The State Herbarium of South Australia published an article in Vol. 38 of its journal Swainsona today, 19 Dec. 2024. This is the last paper for this year and completes Vol. 38.

A.E. McDougall & T.A. Hammer, A reinstated synonymy and corrected type citation for Caladenia haemantha (Orchidaceae), with taxonomic notes on Caladenia formosa (2.6mb PDF).

Caladenia formosa (Elegant spider orchid) and C. haemantha (Scott Creek spider orchid) were both described in 1991. For some time, the two species were seen to be synonymous and combined under the name C. formosa, for example in the Flora of Victoria and the Plants of the World Online (POWO) database, until Jones resurrected C. haemantha in his recent book on the orchids of Australia; a view that was also taken up by the online Flora of Australia. The authors of this paper provide evidence that Caladenia haemantha should be again synonymised under the earlier published name C. formosa. They provide a detailed description of the (again combined) species and illustrate the paper with photographs of the type specimens and of life plants.

Different colour forms of Caladenia formosa. Photo: T.A. Hammer (LEFT), A.E. McDougall (RIGHT).

To access content of all volumes of Swainsona and the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens since Vol. 1 (1976), please visit the journal’s web-site at flora.sa.gov.au/swainsona.

Yesterday, the printer delivered copies of the new book on the fungi of southern Australia published by the State Herbarium of South Australia. It is now available for purchase.

Catcheside, P.S. & Catcheside D.E.A. (2024). The fungi of Kangaroo Island – and beyond: An illustrated field guide to the larger fungi of Southern Australia. (State Herbarium of South Australia: Adelaide).

This long-awaited guide to the fungi of southern Australia has a focus on iconic Kangaroo Island. On the wetter west end of the island the authors, State Herbarium Hon. Research Associate Pam Catcheside and Prof. David Catcheside, encountered an amazing diversity of fungi, most of which are also found on the mainland. The book is the culmination of decades of research and fieldwork on the fungi of Kangaroo Island, South Australia and Australia.

The book provides detailed, full-page descriptions of 206 species, a guide to the diversity of fungi, how to collect the larger species, tips on photographing them, a bibliography, an account of the effects of fire on fungi and of the joys and occasional frustrations of fungal forays in South Australia, the driest state in this driest continent.

B5, 380 pages, flexibound with vinyl outer cover.

Retail price: $75.00

The book is available in person from the Botanic Gardens reception desk (Goodman Building, Hackney Road, Adelaide) and online through the Openbook Howden web-shop (postage is extra):
https://www.openbookhowden.com.au/product/the-fungi-of-kangaroo-island-and-beyond/

More information is available on this webpage, including sample pages and a list of retail outlets that are selling the book (which will be continuously updated).

Last week, 16 September 2024, the Electronic Flora of South Australia went off-line. Unfortunately the website can no longer be upgraded or managed to ensure it is secure. A replacement website is currently in development.

In the meantime, PDF versions of the Census of South Australian plants, algae and fungi are available online here (see also CENSUS link on the top of this page). These will be updated as necessary.

Keys to the families, genera and most species of South Australian vascular plants can be accessed through the KeyBase Flora of South Australia project. Keybase also hosts keys to the Flora of Australia.

The very popular Algae Revealed fact sheets are temporarily homed on this site (5 November).

The revision of the Flora of South Australia is ongoing and already published family treatment of the new, 5th edition of the Flora are available here.

Some information on native and naturalised species, including photographs and distribution maps can be accessed at the Seeds of South Australia website.