Genera Orchidacearum, Volume 2: Orchidoideae (Part 1) by PRIDGEON, ALEC M.; CRIBB, PHILLIP J.; CHASE, MARK W.; RASMUSSEN, FINN N - 2012

Oxford University Press, 2001. Illustrated with line drawings and distribution maps throughout and 24 plates of colour photographs, quarto, pp xx, 416, very clean internally, black cloth, two corners with a very minor bruise, the dustwrapper has only very slight signs of use, with a very faint crease on the upper cover. [Orchidaceae are the largest monocot family and likely the largest plant family in terms of number of species (ca. 20,000), but for a variety of reasons it remains one of the least understood: lack of a fossil record, relative scarcity of active research until recent years, size and geographical distribution of the family, and the largely tropical distribution of most, which hinders access. The early classifications and generic circumscriptions of Lindley (1830-1840), Bentham and Hooker (1883) and Schlechter (1927) relied mainly on morphological characters, especially floral features. The problem with such reliance on floral features at higher levels of classification is that floral… Read More

Oxford University Press, 2001-04-12. Hardcover. New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title!