Wild Orchids


Book Description

Have you ever lost someone who meant more to you than your own soul? Ford Newcombe has. For years he loved his wife, Pat, more than anyone -- and anything -- in the world. She came into his life when he was just an inexperienced college student with big dreams of becoming a published author. With love and humour, she guided him down the path that would eventually lead him to more success than he ever dreamed possible. Since Pat's death six years ago, Ford has lived a life of solitude, barely able to put pen to paper, and rumours are flying that it was Pat who actually created the books the world so loved. If there's one thing that Ford needs it's inspiration, and it finally comes in the guise of Jackie Maxwell -- a smart, sassy university researcher with just enough attitude to match Ford's sharp intellect. But it's her intimate knowledge of the story of a young woman's friendship with the devil -- and what the townspeople did to her -- that persuades Ford to hire Jackie as his assistant and to move to Cole Creek, North Carolina, where the story is said to have taken place. They soon learn that even though the inhabitants of Cole Creek try to deny it, they are still plagued by the consequences of the otherworldly tale of passion and death. As Ford and Jackie work to unravel the truth, they discover a connection between their lives and the past, a connection that not only helps them solve a long-ago crime but offers the promise of new love.




Wild Orchids


Book Description

A blistering romantic suspense novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Pursuit. Far from her sensible life as an English teacher in Kansas, Lora looks forward to a relaxing vacation in Cancun. But fate thwarts her careful plans when a darkly handsome American named Max jumps into her car with a loaded gun.




Wild Orchids Across North America


Book Description

The author has driven more than 100,000 miles and walked several hundred more in pursuit of orchids in their native habits. This is an account of his trips in Canada and throughout the U.S.




Wild Orchids of Florida


Book Description

First published in 2002, Wild Orchids of Florida was the very first field guide for this orchid-rich state, and it inspired many to try their hand at orchid hunting. Because of its overwhelming popularity and in an attempt to provide the latest developments in orchid research, native orchid expert Paul Martin Brown follows up with this newly revised and expanded edition. The guide contains 200 new points of fact, including: · more than 100 new county records established since 2002 · three recently rediscovered species that have not been seen in 100 years · two previously undocumented species, six new hybrids, and several new color forms described and illustrated for the first time · the resurrection and revalidation of the little-used genus of Gymnadeniopsis · 34 revised county distribution maps, 37 new color photos, and three new watercolors by Stan Folsom With its comprehensive yet easy-to-follow treatment, Wild Orchids of Florida remains the essential field companion for professional botanists, native plant enthusiasts, nature lovers, or anyone who wants to learn more about what's growing out in the wilds of Florida.




Wild Orchid


Book Description

"Once upon a Time" Is Timeless Wielding a sword as deftly as an embroidery needle, Mulan is unlike any other girl in China. When the emperor summons a great army, each family must send a male to fight. Tomboyish Mulan is determined to spare her aging father and bring her family honor, so she disguises herself and answers the call. But Mulan never expects to find a friend, let alone a soul mate, in the commander of her division, Prince Jian. For all of Mulan's courage with a bow and arrow, is she brave enough to share her true identity and feelings with Prince Jian?




The Wild Orchid


Book Description




The Wild Orchids of Arizona and New Mexico


Book Description

Coleman (U. of Arizona) discusses all 35 species of wild orchids currently found in or historically occurring in Arizona and New Mexico. Each species is discussed in terms of flowering season, habitat, elevation range, companion plants, current and historical distribution, and conservation issues. Genus and species keys are included. Each species is illustrated with a line drawing and multiple color photographs all located in the front of the volume. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.




Deceptive Beauties


Book Description

Confucius called them the “king of fragrant plants,” and John Ruskin condemned them as “prurient apparitions.” Across the centuries, orchids have captivated us with their elaborate exoticism, their powerful perfumes, and their sublime seductiveness. But the disquieting beauty of orchids is an unplanned marvel of evolution, and the story of orchids is as captivating as any novel. As acclaimed writer Michael Pollan and National Geographic photographer Christian Ziegler spin tales of orchid conquest in Deceptive Beauties: The World of Wild Orchids, we learn how these flowers can survive and thrive in the harshest of environments, from tropical cloud forests to the Arctic, from semi-deserts to rocky mountainsides; how their shapes, colors, and scents are, as Darwin put it, “beautiful contrivances” meant to dupe pollinating male insects in the strangest ways. What other flowers, after all, can mimic the pheromones and even appearance of female insects, so much so that some male bees prefer sex with the orchids over sex with their own kind? And insects aren’t the only ones to fall for the orchids’ charms. Since the “orchidelirium” of the Victorian era, humans have braved the wilds to search them out and devoted copious amounts of time and money propagating and hybridizing, nurturing and simply gazing at them. This astonishing book features over 150 unprecedented color photographs taken by Christian Ziegler himself as he trekked through wilderness on five continents to capture the diversity and magnificence of orchids in their natural habitats. His intimate and astonishing images allow us to appreciate up close nature’s most intoxicating and deceptive beauties.




The Orchid Thief


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower—the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii—a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean—and the reader—will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion. In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Reader’s Circle for author chats and more. Praise for The Orchid Thief “Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.”—The New York Times Book Review “Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.”—Los Angeles Times “Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.”—The Washington Post Book World “Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.”—Boston Sunday Globe “A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.”—The Wall Street Journal




The Native Orchids of Florida


Book Description

"In the year 1957, my wife and I were fascinated when we saw a flower of Polyrrhiza lindenii. We were greatly impressed when we learned that this amazing leafless orchid, the flower of which resembles the ghoulish ghost of a frog leaping in mid-air, was a native of our own state of Florida. We became excited over plans to find one, which we accomplished without too much trouble except for getting our feet wet. The fun we had in finding this species and the photographs we took home as lasting trophies led us from one orchid to another. This was only the beginning of a hobby which was soon to develop into a gigantic effort to find and photograph every species of orchid known to have occurred naturally in Florida, and eventually to publish this book. As years wore on, horizons widened. A second volume on the native orchids of the United States and Canada, exclusive of those species found only in the southeasternmost states contained in this volume, will follow. Many monographs on local orchid flora have appeared throughout the years. The present work has been designed first of all for orchidophiles like ourselves, be they amateur or professional. With the treatises of Morris and Eames and of Correll as basic guides, each genus is described as a separate chapter. Since the recognition of a plant by a technical description and line drawings may be difficult, especially for an amateur, a series of photographs in color has been assembled, which will provide the reader with a greater feeling of familiarity with each species, something we have always wanted to see ourselves. With very few exceptions each species has been pictured in its native habitat. Close-up portraits of individual flowers and such interesting features as roots, fruit, and unusual variations have been included."--