This action plan chronicles the threats faced by wild orchids, but more importantly to critical habitats that host extraordinarily high orchid diversity and endemicity. It explores and recommends specific ways that national and local government, legislators, scientists and orchid conservationists as well as growers can all help to reverse present trends. The facts and viewpoints presented in this comprehensive document update and supplement the information available to conservation organizations and agencies through the world so that they can lobby their appropriate government offices more effectively.

With more than 30,000 known species, orchids represent the largest family of plants. But only one genus has agricultural value—the Vanilla orchid. Leading orchid expert Ken Cameron covers the natural history of the world’s most popular flavor and fragrance and provides an introduction to the pollination, biology, structure, evolution, and diversity of Vanilla and related orchids. Vanilla Orchids also features methods for bean harvest, curing, and processing for enthusiasts who want to try it at home.

“Clear, informative text. It is a superb production, reminding us of the astonishing diversity of these plants.” —Times Literary Supplement One in every seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid. Yet orchids retain an air of exotic mystery—and they remain remarkably misunderstood and underappreciated. The orchid family contains an astonishing array of colors, forms, and smells that captivate growers from all walks of life across the globe. Though undeniably elegant, the popular moth orchid—a grocery store standard—is a bland stand-in when compared with its thousands of more complex and fascinating brethren, such as the Demon Queller, which grows in dark forests where its lovely blooms are believed to chase evil forces away. Or the Fetid Sun-God, an orchid that lures female flies to lay their eggs on its flowers by emitting a scent of rancid cheese. The Book of Orchids revels in the diversity and oddity of these beguiling plants. Six hundred of the world’s most intriguing orchids are displayed, along with life-size photographs that capture botanical detail, as well as information about distribution, peak flowering period, and each species’ unique attributes, both natural and cultural. With over 28,000 known species, the orchid family is the largest and most geographically widespread of the flowering plant families. Including the most up-to-date science and accessibly written by botanists Mark Chase, Maarten Christenhusz, and Tom Mirenda, each entry in The Book of Orchids will entice researchers and orchid enthusiasts alike. “A luscious coffee-table tome.” —Nature

Detailed botanical classic presents all the know orchids of Guatemala and Belize — a total of 527 species and 25 varieties in 89 genera. 204 b/w illus.

Native Orchids of Trinidad and Tobago provides detailed descriptions of the native species and varieties of orchids from Trinidad and Tobago. The Orchidaceae is the largest family of flowering plants with between 15,000 and 20,000 known species and varieties in from 500 to 600 genera; and new ones are being discovered by almost every botanical expedition to tropical areas. In Trinidad and Tobago, the Orchidaceae is the second largest family of flowering plants in terms of number of species. The native species and varieties known at the present time number 181, and they belong to sixty-six genera. The genera are enumerated in strict phylogenetic sequence, in accord with SCHLECHTER'S system. The species are listed alphabetically under the genera. An attempt has been made throughout to indicate synonymy as completely as possible even to the inclusion of binomials, which have never been used in connection with the flora of Trinidad and Tobago. The description of each genus has for the most part been drawn up to cover the morphological limits shown by the concept throughout its entire geographic range, whereas the specific descriptions are usually based only upon material collected in Trinidad and Tobago.