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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #975203 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-23
• Released on: 2000-10-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
This book is quite a treat .

SIDA

A welcome and invaluable addition.

Orchids—The Magazine of the American Orchid Society

This latest book on native orchids is a real gem, one of the best.

Systematic Botany

Among the best of the regional orchid treatments.

John V. Freudenstein, Ohio State University

This book is the best treatment of these unique and fascinating plants available anywhere.

Peter S. White, Director, North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

From the Inside Flap
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 illustrates and describes the 52 species found in a region encompassing western Va. and N.C. and eastern W.Va., Ky., and and Tenn.

About the Author
Stanley L. Bentley has devoted twenty-five years to studying and photographing orchids across America. His work has appeared in a number of publications, including Wildflower Magazine, American Fern Journal, and The Newsletter of the American Association of Field Botanists, and in several books. A native Virginian, Bentley has worked as a naturalist, a high school teacher, and a nature consultant, and he is currently employed by the school system in Pulaski County, Virginia, where he lives.

Customer Reviews

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.