Book excerpt: This latest volume in the acclaimed Flora of Australia series covers the subfamilies Arundinoideae, Danthonioideae, Aristidoideae, Micrairoideae and Chloridoideae. It describes a mixture of tropical and temperate grasses and includes a number of economically and environmentally important groups, such as: * Triodia - iconic spinifex grasses of Australia's arid areas that are an important major habitat for a variety of species * Wallaby grasses - attractive grasses with distinctive purple and green heads that are a major structural component of endangered south-eastern grasslands * Aristida (kerosene grasses and three-awns) - a large tribe of grasses whose characteristic three long bristles are problematic for the agricultural industry as they can contaminate fleece * Mitchell grasses - of great economic importance for the pastoral industry in Queensland * Couch grass - one of the lawn grasses we take for granted * Parramatta grasses - well-known weeds on the eastern seaboard * Arundo and Phragmites - the reeds along our waterways The volume includes native and naturalized species, treating five subfamilies, 55 genera and over 450 species. Many of the species treated are endemic to Australia. It features over 90 pages of illustrations as well as the traditional tightly written authoritative descriptions, identification keys, bibliographic information, and notes on ecology and distribution. An essential reference for plant taxonomists, ecologists and grassland researchers.