United States
£ GBP
Language: English
From the preface:
"Orchids, the plant group with awesome flowers, exhibit an incredible range of diversity in size, shape and colour of their flowers. Taxonomically, they represent the advanced family with 600-800 genera and 25 000 – 35 000 species. Nowadays so many books are available on the cultivated varieties and orchid care. Still, the wild species are unknown to most. As a mega biodiversity hotspot, the Western Ghats harbours some 310 species of orchids, 40% of which are endemic to these peninsular highlands. A total of 246 species, three sub species and four varieties belonging to 79 genera of orchids are recorded in Kerala. The floristic study of Wayanad district carried out by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation revealed the richness and diversity of orchids of this area, and in the order of dominance the orchid family ranks first with 173 species and one sub species, most of them have showy and beautiful flowers and ornamental potential. Dominant genera of orchids of the district are Oberonia with 18 species followed by Dendrobrum with 14 species. Another remarkable characteristic is the presence of a number of endemic orchid species in the district. Among the 142 endemic orchids of Peninsular India, 76 species are found in the district, which include 57 epiphytes and 19 terrestrial species. Seventeen species have been categorized as Rare, Endangered and Threatened. The book groups the plants by genera, and most of the species are described with colour photographs. More than a scientific publication, the authors intended this publication as a pictorial field guide."
