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Despite its small geographical area, Portugal's Algarve region is home to at least 1 500 native wildflower species including more than 30 wild orchids. For tourists and residents alike these are major attractions of the very varied Algarve countryside.
For newcomers in particular, wild orchids can be hard to find and even harder to identify. Wild Orchids of the Algarve solves these problems, providing easy-to-follow introductions to the biology and habitats of orchids, and explaining in non-scientific language why the Algarve is such a special place.
More than 200 colour photographs of the orchids, both in their natural settings and as stunning close-up pictures of their flowers, ensure that readers will be able to identify the orchids they find on countryside rambles
Naturalist Sue Parker’s fascination with orchids stems from her childhood in the Far East. The colourful wildflowers growing over her garden fence in Singapore were the kind of exotic orchids that many people in Europe now have in pots on windowsills. The search for wild orchids has taken Sue to many countries; but, as she says, there is a special satisfaction in finding and identifying beautiful orchids close to home – and for the past 16 years Sue’s home in Carvoiero has been a base for studying the Algarve’s wonderful wildflowers and, in particular, its wild orchids. (Sue also has a home in Wales, which serves as her main ‘writing’ base.)
An active conservationist, Sue is the author of 12 books and several dozen articles on wildlife and countryside topics; she is well known in the Algarve for her column on Sustainable Living, which is published monthly in the Algarve Resident newspaper. Sue’s introductory guide Wild Orchids in the Algarve has been one of the Algarve’s bestsellers since it was published in 2009. This new book, covering many more species and providing a wealth of additional information on top orchid sites, walks and much more, is surely destined to become an essential handbook for Algarve residents and visitors alike. Sue produced and maintains the Algarve Wildlife website whose pages are visited nearly 200 000 times a year.
Sue Parker's other books include Wild Orchids in Wales and Wild Orchids in The Burren (the latter being co-authored with her husband Pat O'Reilly).
"A comprehensive guide to the orchids specific to the Algarve with notes on occurrence and identification. The photographic material is excellent – people will undoubtedly be able to identify the orchids they find using this book."
- Dr. Finn Rasmussen
"A great achievement"
– Dr. Chris Thorogood, author of Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Algarve
"Congratulations on your marvellous and complete book about Algarve Orchids."
- Américo Pereira, Orquideas Soltas
