Product Description

This guide covers more than 400 of the most commonly cultivated ornamental plants found in the tropics, identified and beautifully photographed by an expert in tropical botany. The color photographs and accurate descriptions make this book ideal for identifying plants grown in the tropics or cultivated in greenhouses in temperate climates. The characteristics of habit, leaves, flowers, and fruit useful for distinguishing one plant from another are emphasized in the descriptions, which also include discussions of plant relationships, the correct scientific and common names, geographical ranges, any poisonous properties, and other useful and interesting information about each plant. In addition, each description includes information on propagation methods and ideal growing conditions, making it useful for gardeners in determining how and where to cultivate the plants.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #805174 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 542 pages

Review
"Fascinating reading."
—John Van de Water, Newark Star-Ledger, November 5, 2000 (Newark Star-Ledger )

"For more spice, Tropical Ornamentals covers unusual, as well as common, summer bloomers."
—Donna Williamson, HortResources Newsletter, January 2004 (HortResources )

"On nearly every page there is a photograph with information about the genus and species to aid in identifying these plants."
—National Gardener, November 2000 (National Gardener )

Fascinating reading. John Van de Water, Newark Star-Ledger, November 5, 2000 (Newark Star-Ledger )

For more spice, Tropical Ornamentals covers unusual, as well as common, summer bloomers. Donna Williamson, HortResources Newsletter, January 2004 (HortResources )

On nearly every page there is a photograph with information about the genus and species to aid in identifying these plants. National Gardener, November 2000 (National Gardener )

From the Publisher
The two main sources of tropical plants are the islands and mainland of southeastern Asia and tropical America between Mexico and Brazil. Whatever their origin, tropicals tend to be distributed widely, and many of the same plants will be seen from the Caribbean to Singapore. This guide features more than 400 of the most common ornamentals and should allow the reader to identify the majority of ornamental trees, shrubs, and herbs to be encountered in the tropics worldwide. Many of the species covered may also be found in the warm temperate regions, or may be grown as greenhouse plants in colder climates.

From the Author
W. Arthur Whistler is an adjunct associate professor at the Lyon Arboretum in Honolulu.

Customer Reviews

A "must read" for tropical plant growers
This book should be a "must read" for anyone wanting to grow tropical plants.

This was the most comprehensive book about the tropical plants that I have read. It truly covered most of the tropicals that I wanted to look up. Most impressive.Very systematic. Had good information on flowering periods and propagation techniques. More details on growing these plants could enhance this book even more. All in all a very good addition to my tropical plants collection.

Tropical Ornamentals A Guide
For the serious tropical gardener, this is one book you must not be without.

The "Organization Of Information" section of this book I found to be very boring. I did however, immensely enjoy the rest of the book and would highly suggest it to anyone who grows a large majority of tropical plants.

Some of the plants mentioned in the book such as Albizia Lebbeck, I had been unable to find any information on previously. I was quite surprised at the large number of plants mentioned that were not common. There were also some plants they touched on that I was completely unfamiliar with. I thought this was great!

There are color photographs with each plant description and sometimes there is more than one photo showing various varieties of the plant. This is a real plus if you grow most everything from seeds or cuttings and have never seen these plants. There is a total of 458 photographs.

Although each plant only receives a small section, the descriptions do include information such as flowers or fruit, propagation, leaves and plant type. It also gives the common name of the plant and the index allows you to reference each plant by scientific name or common name.

Overall, I found it a highly useful book that will be one of the most used books I have. That's a very high compliment!

The only thing that might have been made it better was to move the explanation section to the back!

I cannot emphasize enough that this is one book you must have on your reference shelf!

A basic reference text for tropical plants
This is a basic reference text for admirers of tropical plants, and was the inspiration for my Ornamental Plants & Flowers of Tropical Mexico. Limited to plants grown for their appearance rather than utility, and primarily grown in the tropical regions of the world, this reference guide includes more than 400 ornamentals. Photographs of many of the included plants provide detail, supplementing the informative text, which gives identifying descriptions of leaves, flowers, and fruit, if any, as well as basic cultivation and propagation advice. The book's usefulness for identifying plants would be enhanced, however, with full-size photos, in addition to the flower close-up shots. The utility of the book is greatly aided by the index, which cross-references common names, scientific names, and alternative names for these lovely plants.