennett's The miscellaneous botanical works of Robert Brown. [3]
The paper begins by briefly describing the vegetation of the Swan River Colony, noting its richness in Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, Fabaceae (especially Acacia ), Epacridaceae, Goodeniaceae and Asteraceae. Brown then notes the more prominent plants not in these families, in the course of which he transfers from Loranthus the well-known and unusual parasitic tree Nuytsia floribunda (West Australian Christmas Tree). [4]
Brown then considers the biogeographic affinities of the region, emphasising the close relationship between the Swan River Colony flora and that of King George Sound and Lucky Bay on the south coast. On the other hand, he found very few species in common with the east coast at similar latitudes. Focussing on Proteaceae, he reiterates the assertion first made in his 1814 General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis , that the flora of the west coast of Australia has a strong South African element, whereas the flora of the east coast has a strong South American element. [4]
The paper closes with the observation that the noted dullness of Australian forests is due to the fact that the genera Eucalyptus and Acacia, both major components of the Australian vegetation, usually have stomata on both faces of their leaves, and thus lack a glossy upper face. [4]
Ludwig Diels describes General view of the botany of the vicinity of Swan River as "an essential step taken in our knowledge of the boundaries of the SW province". [1]
Robert Brown FRSE FRS FLS MWS was a Scottish botanist and paleobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope. His contributions include one of the earliest detailed descriptions of the cell nucleus and cytoplasmic streaming; the observation of Brownian motion; early work on plant pollination and fertilisation, including being the first to recognise the fundamental difference between gymnosperms and angiosperms; and some of the earliest studies in palynology. He also made numerous contributions to plant taxonomy, notably erecting a number of plant families that are still accepted today; and numerous Australian plant genera and species, the fruit of his exploration of that continent with Matthew Flinders.
John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.
Adenanthos is a genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only genus in the family where solitary flowers are the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. The type species is Adenanthos cuneatus, and 33 species are recognised. The genus is placed in subfamily Proteoideae, and is held to be most closely related to several South African genera.
Banksia ilicifolia, commonly known as holly-leaved banksia, is a tree in the family Proteaceae. Endemic to southwest Western Australia, it belongs to Banksia subg. Isostylis, a subgenus of three closely related Banksia species with inflorescences that are dome-shaped heads rather than characteristic Banksia flower spikes. It is generally a tree up to 10 metres (33 ft) tall with a columnar or irregular habit. Both the scientific and common names arise from the similarity of its foliage to that of the English holly Ilex aquifolium; the glossy green leaves generally have very prickly serrated margins, although some plants lack toothed leaves. The inflorescences are initially yellow but become red-tinged with maturity; this acts as a signal to alert birds that the flowers have opened and nectar is available.
Banksia armata, commonly known as prickly dryandra, is a species of often sprawling shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has deeply serrated leaves with sharply pointed lobes and spikes of about 45 to 70 yellow flowers.
Banksia nobilis, commonly known as the golden dryandra, great dryandra or kerosene bush, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae which is endemic to Western Australia. It occurs on lateritic rises from Eneabba to Katanning in the state's Southwest Botanic Province. With large pinnatifid leaves with triangular lobes, and a golden or reddish pink inflorescence, it is a popular garden plant. It was known as Dryandra nobilis until 2007, when all Dryandra species were transferred to Banksia by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele. There are two subspecies, B. nobilis subsp. nobilis and B. nobilis subsp. fragrans.
Banksia proteoides, commonly known as king dryandra, is a shrub endemic to Western Australia. It was known as Dryandra proteoides until 2007, when all Dryandra species were transferred to Banksia by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele.
Banksia squarrosa, commonly known as pingle, is a species of prickly shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has linear to narrow lance-shaped leaves with up to ten sharply-pointed teeth on each side, yellow flowers in heads of about sixty and later, up to seven oblong to egg-shaped follicles in each head.
Banksia stuposa is a species of shrub that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has hairy stems, broadly linear pinnatifid leaves, golden yellow and white flowers in heads of one hundred or more, and hairy, egg-shaped follicles.
Banksia armata var. armata is a variety of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It differs from the other variety in having a lignotuber, narrower leaves with more sides lobes and shorter flowers. It is also usually a shorter plant.
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. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, and below the family level has a highly endemic angiosperm flora whose diversity was shaped by the effects of continental drift and climate change since the Cretaceous. Prominent features of the Australian flora are adaptations to aridity and fire which include scleromorphy and serotiny. These adaptations are common in species from the large and well-known families Proteaceae (Banksia), Myrtaceae, and Fabaceae.
The flora of Western Australia comprises 10,252 published native vascular plant species and a further 1,245 unpublished species. They occur within 1,543 genera from 211 families; there are also 1,276 naturalised alien or invasive plant species more commonly known as weeds. There are an estimated 150,000 cryptogam species or nonvascular plants which include lichens, and fungi although only 1,786 species have been published, with 948 algae and 672 lichen the majority.
On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae, also published as "On the Proteaceae of Jussieu", was a paper written by Robert Brown on the taxonomy of the plant family Proteaceae. It was read to the Linnean Society of London in the first quarter of 1809, and published in March 1810. It is significant for its contribution to the systematics of Proteaceae, and to the floristics of Australia, and also for its application of palynology to systematics.
Adenanthos obovatus, commonly known as basket flower, or, jugflower, is a shrub of the plant family Proteaceae endemic to Southwest Australia. Described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière in 1805, it had first been collected by Archibald Menzies in 1791. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Eurylaema and is most closely related to A. barbiger. A. obovatus has hybridized with A. detmoldii to produce the hybrid A. × pamela. Several common names allude to the prominent red flowers of the species. It grows as a many-stemmed spreading bush up to 1 m (3.3 ft) high, and about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) across, with fine bright green foliage. Made up of single red flowers, the inflorescences appear from April to December, and peak in spring.
General remarks, geographical and systematical, on the botany of Terra Australis is an 1814 paper written by Robert Brown on the botany of Australia. It is significant as an early treatment of the biogeography and floristics of the flora of Australia; for its contributions to plant systematics, including the erection of eleven currently accepted families; and for its presentation of a number of important observations on flower morphology.
Observations, systematical and geographical, on the herbarium collected by Professor Christian Smith, in the vicinity of the Congo, during the expedition to explore that river, under the command of Captain Tuckey, in the year 1816, also published as Observations, systematical and geographical, on Professor Christian Smith's collection of plants from the vicinity of the River Congo, is an 1818 paper written by Robert Brown on the botany of tropical Africa. It is significant for its contributions to plant systematics, and to African floristics and phytogeography.
Adenanthos barbiger, the hairy jugflower or hairy glandflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December. The species was first formally described in 1839 by English botanist John Lindley in A sketch of the vegetation of the Swan River colony.
Persoonia elliptica, commonly known as snottygobble or spreading snottygobble, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub or small tree with egg-shaped or lance-shaped leaves and groups of cylindrical yellow flowers. It usually grows in woodland or forest dominated by jarrah or marri within 50 km (30 mi) of the coast.
Synaphea spinulosa is a species of small shrub in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. It is endemic to Western Australia. Together with Acacia truncata, it was the first Australian endemic to be scientifically described and named, and the specimen upon which that description is based is the oldest extant specimen of an Australian plant, and very likely among the first Australian plant specimens ever collected.
Orites revolutus , also known as narrow-leaf orites, is a Tasmanian endemic plant species in the family Proteaceae. Scottish botanist Robert Brown formally described the species in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London in 1810 from a specimen collected at Lake St Clair. Abundant in alpine and subalpine heath, it is a small to medium shrub 0.5 to 1.5 m tall, with relatively small, blunt leaves with strongly revolute margins. The white flowers grow on terminal spikes during summer. Being proteaceaous, O. revolutus is likely to provide a substantial food source for nectivorous animal species within its range.
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