Library Guides: Indigenous Australian Plants: Overview

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Brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)

LEVEL

Provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.

LEVEL

Lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)

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Indigenous plants | Overview: Articles

Food, tools and medicine: 5 native plants that illuminate deep Aboriginal knowledge (Cumpston, 2020)
"Over countless millennia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have harnessed the tremendous potential of plants, ingeniously using them for medicines, nutrition, to express our culture and to develop innovative technologies." (Cumpston, 2020)
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Reference:
In-text reference / citation:
Narrative citations: Cumpston (2020) Parenthetical citations: (Cumpston, 2020)
Bibliography / Reference list:
Cumpston, Z. (2020, October 21). Food, tools and medicine: 5 native plants that illuminate deep Aboriginal knowledge. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/food-tools-and-medicine-5-native-plants-that-illuminate-deep-aboriginal-knowledge-145240

Indigenous plants | Overview: Books and eBooks

Click on the following book covers or link to access the book online. If prompted, sign in with your School mConnect user name and password. Click HERE for help using these EBSCO eBooks.

Indigenous plant use: a booklet on the medicinal, nutritional and technological use of indigenous plants
"This booklet has been designed for any individual or group interested in indigenous plant use, including schools, community groups, greening practitioners, home gardeners and their families. If you don’t have a garden, this booklet is still of value, as it aims to illuminate Indigenous perspectives of indigenous plants.... This booklet contains edited and abridged versions of the information that accompanied the indigenous plants at The Living Pavilion. We share information about indigenous plant use, including the medicinal, nutritional and technological use of plants (such as traps, nets and weapons) developed over many, many millennia by Australia’s First Peoples. Mostly, we cover widely available eastern Kulin Nation plants, and some edible plants from further afield that can be grown successfully in multiple Australian climates. (Cumpston, 2020)

Indigenous plants of the Sandbelt by Rob Scott, Neil Blake, Jeannie Campbell, Doug Evans & Nicholas Williams
ISBN: 9780958100908
Publication Date: 2002
This is a practical guide to using the local native plants of the area of Melbourne colloquially known as the 'Sandbelt'. Indigenous plants are those that occurred in an area prior to European settlement.
Dark Emu: Aboriginal Australia and the Birth of Agriculture [eBook] by Pascoe, Bruce
ISBN: 9781921248016
Publication Date: 2018
‘Dark Emu injects a profound authenticity into the conversation about how we Australians understand our continent... [It is] essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what Australia once was, or what it might yet be if we heed the lessons of long and sophisticated human occupation.'Judges for 2016 NSW Premier's Literary Awards Dark Emu puts forward an argument for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag for pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians. The evidence insists that Aboriginal people right across the continent were using domesticated plants, sowing, harvesting, irrigating, and storing — behaviours inconsistent with the hunter-gatherer tag. Gerritsen and Gammage in their latest books support this premise but Pascoe takes this further and challenges the hunter-gatherer tag as a convenient lie. Almost all the evidence in Dark Emu comes from the records and diaries of the Australian explorers, impeccable sources.

Aboriginal People and Their Plants by Philip A. Clarke
ISBN: 9781921719738
Publication Date: 2011
The book is unique, spanning the gap between botany and indigenous studies. It differs from other published Australian'bushtucker'overviews by treating the study of plants as a window upon which to delve into Aboriginal culture. The topic of Aboriginal use and perception of plants is vast and therefore far too large for full treatment of all regions in a single volume. Nevertheless, this book offers an overview to assist readers appreciate the depth of indigenous ecological knowledge about the environment.
Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800 [eBook] by Richard Broome
ISBN: 9781741154849
Publication Date: 2005
Early settlers saw Victoria and its rolling grasslands as Australia felix happy south land a prize left for Englishmen by God. However, for its original inhabitants this country was home and life, not to be relinquished without a fierce struggle. Richard Broome tells the story of the impact of European ideas, guns, killer microbes and a pastoral economy on the networks of kinship, trade and cultures that various Aboriginal peoples of Victoria had developed over millennia. From first settlement to the present, he shows how Aboriginal families have coped with ongoing disruption and displacement, and how individuals and groups have challenged the system. With painful stories of personal loss as well as many successes, Broome outlines how Aboriginal Victorians survived near decimation to become a vibrant community today.

Indigenous plants | Overview: Databases

Atlas of Living Australia This link opens in a new window
The Atlas of Living Australia is a collaborative, national project that aggregates biodiversity data from multiple sources and makes it freely available and usable online.

Indigenous plants | Overview: Maps

Map showing the vegetation, habitats, landform, and bioregions in the Melbourne sandbelt region.

This map was created by the Kerferd Library using the Victorian Department of Land, Water, and Planning (DELWP) NatureKit tool on 22 March 2021.
Click on the link below to download a PDF version of the map.
See below for help on how to cite and reference this map using APA 7.

Download this map

Melbourne sandbelt region biodiversity map
Map showing the vegetation, habitats, landform, and bioregions in the Melbourne sandbelt region. This map was created by the Kerferd Library using the the Victorian Department of Land, Water, and Planning (DELWP) NatureKit tool on 22 March 2021. Click on the link to download a PDF version of the map.

How to cite and reference this map

Click here for additional help on how to cite and reference maps and charts

In-text reference / citation:
Narrative citations: Kerferd Library (2021) Parenthetical citations: (Kerferd Library, 2021)

Bibliography / Reference list: Kerferd Library. (2021). Melbourne sandbelt biodiversity. [Map] Victorian Department of Land, Water and Planning NatureKit. https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/biodiversity/naturekit

Indigenous plants | Overview: Curriculum alignment

This Mentone Girls' Grammar School Library guide supports the following Australian and / or Victorian curriculum outcomes.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures [ACCP]
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are strong, rich and diverse. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Identity is intrinsically linked to living, learning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, deep knowledge traditions and holistic world view.
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These national priorities have been defined by The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). They may include local, regional or global issues.
Intercultural understanding [Australian General Capability.6]
The capacity to process or reflect on the meaning of experience is an essential element in intercultural learning. Reflecting to better understand the actions of individuals and groups in specific situations and how these are shaped by culture. Reflecting on their own responses to intercultural encounters and to identify cultural influences that may have contributed to these. Learning to ‘stand between cultures’ and mediate cultural difference.
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The Australian General Capability is the national vocabulary identifying important general capabilities that schools should help students develop, in addition to content of particular learning areas. (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, n.d.)