The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations 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 around 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 1962 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 Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

. The national association changed its name to the Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) in 2008. Rare and "hard to find" Australian plants can be purchased at their plant sales, which typically occur twice a year, spring and autumn, in many regions.

Promotion of Australian flora

Over the years, many important figures in Australian Botany and Horticulture have been members,

Alex George Alexander or Alex George may refer to: *Alex George (botanist) (born 1939), Australian botanist * Alexander L. George (1920–2006), American political scientist * Alexander George (philosopher), American philosopher *Alex George (motorcyclist), Sc ...

John Wrigley John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, Rodger Elliot, 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: * ''The Banksia Book'', by

* ''The Grevillea Books (vols 1–3)'', by Neil Marriott & Peter Olde * ''Encyclopedia of Australian Plants'' Suitable for Cultivation (vols 1–9), Rodger Elliot, 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 * ''Common native plants of the Coorong region : identification, propagation, historical uses'', by

Neville Bonney Neville B. Bonney (born in 1939) is a South Australian native plant expert, ethnobotanist and published author. His most recent book was published in 2013 and focused on Australia's native peach, the quandong. Bonney is an advocate for the commerc ...

(2004) * * *

Regional (state-based) bodies

The societies are:
Australian Plants Society (SGAP Victoria) Inc

Australian Plants Society NSW
* 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 Australia 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

Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

* Banksia *

Bonsai Bonsai ( ja, 盆栽, , tray planting, ) is the Japanese art of growing and training miniature trees in pots, developed from the traditional Chinese art form of ''penjing''. Unlike ''penjing'', which utilizes traditional techniques to produce ...

Brachychiton ''Brachychiton'' (kurrajong, bottletree) is a genus of 31 species of trees and large shrubs, native to Australia (the centre of diversity, with 30 species), and New Guinea (one species). Fossils from New South Wales and New Zealand are estimated ...

and allied genera * Container Plants *

Correa Correa may refer to: * Correa (surname) * Correa (insect), ''Correa'' (insect), a genus of beetles in the family Staphylinidae * Correa (plant), ''Correa'' (plant), a genus of Australian plants named after Portuguese botanist José Correia da Serr ...

* Daisy (Australian) *

Dryandra ''Banksia'' ser. ''Dryandra'' is a series of 94 species of shrub to small tree in the plant genus ''Banksia''. It was considered a separate genus named ''Dryandra'' until early 2007, when it was merged into ''Banksia'' on the basis of extensiv ...

* Epacris * Eremophila * Eucalyptus *

Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,International Code of Nomenc ...

* Fern * Food Plants (Australian) * Garden Design * Grevillea * Hakea * Hibiscus and related genera *

Isopogon ''Isopogon'', commonly known as conesticks, conebushes or coneflowers, is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, and are endemic to Australia. They are shrubs with rigid leaves, bisexual flowers in a dense ...

and Petrophile *

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

(including

Callistemon ''Callistemon'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, first described as a genus in 1814. The entire genus is endemic to Australia but widely cultivated in many other regions and naturalised in scattered locations. Their status as a se ...

Calothamnus ''Calothamnus'' is a genus of shrubs in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The common names one-sided bottlebrush or claw flower are given to some species due to their having the flowers clustered on ...

and allied genera) * Orchids (Australian) * Palm and Cycad (Australian) * Prostanthera and

Westringia ''Westringia'' is a genus of Australian shrubs. As with other members of the mint family their upper petal (or lip) is divided into two lobes. There are four stamens - the upper two are fertile while the lower two are reduced to staminodes. The l ...

Rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...

* Succulents (Australian) *

Verticordia :For the clam genus, see ''Verticordia'' (bivalve). ''Verticordia'' is a genus of more than 100 species of plants commonly known as featherflowers, in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. They range in form from very small shrubs such as '' V. vertico ...

* Wallum (Coastal Banksia heath) * Wetlands * Wildlife and Native Plants

''Australian Plants''

A quarterly colour journal, ''Australian Plants'', has been distributed nationally since 1959, with each region producing a quarterly newsletter. The journal produced a very large range of materials which have been collated. Bill Payne was the journal's editor from its inception until 2001. It is a 48-page newsletter in A5 format. Text from the Trove entry, states: - : V.1 no.1 has cover title "Commonwealth journal of the Society... V.1 no.1-3 each issued in several "reprintings" with differing pagination and contents. :Published by Society for Growing Australian Plants NSW Ltd., ; by Australian Plants Society NSW Ltd., "Australian plants" is complemented by the Society's online publication, "Australian plants online," but the content of the two publications is completely different. :Also available on microfiche. In: Pinpointer popular periodicals on microfiche icroform Canberra : Australian Advisory Council on Bibliographical Services, 1982-1991. :Indexed by: Biological abstracts ISSN 0006-3169.

External links

References

{{authority control Botany in Australia Native plant societies Nature conservation in Australia Environmental organisations based in Australia Horticultural organisations based in Australia Scientific organisations based in Australia 1957 establishments in Australia Environmental organizations established in 1957 Scientific organizations established in 1957