Product Description

This is the final volume in a landmark treatise of six volumes devoted to the genera of the Cattleya alliance. Carl Withner’s extensive experience, study, and research give readers access to an unparalleled range of information about the particulars in the wild and the behavior in cultivation of each species he describes. He is candid about the difficulties in resolving taxonomic ambiguities in the alliance, many members of which have undergone repeated reclassification during their history. But his enthusiasm for the orchids is displayed in accounts of his first encounters with various species in the wild, his observations of them as a grower, and his suggestions for hybridization possibilities.

Writing in the American Orchid Society Bulletin, Rebecca T. Northen said of the first volume, “This is a book for all time. It and the five volumes to follow will form a grand addition to orchid libraries . . . [a] source of information for years to come.” As the treatise draws closer to completion, her prediction seems to have been amply fulfilled.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #164310 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 222 pages

Review
"A pleasing, clear, instructive and to all appearances accurate book which is a bargain at the price ... This volume and the entire series are a credit to the author and well worth having and/or giving."—Joseph Arditti, Plant Science Bulletin, Summer 2001 (Joseph Arditti Plant Science Bulletin )

"Dr. Withner brings clarity, precision and enthusiasm for this group of plants to our attention and his unparalleled experience provides a wealth of information about species old, new, 'lost', 'rediscovered', and rare."— Joyce Stewart, Orchid Research Newsletter, August 2000 (Joyce Stewart Orchid Research Newsletter )

"Timber Press has done it again. The book is excellent, the copy is clear and the illustrations are clear. The entire six volume set should be part of the reference collection of anyone interested in cattleyas ... Congratulations to Timber Press for excellent additions to orchid literature. We look forward to others!"—Yoneo Sagawa, Hawaii Orchid Journal, December 2000 (Yoneo Sagawa Hawaii Orchid Journal )

A pleasing, clear, instructive and to all appearances accurate book which is a bargain at the price ... This volume and the entire series are a credit to the author and well worth having and/or giving.Joseph Arditti, Plant Science Bulletin, Summer 2001 (Plant Science Bulletin )

A pleasing, clear, instructive and to all appearances accurate book which is a bargain at the price. -- Joseph Arditti, Plant Science Bulletin, Summer 2001

Congrats on a fine job — the last volume in a landmark series. -- Taxon, August 2000

Dr. Withner brings clarity, precision and enthusiasm for this group of plants to our attention and his unparalleled experience provides a wealth of information about species old, new, 'lost', 'rediscovered', and rare. Joyce Stewart, Orchid Research Newsletter, August 2000 (Orchid Research Newsletter )

Excellent . . . The entire six volume set should be part of the reference collection of anyone interested in cattleyas. -- Yoneo Sagawa, Hawaii Orchid Journal, December 2000

Timber Press has done it again. The book is excellent, the copy is clear and the illustrations are clear. The entire six volume set should be part of the reference collection of anyone interested in cattleyas ... Congratulations to Timber Press for excellent additions to orchid literature. We look forward to others!Yoneo Sagawa, Hawaii Orchid Journal, December 2000 (Hawaii Orchid Journal )

[Dr. Withner's] unparalleled experience provides a wealth of information about species old, new, 'lost', 'rediscovered', and rare. -- Joyce Stewart, Orchid Research Newsletter, Volume 25, August 18, 2000

From the Publisher
Cattleyas are frequently called "the Queen of the Orchids," and Carl Withner's passion for them started before World War II. About 12 years ago he published the first in this series of six books, which now comes to a conclusion with this final volume. The South American Encyclia species have not previously been the subject of a book, and the genus presents many problems and difficulties. A few of the species are known from a single herbarium specimen and may well now be extinct because of the continuing loss of habitat.

This volume also includes taxonomic and nomenclatural changes affecting species covered in the earlier volumes, as well as additions and changes to the text of each of the five volumes.

From the Inside Flap
THE CATTLEYAS AND THEIR RELATIVES
Volume VI: The South American Encyclia Species

This is the final volume in a landmark treatise in six parts devoted to the genera of the Cattleya alliance, a series whose first volume appeared in 1988. This volume covers the species of Encyclia native to South America, a group of orchids that presents the researcher with many difficulties. The herbarium record is minimal on many of these species, and the original or type specimen may have been destroyed; photographs and even drawing may be lacking. There are formidable problems in identification, distribution, and nomenclature to be resolved, further complicated by the ongoing catastrophic loss of habitat. Carl Withner's extensive field experience, study and research are invaluable assets in brining order to this tangled genus, and providing the foundation for further work.

This volume also includes an appendix of taxonomic and nomenclatural changes affecting species covered in the first five volumes, and a second appendix of changes and additions to the earlier volumes reflecting recent scholarship.

Writing in the American Orchid Society Bulletin, Rebecca Northern said of the first volume: "This is a book for all time. It and the five volumes to follow will form a grand addition to orchid libraries... (a) source of information for years to come." Now that this great work has been completed, her prediction seems to have been amply fulfilled.