The rich and often bizarre variety of form exhibited by orchids has long provided a fascination for amateur and professional botanists alike. Once seen as a hobby exclusively for the rich, the cultivation of orchids is now widespread and the need for an accurate and simple guide to the identification of species in cultivation has become apparent. This book aims to fulfill that need by providing botanically correct, yet easily accessible information about this unique and exceptionally diverse group of plants. The main part of the book is based on the text of the family Orchidaceae published in the second volume of The European Garden Flora, with the information fully updated and displayed in a revised format. Simple keys to the genera and to the species allow access to descriptions of 900 individual species which also include references to published illustrations and other useful information. Numerous line drawings of diagnostic features help to make the keys and descriptions easy to understand and use. A brief introduction covers the structural features of orchids important in identification, and gives some information on cultivation and a list of general references.

This volume is devoted to the memory of the Chinese carcinologist Prof. Ruiyu Liu (1922-2012) who dedicated his life to taxonomy, systematics, ecology, zoogeography and aquaculture. His scientific career started in 1949 with his first publications and continued.

A valuable contribution to the on-going discussions on evolution within the Orchid family. Dressler's work delimits several major natural groups and emphasises areas needing further study.

Coelogyne, a large genus of Asiatic orchids, comprising some 190 species and 12 varieties, is widely distributed from India and Sri Lanka across Southern Asia and the Malay archipelago to the Philippines, New Guinea and the south west Pacific Islands. The Genus Coelogyne: A Synopsis provides a comprehensive account that includes ecology, morphology, taxonomy, distribution, descriptions of each species with habitat and flowering time, and molecular phylogeny. This will be of great interest to growers and collectors as the author provides detailed information on cultivation and hybridisation based on his own extensive experience raising these fascinating orchids. Twenty-three maps, 133 colour photographs, and intricate line drawings of the lips of flowers, a critical identification feature, illustrate the text.

A presentation of over 700 popular orchid species in 104 genera carefully detailed with beautiful photographs and concise descriptions of plants, their distribution and habitats by a well-known author and photographer. Each genus is assigned a separate chapter. Coverage of the most commonly cultivated Asian species including their varieties and cultivars (e.g. in Bulbophyllum 72 species; Coelogyne 33 species; Dendrobium 161 species; Paphiopedilum 58 species; Phalaenopsis 60 species; Vanda 44 species) is exhaustive. The orchids are photographed from their best perspective, individual blooms and entire inflorescence: additionally, many species are also shown growing in their natural habitat. Representative hybrids are included to illustrate how some species have contributed to show-worthiness of various genera, their adaptation to a wider climate range, and easy cultivation. This book is a pleasure to view; simultaneously, an easy reference for the identification of orchid species and it provides a guide on how best to grow them. Nowhere else will one find so many popular species beautifully illustrated in a single volume. A must for everyone fascinated by orchids or with a love for nature.

This book updates taxonomy information of orchids in China. China is one of the countries with the richest biodiversity. In China, all five subfamilies of Orchidaceae are represented, about 1600 orchid species in 198 genera. All orchids are rare and endangered plants. They are among the flagships for biological conservation, listed in CITES appendix I or II. This book provided an updated classification system of Orchidaceae with newly recorded and published species in China and new combinations. 1026 species in 157 genera of native species in China are included, about half of which are newly recorded or published species in China in the last two decades. Indexes to genera and species are included. For each species, one to four photos, most of which were taken by the authors, are utilized to illustrate habitats, morphological characters, and phenology. Furthermore, the geographic distribution of them also demonstrated in a map. This book can be used as a reference for researchers working on Orchidaceae, as well as practitioners in the horticulture community.