Join us in a garden walk that opens a window onto the special world of outback plants and the Herbarium science that helps us understand it.

Heard of bluebush and porcupine grass, curly mallee and quandongs, but not sure you would know them if you came across them on a trip to the outback?

Find out about these characteristic arid-zone plants, hear about how miniritchie bark is found on both wattles and eucalypts, meet the mysterious slender bell-fruit tree (is it really poisonous to camels?), admire the native austral bugle, a close relative of a common garden plant – and much more – on a stroll through plantings of Flinders Ranges and arid zone species right here in Adelaide.

With your guides Tim and Laurie, both botanists with many years of experience including working with the flora of the arid zone, discover how this strangely blue-green garden came to be established on the eastern boundary of the Adelaide Botanic Garden and how it reflects the scientific work of the adjacent State Herbarium.

Learn about how knowledge of our native flora is still growing, with new species of plants, algae and fungi still being discovered by the Herbarium research staff. How this is based on detailed study of the scientific collections numbering 1.2 million preserved, dried specimens. And how this often involves related studies such as DNA sequencing, chromosome studies, analysis of breeding systems, pollination biology, seed dispersal, plant geography and more.

You will hear how the results of this work support the preparation of 'Field Guide to the Plants of Outback South Australia' second edition, an indispensable item to keep in the glove box for your trips to northern South Australia and beyond. And how the State Herbarium works with the Botanic Gardens Seed Conservation Centre in helping to conserve the State’s flora, with a particular focus on rare and threatened plants.

You might even encounter one or two plant species new to you, increasingly available from commercial nurseries, which could find pride of place in your water-wise garden at home.

Dates: Sunday, 8 October 2023 10:30am - 11.30am and Tuesday, 10 October 2023 12:30pm - 1.30pm

Location: Meet at the Hackney Gate, Adelaide Botanic Garden (E18 on the map).

Tickets: 2 options

$44.00 per person which includes a standard ticket and a copy of the book 'Field Guide to the Plants of Outback South Australia' second edition.
Book RRP $44.00, cost of the ticket goes towards the book purchase.
or
$10.00 per person for a standard ticket

For more of 'What's On' around the gardens, please visit our website to see what else is on at the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium of South Australia.