The author is Australian agricultural scientist, Dr Laurie Snook, the world's foremost researcher on tagasaste. The first edition of the book was published in 1986. The 1996 edition includes information gleaned from a further 10 years of research, his travels in Australia, New Zealand and the Canary islands and the lessons learnt by successful growers of tagasaste. Tagasaste fodder can be an important base for aquaculture. It provides a high-protein feedstock for fish food from worm farms and snail farms, and for freshwater crustacea.
Botanical name is Chamaecytisus palmensis.
The shrub is being exploited in dryland Australia for high- protein fodder. Shade and shelter for livestock during climate stress. Wind and water erosion control. Increased soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. Reductions in water tables causing salinity problems.