Passion Flowers [Paperback]

John Vanderplank (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262720353 | ISBN-13: 978-0262720359 | Publication Date: August 21, 2000 | Edition: 3

"Lost flower of the Andes is blooming in Britain." This headline in the Daily Telegraph celebrated the last remaining example of Passiflora lourdesae, a Venezuelan herbaceous climber that was raised from a cutting by John Vanderplank—the only successful attempt from a dozen cuttings sent to botanists around the world. The story of this dramatic recovery from extinction is just one of the delights of Passion Flowers. The book documents more than 150 species, with more than 120 of them illustrated in color.

This edition has been updated throughout.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the first edition
"Whatever your level of interest or curiosity, Vanderplank has provided the information for further exploration. . . . Passion Flowers is the most comprehensive work on the subject in more than fifty years."
—Steven Foster, American Horticulturist

About the Author

John Vanderplank is Keeper of the U.K. National Collection of Passiflora and a commercial nurseryman dedicated to the production of passion flower hybrids with a long flower life. He keeps a permanent exhibition at Greenholm Nurseries Garden Centre, Congresbury, Avon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 3 edition (August 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262720353
• ISBN-13: 978-0262720359
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,748,152 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars covers all species and give full details : encyclopedic info, June 25, 1999

By 

Cedric Magnin (Silicon Valley, CA (USA)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passion Flowers (Hardcover)

This book is the best about the passiflora : it gives all informations about all species, how to grow the plant and the passion fruits. It also gives historical info and economical : where to find passiflora in the world. The author is the world recognised expert about the subject making this book the most advanced in the knowledge of the passion flower (passiflora) and the passion fruit.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent source of plant identification, August 19, 2005

By 

R. F. Benson (Toms River, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Passion Flowers (Paperback)

Passiflora growers who find the tags affixed by nurseries and discount stores to be either sadly lacking in information -- or just plain wrong -- will want this book on their shelves. Its photographs, taxonomy data, history, and cultural information -- all coupled with its reader-friendly presentation -- make this a must-buy for the enthusiast.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely photos and good information, if incomplete, March 23, 2009

By 

Cody Hinchliff (Pullman, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Passion Flowers (Paperback)

This is a beautiful book with many impressive photographs of wild and cultivated Passiflora species, written by one of the foremost Passiflora botanists alive. Unfortunately it is rather incomplete, and only contains descriptions for a fraction of the species in the genus. However, this drawback does not detract from the appeal of the book, which seems mostly geared toward horticultural enthusiasts and botanists looking for quick desk reference "field guide" type identification help. The species that are contained in the book are described in depth, with notes on natural history and much information on cultivation. The book should be a great help identifying almost all commonly cultivated Passiflora. And of course, the photos are stunning and extremely helpful for characterizing the species. Definitely a book that any Passiflora botanists or enthusiasts would appreciate and use.

Also worth noting is that since the publication of this book, numerous new species of Passiflora have been described (some by the Vanderplank himself, such as P. miniata), some of which are in conflict with the species descriptions in this book. It is worth performing a Google Scholar search on any given species to be sure and turn up the most recent taxonomic literature before conclusively settling on an identification made using this book.