Fragrant Orchids


Book Description

With some 20,000 fragrant orchids available today, orchid lovers of all levels will delight in this unique approach to selecting new and exciting varieties of fragrant orchids. Profiles of more than 100 orchids and 355 varieties include cultivation information and detailed notes on each fragrance. This first-ever guide will help gardeners choose, grow, and showcase orchids with the right look and most enjoyable scents.




The Scent of Scandal


Book Description

2012 Florida Book Awards, Silver Medal for Florida Non-Fiction "FANTASTIC. If I did not know most of the main players I would have thought the author had a vivid and twisted imagination."--Paul Martin Brown, author of Wild Orchids of Florida "A fascinating true story of obsession, greed, and lust for the unobtainable. Reminds me a great deal of The Maltese Falcon. This rare flower is definitely the stuff that dreams are made of."--Ace Atkins, author of Devil's Garden and Infamous "Pittman has captured the extreme competition, unique characters, and general insanity that often typify the orchid world. The Scent of Scandal exemplifies how passion and profit can overrule common sense and the law."--Scott Steward, former associate editor, North American Native Orchid Journal After its Peruvian discovery in 2002, Phragmipedium kovachii became the rarest and most sought-after orchid in the world. Prices soared to $10,000 on the black market. Then one showed up at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, where every year more than 100,000 people visit. They come for the lush landscape on Sarasota Bay and for Selby's vast orchid collection, one of the most magnificent in the world. The collision between Selby's scientists and the smugglers of Phrag. Kovachii, a rare ladyslipper orchid hailed as the most significant and beautiful new species discovered in a century, led to search warrants, a grand jury investigation, and criminal charges. It made headlines around the country, cost the gardens hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations, and led to tremendous internal turmoil. Investigative journalist Craig Pittman unravels this tangled web to shine a spotlight on flaws in the international treaties governing trade in endangered wildlife--which may protect individual plants and animals in shipping but do little to halt the destruction of whole colonies in the wild. The Scent of Scandal unspools like a riveting mystery novel, stranger than anything in Susan Orlean's The Orchid Thief or the film Adaptation. Pittman shows how some people can become so obsessed--with beauty, with profit, with fame--that they will ignore everything, even the law.




The Book of Orchids


Book Description

One of every seven flowering plants on earth is an orchid. Some are stunningly over the top; others almost inconspicuous. The Orchidaceae is the second most widely geographically distributed family, after the grasses, yet remains one of the least understood. This book will profile 600 species, representing the remarkable and unexpected diversity and complexity in the taxonomy and phylogeny of these beguiling plants, and the extraordinary means they have evolved in order to ensure the attraction of pollinators. Each species entry includes life-size photographs to capture botanical detail, as well as information on distribution, peak flowering period, and unique attributes--both natural and cultural. The result is a work which will attract and allure, much as the orchids themselves do.




Orchid


Book Description

The prize-winning history of the orchid: “an engaging and enlightening account of one of the Earth's most mythologized botanical wonders” (Richard Conniff, author of House of Lost Worlds). At once delicate, exotic, and elegant, orchids are beloved for their singular, instantly recognizable beauty. Found in nearly every climate, the many species of orchid have had varying forms of significance in countless cultures over time. Following the orchid’s journey from Ancient Greek medicine to twentieth century detective novels, science historian Jim Endersby explores the flower’s four recurring themes: science, empire, sex, and death. Orchids were a symbol of the exotic riches sought by 19th century Europeans in their plans for colonization. They became subjects of scientific scrutiny for Charles Darwin, who investigated their methods of cross-pollination. As Endersby shows, orchids—perhaps because of their extraordinarily diverse colors, shapes, and sizes—have also bloomed repeatedly in films, novels, plays, and poems, from Shakespeare to science fiction. Featuring many gorgeous illustrations from the collection of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Orchid: A Cultural History was awarded the Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize by the History of Science Society. It is an enchanting tale not only for gardeners and plant collectors, but anyone curious about the flower’s obsessive hold on the imagination in history, cinema, literature, and more.




The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2021


Book Description

New York Times best-selling author and renowned science journalist Ed Yong compiles the best science and nature writing published in 2020. "The stories I have chosen reflect where I feel the field of science and nature writing has landed, and where it could go," Ed Yong writes in his introduction. "They are often full of tragedy, sometimes laced with wonder, but always deeply aware that science does not exist in a social vacuum. They are beautiful, whether in their clarity of ideas, the elegance of their prose, or often both." The essays in this year's Best American Science and Nature Writing brought clarity to the complexity and bewilderment of 2020 and delivered us necessary information during a global pandemic. From an in-depth look at the moment of the virus's outbreak, to a harrowing personal account of lingering Covid symptoms, to a thoughtful analysis on how the pandemic will impact the environment, these essays, as Yong says, "synthesize, evaluate, dig, unveil, and challenge," imbuing a pivotal moment in history with lucidity and elegance. THE BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE AND NATURE WRITING 2021 INCLUDES - SUSAN ORLEAN - EMILY RABOTEAU - ZEYNEP TUFEKCI - HELEN OUYANG - HEATHER HOGAN BROOKE JARVIS - SARAH ZHANG and others




Murphy's Law/the Scent of Orchids


Book Description

Murphy's Law: Murphy McKenna managed to get herself stuck in an unexpected, Maine blizzard, in a remote cabin with dead phones, and impassable roads. Could there be a worse time for a wounded man to show up on her doorstep? Not only is Garrett hurt, he's also apparently been out wandering in the storm with a duffel bag stuffed with money, antique jewelry, and a gun. Will Murphy's conscience allow her to turn her back on the handsome stranger who may be a thief, a bank robber, or worse ...? The Scent of Orchids:Elissa Martin arrives in Hawaii to save her cousin from Adam Wolcot. She's unprepared for the effect the man has on her, and decides the months of self-imposed exile on her Missouri farm, following her parents deaths and a failed love life have taken their toll on her mental state. The more she gets to know him, the more she convinces herself that any danger he represents to Lyla is just a figment of her imagination. Can Elissa overcome her distrust of men, and of Adam, enough to fall in love with him?




The Scent of Orchids


Book Description

The aim of this book, the first of its kind, is to convey an impression of this enormous variety in scent and visual appearance of orchid flowers. The interdisciplinary concept of the beautifully illustrated book (over 170 colour photographs) should guarantee that a broad spectrum of readers will find this publication appealing: people engaged in the fragrance field, professional scientists, naturalists as well as hobbyists. "This book takes the reader into the scented world of orchids...... (It) contains an introduction to the world of orchids, a description of the orchids found on five continents and the chemistry of their aromas. (One of the unique features of this publication) is the way it has bridged the gap between the scientist and the lay person. The book is filled with beautiful color prints of more than 170 orchids, so that the variation and exotic nature of many orchids are readily understood. To not overburden the lay reader with the detailed chemical composition of each of the aromas of the 165 orchid species examined, the author has cleverly placed the data in an appendix. This makes the book easier to read without comprising the scientific contribution of the author's work. Finally, here is a book of excellent value which will become the reference text on orchid aromas." Brian M. Lawrence Editor-in-Chief "Journal of Essential Oil Research"




Moth Orchids


Book Description

With their refined beauty and elegant flower form, moth orchids (members of the genus Phalaenopsis are the basic black of the orchid world. In fact, moth orchids are the most popular orchids in the world, accounting for a staggering 75 percent of all orchid plant sales. More than merely beautiful, they are also among the easiest orchids to grow, whether in greenhouses, on windowsills, or under artificial lights. Professional horticulturalist and orchid expert Steven A. Frowine, author of Miniature Orchids, focuses on the new orchid stars while also providing a detailed look at the classic hybrids and species. Readers will be enticed by the book's lavish color photographs and gratified by the wealth of practical advice on selecting and buying moth orchids. Most importantly, Frowine shares his secrets on how these glorious plants can be grown to perfection, with recommendations about light levels, potting media, watering, and feeding.




The Classic Cattleyas


Book Description

Cattleyas, first introduced in 1818, are the flowers whose form and color defined the essence of tropical orchids for generations to come. This helpful and informative book describes each classic Cattleya species in fascinating detail and includes all that is required to appreciate and grow cattleyas successfully.




Scent of the Vanishing Flora


Book Description

Inspired by Dougal Stermer's book 'Vanishing Flora', Roman Kaiser worked for more than ten years on collecting the scent of 267 endangered plant species worldwide. In the present volume, he invites us to a journey along the hotspots of biodiversity, all of them bearing endangered species, and discusses their scents. This compilation renders the book an important contribution to the UN International Year of Biodiversity.