Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #337524 in Books
• Published on: 1995-07-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 410 pages

From Library Journal
Palms are an important plant family. Ornamentally, they symbolize a tropical landscape to most of us; economically, they provide important products to millions of people in both subsistence and modern commercial economies. Although both of these books provide a wealth of information on palms, they differ in coverage. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas takes a botanical approach to help readers identify palms naturally occurring in the Americas. A brief introduction and a key to the genera are followed by descriptions of 67 individual species, including identification, characteristics, habitat, and interesting notes. A separate section of 64 color plates, a distribution map for each species, checklists, and a detailed bibliography and index are also offered. Species descriptions are written by taxonomists but are reasonably comprehensible and interesting to the amateur; unfortunately, there is no glossary to explain technical terms. Palms Throughout the World, an expansion of Jones's popular Palms in Australia (1984), takes a horticultural approach. Its descriptions of 800 species in 123 genera include cultivation and propagation information as well as descriptions, and its 350 color photographs are conveniently located next to the species they illustrate. The long introductory section includes information on the structure, biology, and economic uses of palms as well as their disease and cultivation requirements. A glossary is provided. Both works would be useful in academic horticultural libraries. Field Guide to the Palms of the Americas is the only comprehensive field guide for its area, although Natalie Uhl and John Dransfield's definitive Genera Palmarum (Allen Pr., 1987) provides more detailed botanical information. Palms of the World is a more attractive book and would have greater appeal to general readers.?Marit MacArthur, Auraria Lib., Denver, Col.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Jones divides this encyclopedic work into two parts. The first part deals with structure, economic importance (many communities in the tropics and subtropics depend on palms for their livelihood), cultivation, and pests and diseases. The second part is a 265-page alphabetical listing of about 800 species in 123 genera. Each entry offers information on the plant's origin, distribution, and habitat and describes its general appearance (height as well as the configuration of fronds, leaflets, flowers, and fruit). Included are 445 color photographs, 60 black-and-white line drawings, and a detailed glossary. George Cohen

Review
World palms are the subject of discussion in a technical title which identifies palm species (800 in 123 genera) and which reveals propagation, biology, and the facts surrounding palms. Both collector's palms and species commonly grown are detailed in this technical guide, recommended for college-level libraries with strong gardening reference sections. -- Midwest Book Review

Customer Reviews

A superbly written book from start to finish.
David Jones book is one that I find hard to put down.I have enjoyed it very much, and will continue to do so for many years to come. Identification of palms is made easy and their re-quirements specified.I am really glad I bought it.

Cheryl Lowe.

Very Thorough
This is probably one of my most used palm books. It has extensive information on a huge number of palms, such as culture, care, propagation, habit, native habitat, and positive or negative traits. There are many photographs which make this a great book to sit down and browse through, while planning your next project. A great idea book and reference resource. The one difficulty I found, is that many of the palm tree heights are listed in metric without giving any equivalent of what that is in feet, for people in the U.S. Not a huge problem, but I found myself constantly trying to figure out how high something was going to get. Nevertheless, a great book that I highly recommend and a must for everyone interested in palms.

You need this book.
I have been reading books on palms for the last 2 years. Many are extremely superficial treatments of appearances only. Others are extremely detailed and not very useful to the non-botanist/horticulturalist. This book has a satisfying combination of background on a variety of palms, basic palm information, and excellent photographs. I would have liked more horticultural information regarding seed propagation, light and soil requirements for the specific species. Overall, however, you need this book.