Product Description
Presenting both the botanical and horticultural aspects of Cypripedium, Paphiopedilum, Phragmipedium, and Selenipedium, with particularly extensive information on hybridization, this survey of the slipper subfamily has been aptly described as "a scholarly work of love for these plants." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Ultimate slipper orchid reference
The book contains about 220 pages composed of: 17 pages on orchid anatomy, biology, and basic taxonomy overview, 18 pages on growing conditions, 35 pages on the genus Cypripedium, 56 pages on the genus Paphiopedilum, 5 pages on the genus Selenipedium, 15 pages on the genus Phragmipedium, 61 pages on hybridization and a historic review of crosses, and a 13 page bibliography. The book contains 225 color photographs (most are 3" x 4" in size). Each photograph displays an orchid in flower and each plant is identified to species or variety. Pages are large, pages measure 8 1/2" x 11" in size.

Approximately 140 species are described with great detail. Each species is listed with geographic distribution, cultural notes, plant description, flowering season and other comments. The author continues in most sections with an detailed discussion concluded with an assortment of opinions, conclusions, and predictions. It is a facinating, thought provoking, and important body of work. I loved it!

The author, Catherine Cash, makes bold assertions throughout the book. I found myself arguing with many of her opinions and conclusions. I was amazed. Not that I disagreed with some of her statements, but that her statements actually got me to put the book down, think about what she had said, and then eagerly go back to read more. Books about plant taxonomy is usually pretty dry stuff. But Ms. Cash has made reading about the slipper orchids a rare treat. It is a carefully written reference book.

Her chapter on the hybridization of orchids is alone worth the price of the book. This chapter is an outstanding read. Cash challenges many of the current philosophies about orchid science and hybridization. She is clear, crisp, and wonderfully opinionated.

It is a complete work. 2/3rds of the book contains facts, details, and photographs - a great referrence section. 1/3rd of the book contains commentary, discussion, and opinions - a provoking insight to the field of orchid science.

This is a must have book for any slipper orchid grower. ... Read more

Product Description

Book Description
Already a popular book found in fine orchid shops and bookstores, this text is not too technical for the hobbyist, yet contains abundant information of interest to the orchid expert. It begins with an introduction to Brazilian geography and climate, the history of orchids in Brazil, information on growing Brazilian species, and the state of orchid conservation in the country, followed by an alphabetical listing of 300 species and varieties, each accompanied with a color photograph, detailed description, botanical history, and information on cultivation. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a horticultural work guiding the amateur orchid grower in the selection, culture and environments of these orchids, which have only been available in the last two years. To that end the book includes sections on such native habitat characteristics as climate, soils and vegetation. It also describes every presently observed species in the seven genera of the Angraecoid group, plus those species of other orchid genera native to Madagascar. ... Read more

Book Description
Learn which orchid plants to choose, how to obtain them, and how to cultivate them, either in a greenhouse or in the home. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

orchid book review
this book was filled with beautiful and detailed photos of many species of orchids. a great book! ... Read more

Product Description
"A fabulous work. Highly recommended." -Library Journal

Orchids were brought to Europe from the tropics and subtropics beginning in the 17th century, and by 1839, English plant nurseries were selling 1,600 different kinds of the flower. Long prized for their exotic beauty and astonishing variety, orchids are the royal family of the plant kingdom. The story of this flower, from the hunt for new varieties in the wild in the 1800s to the development of the more than 100,000 hybrids that exist today, is related in fascinating detail in Orchids.

This beautiful book features text by one of the world's foremost orchid authorities alongside spectacular watercolor portraits of prize-winning orchids from the Royal Horticultural Society in London, which spearheaded orchid cultivation in Western Europe beginning in the 19th century. This exquisite collection of paintings commissioned by the RHS every year since 1897 represents the ultimate orchid pictorial history. Now in a reduced format, Orchids is an indispensable sourcebook for those captivated by the beauty and infinite variety of this glamorous flower.AUTHOR BIO: Mark Griffiths, one of the world's foremost writers on orchids, has edited and written numerous publications on orchids and horticulture. He was editor of The New Royal Horticulture of Gardening, and was awarded the Garden Writers' Guild Special Award for a Work of Outstanding Excellence for his RHS Manual, Orchids. Griffiths is horticultural correspondent for The Times, London. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Gives a Good Overview
Intended as an introduction to the wonderful world of orchids, thia book gives enough background to get someone interested in orchids without the use of intimidating technical jargon. As Orchids host at BellaOnline.com, I often recommend this book as a great starter for someone just starting out with orchids ... Read more

Product Description
This work follows on from the 1995 publication on European orchids. The atlas is now completed with a second part, containing data on the pollination of orchids of the continents of America, Asia, Africa (including Madagascar) and Australia (including New Zealand).;The first part of the book is adapted from the general account of the previous publication and is extended with chapters on taxonomy and pollinators. The general account deals with such things as the history, evolution, morphology, chemistry and genetics of orchid pollination. The second part gives a systematic account for each continent of all well known details. The text is designed to have relevance for orchid lovers whether professional or amateur. ... Read more

Product Description
A complete guide to the cultivation of orchids describes more than forty of the easiest orchids to grow, offers step-by-step directions on plant care and cultivation, and discusses additional varieties of orchids for more advanced horticulturalists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

informative for beginners
This book was exceptionally helpful for me as a beginner just starting to grow orchids.I have had great success with phalaenopsis and paphiopedilums since reading this book.I hope to start using her other varieties in the future.

Orchids (Burpee American Gardening)
I was very disappointed in this book.Many of the pictures were very poor in that they were out of focus, poor lighting, upside-down, or mislabeled.The majority appeared to be of the authors own plants, and as such, theirpresentation contradicted what the author was stating (e.g. the authorstates orchids should be given lots of room for free circulation of air,but the pictures showed plants crowded on top of each other).A lot of thetext was repetitive where the same phrases were repeatedly used.Much ofthe culture information was written for people that live in a northernclimate, such as New York where the author is from.It is of little use topeople that live in warmer climates in the US or with any experience ingrowing orchids.It may be of limited use to the most basic beginner toorchids, as long as they don't depend on it as their sole source ofinformation.

Orchids (Burpee American Gardening)
I was very disappointed in this book.Many of the pictures were very poor in that they were out of focus, poor lighting, upside-down, or mislabeled.The majority appeared to be of the authors own plants, and as such, theirpresentation contradicted what the author was stating (e.g. the authorstates orchids should be given lots of room for free circulation of air,but the pictures showed plants crowded on top of each other).A lot of thetext was repetitive where the same phrases were repeatedly used.Much ofthe culture information was written for people that live in a northernclimate, such as New York where the author is from.It is of little use topeople that live in warmer climates in the US or with any experience ingrowing orchids.It may be of limited use to the most basic beginner toorchids, as long as they don't depend on it as their sole source ofinformation. ... Read more

Product Description
This text covers all aspects of orchid culture for the beginner and experienced orchid grower. There are chapters on housing, potting, plant nutrition and coping with pests and diseases. It describes popular species and hybrids with details of specific cultural requirements. ... Read more

Product Description
Wild orchids bloom in virtually every habitat of every state and province of the continental United States, Canada, and Greenland. Orchid fanciers and collectors--a large and fervent segment of the general public--will welcome Paul Martin Brown's comprehensive, illustrated checklist and field guide to the exotic world of these elegant and intriguing flowers.

This annotated guide is packed with up-to-date information and enhanced by stunning color photographs and extraordinary drawings of each species, subspecies, and variety, many highlighting unusual color or growth forms. It provides identification, full distribution range, recent synonyms, and all subspecies varietal and forma information for all 247 taxa as well as comments about the special aspects of each species. Taxonomy and distribution data directly complement information in the Flora of North America project and the parallel dichotomous keys will be useful in the field.

The guide covers 223 species, 24 subspecies and varieties, 103 growth and color forms, and 24 hybrids. With its personal checklist and easy-to-read format, Wild Orchids of North America is perfect for the hobbyist, while offering a concise scientific reference for naturalists, botanists, and advanced orchid enthusiasts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

great book
this book looks brand new. It is a great reference for my beginnings of Orchid searching.

Good coffee table book for Orchid lovers
My summary:
Easy to page though in an hour or two.There is a real photo of each orchid listed in this book.I am not a botanist or a taxonomist -- I don't want a textbook or 900 page field guide.

This is mainly a picture book to give you a name for an orchid you find out by a trail or in your back yard.

It has cross-reference listings of common and botanical names -- helpful for google searching or if you think it might be one of a few orchids listed.

The photos are good, but the drawings in this manual lack the detail to know what the plant is really supposed to look like. You really cannot tell leaf shape, plant shape, size, etc from the drawings.

A disappointment, unfortunately.
When a new field guide appears that is focused on a special group of plants, one anticipates that a lot of information will be presented about the subject of interest.Well-written field guides should contain at least a short paragraph discussing the details of the life histories, morphology, ranges, etc., of the creatures contained within.Range maps and proper illustrations are appropriate as well.This book does a minimal job of all of this.Although the photographs are nice, they are too small to glean all of the necessary details and some look altered by computer effects or printer error.Furthermore, the pen-and-ink drawings are awful, if at least in the sense of being useful for identifying the plants.The information provided in the text with each species is surprisingly limited, not revealing enough on the form, biology and geographic range of these plants.This lack of necessary detail can actually be misleading to the reader in their undrestanding of the species.This lack of detail also makes the book far less interesting than it could have been otherwise.The large taxonomic key in the back of the book is useful, but keys can not provide the user with a good mental image of the physical form of the plants, rather only of a very limited number of features, in contrast to what a proper textual description can provide.Furthermore, this book skips on some other necessary details, such as an incomplete bibliography, not listing all the references cited in the text, for example.The original sources for a book are important avenues for readers to learn more, therefore they should all be properly listed.The point of a field guide is to educate; if enthusiastic readers are unable to find necessary information due to the general lack of attention to detail in many, let alone most aspects of a guide, then that can not leave them confident that they have learned much of anything new, let alone be confident that they can identify the species properly.

I had high hopes for this book when I first heard of its printing, but unfortunately I find it to be one of the more disappointing field guides I have seen, for orchids or any subject.It is not a adequate substitute for old, classic orchid guides, such as Donovan Correll's book of similar title (Native Orchids of North America North of Mexico) and Carlyle Luer's book on the same topic (The native orchids of the United States and Canada, excluding Florida), or even books of half of that amount of content.Sadly, these two classic books are out of print and rare.Probably the best approach for the curious native orchidist is to purchase a set of state and regional orchid field guides that are loaded with interesting information, such as those by Case (western Great Lakes), Coleman (Arizona and the SW), Homoya (Indiana), Liggio (Texas), Smith (Minnesota) and others.The substance revealed about the lives of the orchids within these books is more than enough to allow the reader of several of these to put together the pieces of the wonderful puzzle of these very interesting plants.It would be quite useful to have a new book that integrates such information at the necessary and appropriate level for all of the North American orchid species, but "Wild Orchids of North America, North of Mexico" by Brown & Folsom is definitely not that book, although I had hoped that it would be.I am very disappointed and feel that it is not a worthwhile purchase.

Filled from cover to cover with full-color photographs
Informatively written by Paul Martin Brown (Research Associate, University of Florida Herbarium, Florida Museum of Natural History), The Wild Orchids Of North America, North Of Mexico is a comprehensive field guide filled from cover to cover with full-color photographs. Each photograph of a different wild orchid species is accompanied by a simple line drawing by botanic illustrator Stan Folsom which brings out the appearance of the plant and enhances the basic species information. A beautiful checklist resource for flower and nature lovers, and a seminal addition to any dedicated horticultural and/or gardening reference collection, The Wild Orchids Of North America, North Of Mexico is also available in a hardcover edition (0813025710).

Orchids of North America
The book serves as good checklist for the North American species. It should not be construed as anything more than that.The photos are subpar. ... Read more

Product Description
The male thynnine wasp's extreme sexual enthusiasm is crucial to reproduction of hammer orchids in the wild. Hammer orchids have co-evolved to produce odors identical to those manufactured by female thynnine wasps. The male wasp's superb sensitivity to the scent of his female mate is the basis for the hammer orchid's deceit--in effect, orchids exploit the male insect's highly adaptive sense of smell for their own propagation. While pollinating orchids is a waste of time, and thus a maladaptive activity for a wasp, his mistake comes about because he must react quickly whenever he senses a possible mate nearby. Alcock suggests that, "for insects, he who hesitates is lost, although perhaps it would be better to say that he who hesitates often loses a chance to pass on his genes." This book abounds with clever explanations for how these exceptionally complex flowers came to be shaped as they are. The reader can explore many aspects of orchid biology and history ranging from how some species avoid inbreeding, to the origins of orchids from an ancestor that belonged to the asparagus family. Examining each component of an orchid's flower, Alcock explains how the various parts work together to produce the plant's minute offspring. Each element of an orchid, as quirky as it may seem, is biologically significant, bearing the imprint of natural selection. Readers can share in the delight that Darwin and all other orchid enthusiasts have felt in making sense of even the smallest of details of these most wonderful plants. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

an enthousiasm for orchids, sex and deceptoin in plant evolution, by John Alcock
This is a really fascinating book on both orchids and evolution. The author turns primarily to Southwest Australian orchids and gives a brilliant insight in evolutionary matters. Funny to realise that Darwin himself did not like Southwest Australia when he had a stop over there with his Beagle voyage. He detested Albany, I love it. Southwest Australia has been recognised as one of the top biodiversity hotspots worldwide. Read and enjoy the book and share the author's enthousiasm and expert knowledge.
As I have been botanizing in many places where the author has been, I enjoyed the descriptions of his discoveries during his fieldtrips. It also revived my holidays. I share his thrills and was also intrigued by the Hammer Orchid and its pollination. The books gives excellent explanations. I have sent a photo of the Hammer Orchid to Alcock and had it identified by him.

awesome book
Its a good book for the people who are working in the field of evolutionary biology, particulary in the field of orchid biology.
Mani ... Read more

Product Description
This beautiful book on orchids opens with a round-the-world tour of the range of tropical and temperate habitats in which orchids are found. ... Read more

Product Description
Many orchids are naturally rare. Others have become endangered or extinct, largely through loss of habitat. This book pulls together expert, up-to-date information on orchid biology, ecology, distribution, destruction, and conservation of these threatened treasures of the plant kingdom. ... Read more

Product Description
This authoritative guide showcases the unmatched beauty and diversity of the native orchids of the southern Appalachian mountains. Based on Stanley Bentley's many years of nature study, it covers the 52 species--including one discovered by Bentley and named after him--found in a region encompassing western Virginia and North Carolina and eastern West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

The entry for each orchid provides the plant's scientific and common names, a description of the flower (including color, shape, and size), and information on the time of flowering, range, and typical habitat, all in the context of the southern mountains. A range map accompanies each description, and Bentley's own superb photographs are an additional aid to identification.

Using straightforward language yet incorporating the most up-to-date scientific information and nomenclature, the book will be welcomed by amateur naturalists or professional botanists looking for species in the field and by those who simply enjoy photographs of beautiful wildflowers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Nice Guide
Very nice book with great photos and information. The author knows his stuff and has been at it for many years.

As Beautiful As the Orchids
This turns out to be an outstanding book and I'm very happy to have it. The text is pleasant to read, written in a friendly and personal way. The pictures are crisp and beautiful, and laid out nicely alongside the text for easy access while reading the description. One outstanding feature is the detailed habitat information based on the author's years of field experience in observing the habitats of each of these orchids. Another stand-out is that the author has done the photography himself, resulting in pictures that support and complement the text very well. I checked several books on orchids and wildflowers while trying to identify an orchid in my forest (which turns out to be a lily-leaved twayblade), and I found this book to be the best. In summary, I'm impressed with this book. I hope it will set a new standard for other books on regional wildflowers. ... Read more

Product Description
This text covers all of the Malawi orchids, both epiphytic and terrestrial. ... Read more

Product Description
Following the striking format of 100 English Roses for the American Garden, here is both a how-to book and a stunningly photographed field guide. Beginning with the one persistent myth surrounding orchids (that they're difficult to grow) and debunking it thoroughly, Mr. McDonald describes potting mediums, water and air needs, light and lack of light, how to create an orchid garden, and troubleshooting. From there the book introduces 100 dazzling varieties and explains how to raise and care for them, from popular cattleyas and phalaenopsis to hauntingly beautiful ascocendas, charming miltoniopsis, or pansy orchids, vandas and oncidiums. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Lots of pretty pictures
I struggled between a 3 and 4 star rating for this book.It is basically a picture book with a small amount of information about hybrids with a few species orchids thrown in.Most if not all of these orchids would need to be obtained at an orchid show or via the internet.

This book would've been more useful if there was greater detail about each orchid.

A much better choice is Understanding Orchids by William Cullina.

Sensation
Very informational format for those of us not too knowledgeable on the subject of orchids. Beautiful photographs and clear instructions.

Great Photography!!
I have found this book to be helpful in finding information regarding a specific orchid.I'm the Orchids host at BellaOnline.com and need to be able to research and become familiar with a variety of orchids.This book devotes 2 pages to each of the 100 orchids featured--one page to the growing requirements and the other to a full page color photo of the plant in bloom.

You may not be able to find the exact plant pictured, but the information included will give you a good start on finding an orchid with similar needs.If you are looking for a profile of Oncidium "Sharry Baby", you can find one here--with a nice photograph.

The first section of the book contains general information on culture, buying orchids and various locations to house your collection.

A good pictoral on orchids, with 100 full pages of pictures.
This book provided a great overview of the main genus of orchids.I would have liked to have seen more about how the genus are related, and which can be crossed to produce a hybrid.Also, what techniques are used for judgingorchids?The pictures themselves are worth the price of this book.Morethan half of the orchids pictured will be imposible to find, but a goodlocal gardener will be able to find you a close match.

Beautiful book, but has a catalog feel.
This book is a good source for orchid lovers.The photos are beautiful, but I couldn't help feel as if I were previewing a fancy catalog.Why were these orchids picked to be in this book?I was disappointed that theplants listed were not of the more readily available variety.I had thebook with me when I went into Smith and Hawken and the odd thing was someof the plants they had for sale were not listed in the book.So I guessit's not a catalog after all.A great thing about the book is that itoffers information on the plant shown so the reader would have an idea whatplant would bloom in what size pot.It also gives you good info on how tocare for a specific plant so you don't make the mistake of buying one thatwould be too difficult to care for. ... Read more

Product Description
This comprehensive field guide covers the identification, biology, and conservation of more than 520 species of orchid found in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The detailed text and 1270 color photographs and line drawings allow specialists, as well as avid botanists and interested tourists, to identify the wild orchids of the region with precision. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The real 'Bible' for wild orchid lovers
Somebody who prefers to look at hothouse orchids will never appreciate the value of this superb work of reference for European wild orchid lovers.I have been studying these in many countries since over 40 years and i find Delforge essential and unbeatable in its thoroughness of description and superb colour photos. How anyone can call this 'boring' I cannot imagine. Soon my wife and I will be travelling to Lebanon and i am delighted to find that the book indeed covers the Middle East. This is a vast improvement over the first edition I have, with many more newly discovered and described species. I'm thrilled to bits!

Clinical, antiseptic and boring
Perhaps it's pointless to criticize a field guide for being frankly boring, rather than being an aesthetically pleasing experience. Still, we are spoiled with field guides in Sweden that actually are aesthetically pleasing. I'm referring, of course, to Lars Jonsson's books on birds, and the books on orchids and mushrooms illustrated by Bo Mossberg. Maybe that's why I was disappointed by Pierre Delforge's field guide to the orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. I mean, a book about *orchids* that make you yawn, or wish you were somewhere else entirely? But then, perhaps I'm unfair. After all, the point of this field guide is to identify orchids in the field, not necessarily to show them from their best side...

"Orchids of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East" is a comprehensive field guide and reference work, covering over 500 species of wild orchids found in Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Israel, Syria, Jordan and the Sinai. All of Europe is covered, including Russia west of the Urals. So are the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores. Most species are illustrated with photographs, both a photo showing the entire plant, and close ups on the flowers. (The Ophrys species are only illustrated with close ups.) Two rare species from Algeria are illustrated by colour drawings, presumably because no photos of them exist. Each species presentation contains a detailed description of the plant, information on its scientific name, habitat and approximate range. The most common pollinators of each species are also mentioned, as are hybrids and aberrant varieties. Identification keys are included. One negative is that no vernacular names are included, giving the guide as a somewhat "elitist", "professional botanists only" impression. I have to admit a strong dislike to such an approach. I therefore laughed when I saw that the vernacular name "lady's slipper" accidentally slipped into the section on that particular species. Ladies first, huh? A more "elitist" negative is that the world wide range of each species isn't given, only its range within the area covered by the book. Since "Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East" is also a reference work, this is a clear drawback.

How good this book is as a field guide, I honestly don't know. I'm quite lazy, and prefer watching orchids in botanical gardens! But yes, I'm sure it functions well as a reference for botanists, or perhaps advanced students of the subject. I was also struck by the wide diversity of the orchid family, even in such a "boring" area as the Western Palaearctic.

And yet, I somehow can't talk myself into liking this clinical, antiseptic and very professional work...

Three stars.

For the wild orchid lover
This is the best field guide I've found to use in the countryside of the Iberian Peninsula. ... Read more