The Dendrobiums [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Howard Page Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0881926868 | ISBN-13: 978-0881926866

At long last, here is a complete and exhaustive account of the genus Dendrobium. Among the most prized and popularly cultivated orchids, dendrobiums delight gardeners and orchid lovers alike with the sheer beauty of their delicate flowers and slender form. Now, those interested in learning all there is to know about this enchanting genus have the book they have always wanted. With descriptions of 650 species in the genus, including habits and flowering biology, a guide to species identification and culture, a historical review of the genus, a survey of Dendrobium evolution and distribution, more than 600 color photos, and a bibliography with more than 900 entries, this is the ultimate resource on the genus.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Orchid enthusiasts finally have the ultimate resource on Dendrobium. This exhaustive account includes descriptions of the approximately 450 species in the genus including habits and flowering biology, a bibliography with over 1000 entries, and more than 600 color photos of this beloved and popular orchid.

From the Publisher

This exhaustive account includes descriptions of the approximately 450 species in the genus including habits and flowering biology, a bibliography with over 1000 entries, and more than 600 color photos of this beloved and popular orchid.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 996 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (July 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881926868
• ISBN-13: 978-0881926866
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.8 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,285,571 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Both Too Much and Too Little, September 19, 2006

By 

Theodore Foin (Davis, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Dendrobiums (Hardcover)

Howard Wood's The Dendrobiums is a massive volume, numbering xxiii+ 847 pp. + 117 pp of photographs - approximately 1000 pp. at the hefty retail price of $150 USD. This volume covers quite a range of topics and certainly is the most comprehensive available volume on the tribe Dendrobieae. Unfortunately, I do not think the volume to be worth the price, even at the substantial discounts at which it is presently available. In brief, the numerous typographic (including type setting) errors are very distracting and speak for a need for a careful and thorough edit. More importantly, I found this volume to be based too frequently on personal opinion and conjecture, without adequate development of his opinions and conclusions. For example, the author says he is not trying to make taxonomic changes, while in places he makes them, usually with little explanation. The sections on numerical taxonomy and DNA analysis are particularly incomplete, leaning heavily upon Yukawa's research, and in general the writing on the evolution and ecology of the tribe is not very insightful. Figures appear without adequate captions or explanation. The sections on plant and flower anatomy and the regional/country floras are useful, and the regional floras are available nowhere else except in a comprehensive university or museum library. Citations and references are fully given in the extensive bibliography. The photographs are mostly from Wood's own collection, as are the cultural notes. For the amateur grower, the cultural notes are likely to be less than helpful, since by Wood's own admission they are based upon his experience only - and all rather discouraging, since he found so many species to be unsustainable in cultivation. In brief, the major flaw of this volume is its comprehensiveness. There is something for everyone, but not enough detail to satisfy virtually anyone. Wood's work is a step in the right direction, but given his note concerning how much work is needed, points to how far we have to go to get something better. On balance, as a grower I found the photos of species not to be found anywhere else to be the most useful element in this volume; as a scientist, I found the citations and references to be most useful. However, the combination as it is represented in this book is not very satisfactory. I find the two volumes by Baker and Baker and Lavarack et al., combined with Jay Pfahl's species encyclopedia on the internet, to constitute a more useful set of resources for this subject than The Dendrobiums.

10 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Dendrobiums, August 26, 2006

By 

Antonia Baylis "Book worm" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dendrobiums (Hardcover)

A very good book for the serious student of the subject.

For the dendrobium grower of an advanced status the "notes on the species" is rather thin, i.e. that section could have been enlarged.To fill some gaps, perhaps just a simplified list of species with name,origin and C, Int. or W might have helped. But in conjunction with other literature on dendrobiums, it is a great font of knowledge.

Thanks.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Killed too many trees to print this book!, March 4, 2008

By 

A. Castillo (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dendrobiums (Hardcover)

The book is about three inches thick! Why? Because the type are way too big. You can read the text three feet away. If this book were to be lay-out in half the font size as in a typical book. This book would have been about an inch thick or less. It is way too pricey and not enough photos, amateurishly illustrations. Leave the trees where they are so the Dendrobiums can grow-on.