Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants

The Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants (ASGAP) is a federation of seven state-based member organizations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.

A national ASGAP 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.

Promotion of Australian Flora

Over the years, many important figures in Australian Botany and Horticulture have been members, Alex George, John Wrigley, Rodger Eliot, 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 Alex George (1981, 1987 & 1996)
*The Grevillea Books (vols 1-3), by Neil Marriott & Peter Olde
*Encyclopedia of Australian Plants Suitable for Cultivation (vols 1-9), Rodger Eliot, David Jones & Trevor Blake
*Native Plants of the Sydney Region 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
*cite book | author = Kemp B| year = 2004 | title = Wildflowers of the North Coast of New South Wales| publisher = New Holland Press | location = Kenthurst, New South Wales | id = ISBN 1-877069-05-1
*cite book | author = Mason D| year = 1999 | title = The Blooming Banksia: Easy Identification of Banksias in Far North Eastern NSW and South Eastern Qld.| publisher = Australian Plants Society, NSW Region - Far North Coast Group | location = Lismore, New South Wales | id = ISBN 0-909830-51-7

Regional (State-Based) Bodies

The societies are:
*Australian Plants Society - Victoria Region
*Australian Plants Society - NSW Region
*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
* Banksia
* Bonsai
* Brachychiton and allied genera
* Container Plants
* Correa
* Daisy (Australian)
* Dryandra
* Epacris
* Eremophila
* Eucalyptus
* Fabaceae
* Fern
* Food Plants (Australian)
* Garden Design
* Grevillea
* Hakea
* Hibiscus and related genera
* Isopogon and Petrophile
* Melaleuca (including Callistemon, Calothamnus and allied genera)
* Orchids (Australian)
* Palm and Cycad (Australian)
* Prostanthera and Westringia
* Rainforest
* Rhamnaceae
* Succulents (Australian)
* Verticordia
* 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 [Cavanagh, A. K., John Walter, and Jan Sked. (2007) "Fifty years promoting Australian plants : a checklist of publications by SGAP and its members 1957-2007" Nedlands, W.A. : Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants. ISBN 9780958701150 ]

External links

*cite web|url=http://asgap.org.au/|title=ASGAP Home Page

References