Orchids of Tropical America

Author: Joe E. Meisel
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801454921
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 275

Book Description
Orchids of Tropical America is an entertaining, informative, and splendidly illustrated introduction to the orchid family for enthusiasts and newcomers seeking to learn about more than 120 widespread orchid genera. Joe E. Meisel, Ronald S. Kaufmann, and Franco Pupulin bring alive the riot of colors, extraordinary shapes, and varied biology and ecology of the principal orchid genera ranging from Mexico and the Caribbean to Bolivia and Brazil. Orchids, likely the most diverse family of plants on earth, reach their peak diversity in the tropical countries of the Western Hemisphere, including, for example, more than 2,500 species in Brazil and 4,000 in Ecuador. The book also highlights reserves in the American tropics where travelers can enjoy orchids in the wild. Whether you journey abroad to see these unique plants, raise them in your home, or admire them from afar, this book offers fascinating insights into the diversity and natural history of orchids. Beyond the plant and flower descriptions, Orchids of Tropical America is packed with informative stories about the ecology and history of each genus. Pollination ecology is given in detail, with an emphasis on how floral features distinctive to the genus are linked to interaction with pollinators. This book also features information on medicinal and commercial uses, notes on the discoverers, and relevant historical data. The easy-to-use identification system permits quick recognition of the most common orchid groups in Central and South America. Genus descriptions are given in plain language designed for a nonscientific audience but will prove highly useful to advanced botanists as well. Descriptions focus on external morphology, and great care has been taken to ensure the guide is useful in the field without reliance on microscopes or dissections. Equally valuable as a field guide, a desktop reference, or a gift, Orchids of Tropical America will make an excellent addition to any orchid lover’s library. Visit the website for this book at www.orchidsoftropicalamerica.com.

Slipper Orchids of the Tropical Americas

Author: Phillip Cribb
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789838121750
Category : Slipper orchids
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
Slipper orchids are amongst the most popular of all cultivated orchids. They are widely grown and have been hybridised for almost a century and a half. This book covers the tropical American species of three genera of slipper orchids, Selenipedium, Mexipedium and Phragmipedium. Until fairly recently the slipper orchid scene has been dominated by the tropical Asian species of the genus Paphiopedilum, however the discovery of a suite of spectacular new species, particularly in the genus Phragmipedium and of the monotypic Mexipedium xerophyticum,a true missing link, has transformed appreciation of the tropical American slipper orchid species. The new generation of hybrids that have resulted are showy, brightly coloured and long-lasting - favourites on the show bench and in the amateur greenhouse.This is the first monograph in English to cover the tropical American slipper orchids. Written by Phillip Cribb, perhaps the leading orchid taxonomist in the world, together with Christopher Purver, Director of the Eric Young Orchid Foundation, on the Isle of Jersey, renowned for its Phragmipedium breeding program.The authors provide a detailed systematic treatment of the genera and species, including their history,taxonomy, description, keys, distribution, cytology and ecology. A history of the breeding ofPhragmipedium hyrids since the second half of the 19th century deals with the revolution broughtabout by the discovery of the amazing scarlet -flowered P.besseae and the spectacular royal purple P. kovachii. Future breeding trends are also covered and the cultivation of these desirable plants is also discussed.Beautifully illustrated throughout with colour botanical paintings by Carol Woodin, as well as black andwhite line drawings, colour photographs and maps.

Wild Orchids Across North America

Author:
Publisher: Timber Press (OR)
ISBN:
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 332

Book Description
The author has driven more than 100,000 miles and walked several hundred more in pursuit of orchids in their native habits. This is an account of his trips in Canada and throughout the U.S.

Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama

Author: Robert L. Dressler
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801481390
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Book Description
Written in a friendly and accessible style, this guide contains keys to all the orchid genera in the region and most of the orchid species. Includes a discussion of orchid structure and ecology, plus 240 stunning color photos and over 200 line drawings.

The Orchid Thief

Author: Susan Orlean
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0307795292
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 322

Book Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean—and the reader—will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion. In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Orchid Thief “Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.”—The New York Times Book Review “Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.”—Los Angeles Times “Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.”—The Washington Post Book World “Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.”—Boston Sunday Globe “A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”—The Wall Street Journal

Orchid Modern

Author: Marc Hachadourian
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN: 1604698160
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
“This beautiful book is useful for all of us, novice and experienced orchid lovers alike.” —Martha Stewart, author, entrepreneur, founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Add the vibrant colors and exotic blooms of orchids to your houseplant haven! It’s easier than you think with the help of Orchid Modern. Marc Hachadourian, the curator of the orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden, shares his secrets to successfully growing these sometimes finicky houseplants. Besides the basics, you’ll learn his top 120 orchid picks for green and not-so-green thumbs. Ten inspirational, step-by-step projects, including terrariums, a wreath, and a kokedama, provide the confidence to make orchids a thriving, vivid part of your home’s signature style.

Tropical Slipper Orchids

Author: Harold Koopowitz
Publisher: Timber Pr
ISBN: 9780881928648
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 411

Book Description
Offers a comprehensive, informative manual on how to grow, collect, and hybridize a variety of beautiful slipper orchids, offering detailed descriptions of a wide range paphiodpedilum and phragmidpedium orchid species, as well as essential care, cultivation, and plant selection guidelines.

The Classic Cattleyas

Author: A. A. Chadwick
Publisher: Timber Press (OR)
ISBN: 0881927643
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 251

Book Description
Cattleyas, first introduced in 1818, are the flowers whose form and color defined the essence of tropical orchids for generations to come. This helpful and informative book—for veteran orchid enthusiasts and beginners alike—describes each classic Cattleya species in fascinating detail and includes all that is required to appreciate and grow cattleyas successfully.

The Book of Orchids

Author: Mark W. Chase
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022622452X
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 657

Book Description
One of every seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid. Some are stunningly over the top; others almost inconspicuous. The Orchidaceae is the second most widely geographically distributed family, after the grasses, yet remains one of the least understood. This book will profile 600 species, representing the remarkable and unexpected diversity and complexity in the taxonomy and phylogeny of these beguiling plants, and the extraordinary means they have evolved in order to ensure the attraction of pollinators. Each species entry includes life-size photographs to capture botanical detail, as well as information on distribution, peak flowering period, and unique attributes--both natural and cultural. The result is a work which will attract and allure, much as the orchids themselves do.

Smith & Hawken 100 Orchids for the American Gardener

Author: Elvin McDonald
Publisher: Workman Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Gardening
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
A colorful photographic introduction to some one hundred varieties of orchids provides the reader with useful information about these special flowers, the care they require, and their overall proper maintenance. Original.