The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens

Illustrated Dictionary of Orchid Genera
by Peggy Alrich and Wesley Higgins
edited by Bruce Hansen, Robert L. Dressler, Tom Sheehan and John Atwood
foreword by Peter H. Raven

This authoritative volume is the most comprehensive and extensively illustrated account of orchid genera to date. Its concise entries provide details of nomenclature, classification, original publication, etymology, and geographic range, along with a brief description and color images of representative flowers.

This dictionary describes not only all of the 850 orchid genera that are recognized today but also those genera known only from fossil records, published before Linnaeus, validly published (but not accepted), and invalidly published according to the standards of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, as well as those that have variants names of spellings. In addition to the alphabetic entries, this dictionary includes an introduction to orchid biology, a glossary, a list of taxonomists credited with publishing new orchid genera, and the governing nomenclature rules.

"The hundred of orchid genera and thousands of species can seem unbelievably complex, but they are beautiful, mysterious, and alluring. Therefore we want reliable ways in which to refer to them—ways that will be understood by those who hear us or read our written communications about these plants. The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens Illustrated Dictionary of Orchid Genera will become a convenient reference for those many people who are fascinated by orchids."—from the Foreword by Peter H. Raven

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