Product Description

Our best single book on orchids is a perennial bestseller and an outstanding value at the price. Edited by an eminent orchidist, it is aimed at a broad audience, from the flower lover with a casual interest in orchids to the committed enthusiast and professional. It fully describes and beautifully illustrates more than 1100 species and hybrids commonly in cultivation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82939 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Review
"A necessary and, therefore, highly recommended acquisition for any library with botanical or gardening readers."
—L. G. Kavaljian, Choice, February 1993 (Choice )

"Detailed enough for enthusiasts and accessible to general readers, this is a must for all horticulural reference collections."
—Phillip Oliver, Library Journal, December 15, 2004 (Library Journal )

A necessary and, therefore, highly recommended acquisition for any library with botanical or gardening readers. L. G. Kavaljian, Choice, February 1993 (Choice )

Detailed enough for enthusiasts and accessible to general readers, this is a must for all horticulural reference collections. Phillip Oliver, Library Journal, December 15, 2004 (Library Journal )

From the Publisher
Encompassing a wide spectrum of orchid genera, over 1,100 species and hybrids commonly in cultivation are detailed.

About the Author
Alec Pridgeon is Sainsbury Orchid Fellow of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where he edits the twice-yearly Orchid Research Newsletter. He is perhaps best known as past editor of the American Orchid Society Bulletin and founding editor of the scientific orchid journal, Lindleyana. He is a fellow of the Linnean Society of London, a research associate of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, and a member of the orchid committee and orchid registration advisory committee of the Royal Horticultural Society. He has written and edited many books and articles on orchids and has lectured on this topic internationally.

Customer Reviews

The Perfect Species Orchid Reference Book-Great Color Photos
This book is indispensible to me as a Species orchid enthusiast. Every time I come across a species for sale that I am unfamiliar with, "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids" is the first place I look for a description and color photo! The beginning of the book has short, but informative sections on orchid care and cultivation. The majority of the book (and the main reason to have it), is the 'Orchids A-Z' section--a comprehensive list of Species with color photos, scientific + common names, geographical location of native habitats, descriptions of orchids + habitats and information on care. It is more than worth the price!

For more advanced orchidists
If you already know a lot about orchids, and want an excellent, well-illustrated encyclopedia of species, this is great. If you are a beginner, however, this is probably not the book for you, since it concentrates on species (with a lot of very obscure orchids included) and doesn't give you anything about hybrid orchids, which is what most people grow and buy. It also isn't the best for helping you get started in growing orchids, for the cultural information is a bit more esoteric. Scientifically excellent.

Best orchid species encyclopedia - 1100 species!
Book contains about 298 pages divided into three sections. The sections are Orchid Cultivation & Description (15 pages), Species Encyclopedia (270 pages), and Glossary & Index (13 pages).

The focus of the book is the orchid species encyclopedia. Each orchid is listed with information on genus, tribe, etymology, and a paragraph describing the characteristics of the orchid and its history. About 2/3rds of the species also include a photograph.

Photography is excellent. Hundreds of clear, crisp, and properly identified images fill the book. It is truly an illustrated encyclopedia.

I love this book! It is exactly the kind of reference book I needed. Being new to orchids, I have a difficult time seeing a name in a catalog and relating it to an image of an orchid flower. This book is great, it has helped me discover many new and interesting species. Well, at least they are new to me :-)

My library contains several books on orchid culture that gives me clues to growing the plants. But this book identifies hundreds of genera, and 1100 species. Best orchid species encyclopedia that I've seen. Great reference book!