Skip to main content

Distributed for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Field Guide to the Orchids of Madagascar

Madagascar is a world hot-spot for orchids. The largest family of flowering plants on the island, almost 1000 species make up some 10% of Madagascar’s flora; 90% of them are endemic. They occur in almost every habitat, from coastal and montane forests to cold mountain tops and dry spiny forest. This field guide, the first of its kind for Madagascan orchids, will enable you to identify these showy, and often spectacular plants.

456 pages | 750 colour photographs | 6.14 x 9.21 | © 2009

Biological Sciences: Botany


Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew image

View all books from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
How to use this field guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What is an orchid? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Major orchid habitats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Conservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Keys to the genera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Generic and species accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Photography and further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439
Local names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press