A New Edition of Macedon Range Flora

Macedon Range Flora was first published by Riddells Creek Landcare in 2008.  Russell Best and David Francis had been walking the slopes of Barrm Birrm for a decade, marvelling at the plant life there, photographing what they found and teaching themselves the mysterious science of plant identification.

They put everything they discovered into Macedon Range Flora: 1. A Photographic Guide to the Flora of Barrm Birrm, Riddells Creek.  In words and pictures, it gives a short story of each plant – where it is found on the hillside, when it flowers, and its distinguishing features. 

A judicious mix of technical terms and everyday language provides both novice and experienced botanists with all they need for identification.  The colour photographs are a delight, and make it easy to work out what it is you are seeing, as you bend over to look closely at yet another marvel.  

This publication has established itself as the go-to guide to the flora of the Macedon Ranges.  The 3,000 copies of the first edition have now sold out, and the proofs need to be entirely rebuilt.  New species identified since 2008 will be added, with visual identifiers, and we have revisions to the naming of species and information on the vegetation systems to add.

Nearly 20 years on from the first edition, the world has gone digital.  Is it worth having a hard copy book? 

We think that it is.  Macedon Range Flora narrows all the information available to just what is needed to understand and appreciate what you are looking at, on your hands and knees, peering into the mouth of a tiny flower, or looking at the veins on a leaf. 

What a good thing it is to come back from a walk in Barrm Birrm and pull Macedon Range Flora off the shelf and answer the questions on your mind. This acacia, for instance, flowering mid-July on the mid-slopes, grows low like Snake Wattle, and has similar round flowers, but it has quite different leaves.

Back home, I look up the book, and there it is - Acacia gunni, Ploughshare Wattle.

Late Winter to early Spring. Low woody shrub, 30-60 cm tall, Sharp-pointed, triangular phyllodes. Cream-coloured, spherical flower-heads, one per axil. Mid-upper slopes."

Exactly right, but in 15 years of walking Barrm Birrm, I had not noticed it. Low-growing, and spherical flowers like the Snake Wattle I pass on my morning short walk, but the triangular leaves were the difference.

A small team of volunteers has been working on this project.  We need just two things to get the job done: plant nerds and money.  The plant nerds will check our information and photograph the species we are adding to the book.  You may not be one of those, but perhaps you can help us with the money we need. 

Riddells Creek Landcare is funding the print run, but $4,400 will pay a professional editor to produce print-ready copy from the photos and text. Amongst the many appeals from good causes that land in your in-tray, how many give you a chance to introduce people to the plants that have lived for thousands of years, on a hillside on the southern reaches of the Macedon Range? 

Donate through the 'Donate' page at Victorian Landcare Inc , leaving a note at the bottom of the page that you want your donation to go to Riddells Creek Landcare.

Your donation will come through to us, and you will get a receipt with which to claim a tax deduction for 2026-27. Hand over $100 of your hard-earned, we will mail you a copy of the second edition. 

Ross Colliver, Riddells Creek Landcare