Review B.P.M. Hyland, T. Whiffin, D.C. Christophel, B. Gray, R.W. Elick and A.J. Ford (1999). Australian Tropical Rain Forest Trees and Shrubs. An interactive plant identification system for trees and shrubs. CD-ROM and 95-page manual. CSIRO Publishing. Price $130. ISBN 0 643 06047 2. This publication is a further, major advance The system requires a computer with a 486 or upon the landmark computer-based Pentium processor and Microsoft Windows 3.1 identification system published by Bernie or later. It also needs at least 8 megabytes of Hyland and Trevor Whiffin in 1993. That RAM (16 mb for Windows 95) and approx. 10 publication was reviewed for this journal by mb of hard disk space (images are left on the Carolyn Hohnen (Hohnen 1994), who traced CD-ROM) or 1 mb if the program is run entirely the development of this system from the from the CD-ROM. I found it ran quite original card key of 1971, which covered the satisfactorily, with minimal delays, on a Pentium more common rainforest trees of the Wet 90 machine. Tropics between Townsville and Cooktown. The 1993 publication included 1056 tree species The key is straightforward to use, with across all of tropical Australia, north of 19°S. individual screens for each of the major groups of characters, viz. habit, bark, leaf, flower, fruit, One of the major drawbacks to its use seedling, family and geographic range. was the exclusion of small trees and shrubs Separate screens list the (decreasing) subsets less than 6 m high and/or 10 cm diameter at of possibilities and the set of characters scored breast height. Collection of suitable material, for the specimen. This latter feature has been ie. from canopy and sub-canopy trees can be a added since the 1993 version, and is a great very difficult and slow procedure; moreover, at help in further checking of identifications. a particular location many canopy species may be represented only by juveniles. This has Images and maps are accessed via the limited its value for field studies. These list of possibilities. There is also access to a restrictions have been removed by the present detailed description of each species and a list publication which has included rainforest of the key characters for each species, which shrubs and sub-shrubs, making a total of 1733 is particularly valuable for checking against the species. characters scored for the specimen being identified. The other major improvement to the system is the inclusion of distribution maps The key comprises 17 bark characters (48 and images for each species. The maps display states or features), 27 leaf characters (106 point locations for herbarium specimens held features), 40 flower characters (166 features), at the Australian National Herbarium, Atherton 16 fruit characters (64 features) and 34 seedling (QRS) and the Northern Territory Herbarium, characters (86 features). Specimens may also Darwin (DNA) and are more informative than a be scored for family and geographic location, generalised range. Apart from incorporating ie. north-western Western Australia, Northern the x-ray leaf images from Volume 2 of the 1993 Territory, Cape York (ie. 16° northward) and publication, there are also photographs of north-eastern Queensland (south to 19°S). The flowers of most species and where available, User Guide provides excellent illustrations of the wonderful fruit and flower paintings by character states, eg. leaf apices and bases, and William Cooper. Importantly, these images are definitions and explanations are provided in also linked with vouchered herbarium help menus for each character set and as specimens. context-sensitive help for each feature. 585 586 Austrobaileya 5(3): 577-578 (1999) As a field botanist, I depend mainly on limited battery lives (except where generators leaf (and branchlet) characters and stem surface are available) and weather conditions. There features to identify rainforest trees. I would remains a place for old-fashioned hard-copy like to see a greater range of leaf characters field guides compiled at the regional or local included, such as presence and types of level. indumentum, stipules, bracts and scales, glands on petioles and/or laminas, presence and colour Having said that, I unreservedly of latex, etc.. recommend this guide to professional and amateur biologists alike. Apart from its I have had relatively few difficulties in identification role, the guide is a marvellous using the key. Oil dots (their presence or information system for anyone with a serious otherwise) often create problems and I was interest in the rainforest flora of northern unable to key out Eupomatia laurina. This Australia It will be further enhanced in the species is recorded in the Additional Features next few years by incorporation of rainforest menu as having “very small oil dots just visible vines and climbers. with a lens”, but is coded only for “oil dots Reference absent”. This product is not really a practical field Hohnen, C. (1994). Book Review: Australian Tropical Rainforest Trees - An interactive identification tool. Although it can be used in a laptop system, including Leaf Atlas of Australian Rain computer, this value is restricted by extremely Forest Trees. Austrobaileya 4(2): 291-292. Bill McDonald Queensland Herbarium, EPA, Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha, Mt Coot-tha Road,Toowong, Queensland 4066, Australia.