September, 1952 THE SOUTH AUSTR ALIAN NATURALIST Page nine 
Australian Plants -- in the Bush and 
under Cultivation 
Book Review by T.R.N.L. 
Orchids of the West by Rica Erick- 
son. 
Shrubs and Trees for Australian 
Oar dens by Ernest E. Lord. 
Orchids of the West 
We in Australia are fortunate 
indeed to have so many regions in 
which to find plant treasures. Even 
within the “settled areas,” unless 
they have been urbanised we can 
always be assured of a good day’s 
outing. However, with the excep- 
tion of small areas — such as the 
Hawkesbury Sandstone in N.S.W. 
or the Grampions in Victoria — no 
State can boast of the widespread 
occurrence of such unusual, colour- 
ful, delightful and locally restricted 
species as West Australia. Of 
further interest is the high degree 
of endemism which is greater in 
W.A. than elsewhere. This State 
has been, and is — (we hope will 
forever be!) the wildflower garden 
of Australia. Representatives of 
plant families such as Leguminosae , 
Myrtaceae, Rut ace ae and Protaceae 
are the most sought after as garden 
plants, although we all know the 
sorrows when trying to cidtivate 
them! But in addition to these well 
known examples of this spectacular 
vegetation, W.A. can boast of over 
140 species of orchids, many 
species of which outshine their 
close relatives of the eastern states. 
Books dealing with the vegeta- 
tion of West Australia are few, but 
those dealing with particular groups 
of plants are rare. Therefore it is 
a welcome pleasure to note a new 
addition to this field — “ Orchids of 
the West by Mrs. Rica Erickson. 
But this book is doubly welcome. 
Not only does it beautifully and 
clearly depict, in colour and mono- 
chrome these colourful and quaint 
plants, but the descriptive text is 
all that could be desired. 
The details given are up-to-date, 
dealing with all known species of 
orchids in W.A. The introduction 
is most helpful to the beginner and 
even the professional botanist 
should not quibble. Botanical 
terms are given, but they are in- 
terestingly defined for the amateur 
and the “man in the street,” who 
may be merely interested. With 
this book, however, he cannot re- 
main merely interested for long, 
and before he realises it he will be 
fascinated by the story unfolded 
before him and so become a mem- 
ber of this ever-increasing band of 
enthusiasts- — the orchid lovers! 
The key to the success of this 
book is its simple approach. We 
learn what makes orchids different 
from other flowers as well as to 
what an orchid is. The pollenation 
of orchids, a story commenced by 
Darwin in his monumental “Fer 
tilization of Orchids,” and carried 
on in all countries by various 
workers, is lucidly told. In Australia 
we are thankful for the work of 
Fitzgerald, Pcscott, Sargent, Cole- 
man, Rupp, Rogers, Nicholls, 
Garnet and others, all of whom 
have done so much to unravel the 
story of seed production in these 
interesting plants. 
