Book Description

South Africa's floral heritage, one of the richest in the world, continues to capture the excited attention of botanists and laymen. Like the land itself, its flora provides an abundance of contrasts, from the bashful disa to the proudly beautiful strelitzia, the majestic giant protea and the wealth of ericas which share its rocky kingdom, the blazing carpets of daisies of Namaqualand, to the burnished spears of an aloe-covered hillside. The first chapter introduces the reader to the wonders of our floral kingdom while brief captions identify each flower and indicate when and where it is likely to be seen. Essentially all the more decorative families of flowering plants have been covered. Plates are grouped according to families and a brief commentary introduces each family. Scientific names are used throughout with common names being given where these are accepted, as well as anecdotes relating to utilitarian, medicinal or horticultural uses. The guide concludes with a useful bibliography of illustrated publications on South African wild flowers, providing guidelines for further reading, and a index.