Product Description

A comprehensive photographic guide to the orchids of Britain and Ireland, covering the 51 species recorded, including all the varieties and sub-species, as well as 9 species of uncertain or doubtful provenance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #116403 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 192 pages

Customer Reviews

A Good Pocket Guide
Overall this book is very good, and is certainly very useful in the field. The only downside is that it seems that quite a few of the photo's are either the same or very similar to Lang's previous guide. Also some of the photo's are a bit poor and a bit fuzzy, i.e Creeping Lady's Tresses. But overall a good guide and good value for money.

The definitive field guide to Britain's orchids
For several years now, WILDGuides have been setting the standard for small, handy field guides that focus mainly on the identification of neglected groups of wildlife. Their approach is characterised by portability, emphasis on visual utility (the use of computer enhanced photographs) and a significant contribution to conservation. The latter is achieved in two ways: firstly by getting these guides into the hands of the public at very competitive prices (WILDGuides is a non-profit publisher) and secondly by donating all profits to conservation organisations that work on the area or organisms treated by each guide.

This book is a comprehensive photographic guide to the wild orchids of Britain and Ireland, covering all subspecies and varieties of the 51 confirmed species, plus 9 of dubious provenance. Its 59 full colour photographic plates with facing text provide the best tool to identify all the region's orchids.

At the heart of the guide are the photographs, which depict each species of orchid in its natural habitats, as well as showing the flowers up close. The informative text deals primarily with identification characteristics and includes a handy section on similar species as well as information on habitat, pollination and conservation. Distribution is shown on a clear annotated map. The text itself is authoritative and makes for fascinating reading. One is struck, above all, by just how many species are of conservation concern.

Two nice features are the ten page "key" to orchid flowers at the beginning of the book, followed by a comparative bar chart indicating flowering periods.

And since WILDGuides is a non-profit organisation that supports conservation throughout the world, you are helping ensure that the wildlife you enjoy today will still be there for others to enjoy tomorrow. In this case, profits from the book go to the The Wildlife Trusts.

In sum, this is THE handy guide to Britain's orchids, an essential addition to the naturalist's library. Highly recommended for naturalists and horticulturalists alike.

Chris Sharpe, 4 November 2009. ISBN-10: 1-903657-06-7

Brilliant Book
If you are interested in British Orchids then there is no better book currently out there than this one. Wonderfull images and information a must for all Orchid enthusiasts.