Australian plants - including eucalyptus, mimosa, kangaroo paw, Geraldton wax and everlasting daisies - are now grown everywhere from California to the south of France. The eucalyptus is even considered by some Americans to be endemic to California. This book covers the chain of events which made Australia's rich and diverse flora known all over the world. It is a story that covers two hundred remarkable years of discovery and settlement, from the first sightings of the Australian coast by the Dutch to the publication of the first comprehensive book on Australian flora in 1804.
The European discovery, naming and appreciation of Australian flora was given its first great impetus in 1699 when William Dampier, buccaneer and author, plucked specimens from the West Australian bush and brought them back to England for study. However the dissemination of knowledge of Australian flora would advance very slowly. It was hindered and helped by the pride and jealousy of the many collectors, explorers and scientists attracted to the unusual finds and thwarted by the tangle of politics and attitudes towards an alien land.
More than a botanical history, 'The Flower Chain' provides a fresh perspective on the minds and times of the first western visitors to Australia and the settlers who followed.
