ACMER (formerly the Australian Centre for Minerals Extension and Research), is a unit within the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) assisting the minerals industry to meet the environmental and social challenges of sustainable development.

Welcome to the home page for the Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants. If you are interested in the cultivation, propagation, conservation and appreciation of Australia's native flora, we hope you will spend some time here.

Australian based partnerships with the Millennium Seed Bank Project, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the United Kingdom, resulted in the desire to create an Australian network of agencies involved in native seed conservation. AuSCaR (Australian Seed Conservation and Research) formed in 2007 to facilitate knowledge exchange and research into seed banking and ex-situ conservation of the Australian flora.

Welcome to the ANPC home page. Whatever your interest, joining the Australian Network for Plant Conservation will keep you in touch with essential plant conservation activities, information, news, and contacts in Australia and internationally.

Bioversity is the world's largest international research organization dedicated solely to the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity. The more plant and animal genetic diversity we conserve, the more opportunities there are for innovation and growth in agricultural production and the more options we have to cope with climate change and new pests and diseases.

Australian National Botanic Gardens: Studying, Growing, Promoting Australian Flora. Browse this site and links to other Botanic Gardens around Australia

European Native Seed Conservation Network currently comprises 19 institutes from 12 European countries. Its purpose is the improved quality, coordination and integration of European seed conservation practice, policy and research for native plant species, to assist EU conservation policy and its obligations to the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.

Flora locale aims to promote good practice in the use and sourcing of British and Irish wild flora. The emphasis of our work is to encourage good practice among suppliers, land managers and plant specifiers involved in large-scale habitat creation and restoration projects

Forest & Landscape Denmark maintain a small scale seed supply service from the former Danida Forest Seed Centre (DFSC) for research purposes. The seed in stock will continue to be distributed free of charge for research according to the seed policy. Forest & Landscape Denmark maintain an ongoing contact to seed suppliers in the tropics and can often advise on seed suppliers for particular species.

The Green Web Sydney program will support and promote the Community Nursery Network by continuing work with local government to improve access to local provenance seed stocks and increase understanding of the importance of using plants of local provenance for revegetation projects and the protocols for seed collection and use.

A project between the National Herbarium and Harden-Murrumburrah Landcare Group

The purpose of the Seeds for Life seed conservation project is to improve the conservation of plant biodiversity through researching the restoration of species and ecosystems and establish long-term conservation collections of seed from priority species from Queensland.

The Australian Systematic Botany Society (ASBS) is an incorporated association of over 300 people with professional or amateur interest in botany. The aim of the Society is to promote the study of plant systematics.

The Industry Site for Retailers, Growers and Allied Trade.

The Seed Savers' Network was founded in 1986 to preserve the diversity of our cultural plants. Our activities include a newsletter, seed exchange, seed bank, frequent events and workshops and the publication of a best selling handbook

The Solomon Islands Planting Materials Network (PMN) was set up to preserve, through use, the agricultural biodiversity of the Solomons Islands; produce, process and distribute agriculturally useful plants, provide training in seed saving, assist rural communities to establish regional seed saving centres

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Collecting and storing your own seed increases the effectiveness of any revegetation project you undertake and reduces costs. Outlines of procedures and techniques included in this fact sheet, have been successfully used by Primary Industries and Resources, Port Augusta.

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Ensis is CSIRO’s entity for its core forestry, wood and paper (and allied industries and related government agencies) sector research, science and technology delivery.

Greening Australia is Australia's largest environment organisation dedicated to practical management of Australia's native vegetation.

The Australian Tree Seed Centre (ATSC) is a central contact point for seed and information about the woody component of Australia's floral biodiversity. ATSC is part of CSIRO Forestry and Forest Products and has been Australia's national tree seed bank for 40 years.

The Millennium Seed Bank Project is the largest ex situ conservation project ever conceived. Its partners will have banked seed from 10% of the world's wild plant species by the end of the decade.

The Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Service manages programmes for seed policies, seed improvement, seed production, seed security and germplasm exchange, and supports the FAO Global System on Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources.

Website of the ANBG, based in Canberra and dedicated to the growth, study and promotion of Australia's native flora.

Fresh seeds of the endangered Hakea dohertyi Haegi (Proteaceae) germinated at 15°C (with 12 hour light) within 14 days. At higher temperatures (20°, 25°C) seeds were slower to germinate.

Edible seed: Acacia seed as a source of human food has been a subject of increasing interest and research in recent years.

Gardening Australia provides practical, realistic, and credible horticultural and gardening advice, inspiring and entertaining all Australian gardeners around the nation. This link is to fact sheets on native plants.

The Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research (CPBR), working in conjunction with the Harden Murrumburrah Landcare Group (HMLG), agreed to provide botanical guidance for revegetating portions of Harden Shire with native vegetation. The Centre’s focus was to make available information on plants native to the region and to provide a recommended list of species, annotated with ecological requirements and cultivation notes, to assist with revegetation programs in the Harden Shire.

The Native Grass Resources Group (NGRG) is interested in Australian native grasses. We encourage the conservation and active management of all types of remnant native grassy ecosystems. We promote pasture, land management and landscaping uses of native grasses.

Australia's Virtual Herbarium (AVH) is an on-line botanical information resource accessible via the web. It provides immediate access to the wealth of data associated with scientific plant specimens in each Australian herbarium. Six million specimen records, of particular value in displaying geographic distribution, will be enhanced by images, descriptive text and identification tools.

The Electronic Flora of South Australia aims to provide a comprehensive Web-projected account of the plants of a large part of the Australian continent.

Australian botanical and vegetation databases for landcare groups: links from the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research website.

All of the images displayed on the following pages are of Australian native plants. They represent some of the continually growing National Plant Photographic Index maintained by the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

The National Vegetation Information System (NVIS) is a comprehensive data system that provides information on the extent and distribution of vegetation types in Australian landscapes.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment provides information here on the native vegetation of Victoria including statewide EVCs by bioregion, simplified native vegetation groups, bioregional conservation status of each EVC by bioregion and links to the EVC benchmarks.

This atlas contains recorded sightings of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and endangered invertebrates in New South Wales.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) wildlife database contains recorded wildlife sightings and listings of plants, fungi, protists, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fish, marine cartilaginous fish and butterflies in Queensland.

The Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) provides online delivery of taxonomic and biological information on species known to occur in Australia. It provides an array of data including checklists, descriptive information and censuses of various groups of organisms, searchable electronically.

The Australian Systematic Botany Society (ASBS) is an incorporated association of over 300 people with professional or amateur interest in botany. The aim of the Society is to promote the study of plant systematics.

The Centre for Plant Biological Research's major function is to document the biological diversity of the Australian environment through establishing the taxonomic identity and relationships of native plants, their geographical distribution, and their ecological relationships. These studies primarily concentrate on significant national plant groups such as eucalypts, orchids, grasses, grevilleas, mosses, rainforest laurels and the citrus family. The Centre has developed computer-based interactive systems for identifying rainforest trees and eucalypts.

Western Australia is recognised as possessing one of the most diverse and unique floras in the world. This website delivers the latest authoritative information about the Western Australian flora in an accessible and interactive manner.

Not all seed germinates easily. Some seeds have a physical or chemical inhibitor to germination designed so that the seed will only germinate in natural habitats when conditions are favourable. In some cases the inhibitor can be overcome by pre-treatment of the seed before sowing but with others, successful germination has defied all attempts. Beginners are advised to select seed of species which are known to give reliable results.

This forum is provided for the discussion of native plants of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.

This Web version of Growing Native Plants updates highlights from the series of booklets (No. 1-14) called 'Growing Native Plants' and is adding new species in recent years.

The Understorey Network is a group of individuals from all walks of life around Tasmania, who believe that the understorey is important. We promote the protection of existing native vegetation, and the use of local native understorey in revegetation. Our online database gives information on understorey plants and how to grow them.

Australian Low Rainfall Tree Improvement Group: our mission is to produce genetically improved planting material for farm forestry in the low rainfall areas of southern Australia and inform tree growers of its availability.

CSIRO is helping protect our native biodiversity by improving the management of remnant vegetation and the availability of appropriate seed for revegetation projects.

Ensis is CSIRO's entity for its core forestry, wood and paper (and allied industries and related government agencies) sector research, science and technology delivery.

Third Symposium on Frugivores and Seed Dispersal: program and abstracts.

The Seed Science team undertakes research into seed germination and dormancy, seed storage and longevity, seed ecology, seed enhancement technologies, and site delivery techniques. The integration of these research areas improves the efficiency of use of native seeds in plant conservation and habitat restoration.

The Native Plant Seedbank for Central Queensland project has enabled the collection of seeds of over 800 native species and provenances from different parts of Central Queensland. These seeds were tested for germination with or without seed treatments, and soon after collection and following storage for up to two years. The data of seed germination and storage, as well as the images (c. 1000) of herbarium specimens and seeds have been placed on the Website.

ACMER, the Australian Centre for Minerals Extension and Research, has overseen five native seed biology workshops in Australia. The Native Seed Biology Workshop proceedings generally cover four themes: Seed Production, Quality and Testing, Dormancy and Germination, Seed Ecology, and Establishment and Management. Their original papers provide a wealth of new information on native seed biology issues, and are particularly useful in understanding issues associated with the establishment of native species in field situations. They are available from the ACMER website.

The Botanic Gardens of Adelaide Seed Conservation Centre was established to contribute to the conservation of South Australia's threatened flora, using ex situ (outside natural environment) methodologies and integrating these collections with the State's in situ (within natural environment) conservation programs.

Researchers at the NSW Seedbank investigate the seed biology of NSW native species, specifically targeting plant groups considered difficult to germinate or store and plants of conservation or horticultural interest.

The Tasmanian Seed Conservation Centre is an exciting new project located in a purpose-built laboratory at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. It aims to ensure the long-term security and conservation of Tasmania's unique native plant species by ex-situ support for plant conservation programs, seed material to assist in the scientific study of our native plants and the long term preservation of plant biodiversity loss caused by environmental degradation.

The Threatened Flora Seed Centre is Western Australia's principal seed banking facility for rare, threatened and poorly known native plant species. The primary functions of the centre are to store seed of Western Australia's conservation significant flora for indefinite periods of time whilst maintaining the highest possible viability of the seed and to maintain an integrated database on seed provenance and seed biology for each plant species collected.

The Victorian Conservation Seedbank will collect seed of Victoria’s nearly 400 endemic plant species (i.e. species not known to occur anywhere else in nature) and other species of high-priority because of their vulnerability to extinction or their critical value to threatened communities. Research into the seeds germination requirements, viability levels and general seed biology will occur at the Melbourne facility and collaborative studies will be supported at associated research institutions.

Seed viability equations predict the proportion of seeds in a population that are viable after any period of storage in a wide range of environments and are of use to both seed bank managers and researchers investigating seed longevity.

An analysis of the seed requirements for broad scale revegetation in Australia has concluded that in many priority catchments, demand for appropriate native seed will substantially exceed supply.

The Pasture Cropping Field Day was held at the property in Gulgong, NSW, in early July by the Central West Catchment Management Authority (CWCMA) to give information about pasture cropping.

Pasture cropping is a land management technique of sowing crops into living, perennial (usually native) pastures and having these crops grow symbiotically with existing pastures.

This research investigated the potential to domesticate an Australian native grass (Microlaena stipoides) to produce a perennial grain crop. Perennial grain crops offer a new solution to the long-standing problems of salinity and soil erosion associated with conventional cropping systems based on annual plants.

Seed quality is often taken for granted or overlooked when buying seed. However, the higher cost of a good seed line is worth the expense if examined on a cost/benefit basis.

Founded in 1924, with the aim to develop and publish standard procedures in the field of seed testing, ISTA is inextricably linked with the history of seed testing. With member laboratories in 76 countries world wide, ISTA membership is truly a global network.

Natural regeneration in bushland has many advantages over natural regeneration in farm areas, however, both have important roles to play in restoring wildlife habitat on private land.

AQIS is Australia's first line of defence, reducing the risk to our agriculture industries and environment against exotic pests and diseases

A variety of plant and fruit traits, such as fruit size and structure, fruit colour and fruiting season, are known to affect the food choices of birds. Using these traits, we can identify which native plants have similar fruits to a selected weed.

Plant and fruit traits, such as fruit size, structure, colour and fruiting season affect the food choices of birds. Native plant trait databases will help you search, sort and extract data for NSW, SA, Tas, Vic and south-western WA to assist in choosing replacement native plants.

Weed Seed Wizard: The Weed Seed Wizard is an interactive, computer-based system which gives growers an insight into the hidden weed seedbank and allows them to co-ordinate their long-term management of weeds.