Orchid Species of the World

Orchid Species of the World is an epic illustratedencyclopedia of global wild native orchids from theOld and New Worlds, including temperate and tropicalareas and both the Northern and SouthernHemispheres. This is the most complete,comprehensive and up-to-date illustrated guide everpublished on these cosmopolitan, specialised andiconic flowering plants, and it is presented in a singlecolourful, authoritative and information-packedvolume.Never before has such a variety and quantity ofterrestrial, lithophytic and epiphytic orchids beenpresented together. Introductory chapters cover thebasics about orchids and their biology, naming andcultivation. This is followed by a summary of thecharacters defining the 343 different genera featured,with succinct and precise text about the 3,333individually described and illustrated species entries.Details also include countries of origin, definingidentification characters, cultivation tips and seasonalflowering times.The most current botanical combinations have beenincluded and applied on a case-by-case basis,keeping similar natural groups together, after theauthor has personally studied these orchids andreviewed the latest published taxonomic proposalsand DNA-based scientific research, with more than2,450 synonyms and alternate names included.