Carnivorous Plants (Paperback)

~ (Author), Jane Gate (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Adrian Slack's book, Carnivorous Plants, is the best general survey book for a popular audience published to date. The author writes with clarity and an engaging style and successfully presents many interesting details without overwhelming the lay reader. The book contains a detailed section on cultivation, a list of sources, and a helpful glossary. It is written in nontechnical language, insofar as possible, but the professional botanist and horticulturist will also benefit from it."
- Donald E. Schnell, Horticulture



"Adrian Slack, a landscape architect... owns one of the world's largest collections of carnivorous plants... Exquisite photographs by Jane Gate supplement the fascinating details of Mr. Slack's text, which includes a section on how to grow carnivorous plants."
- Jane E. Brody, The New York Times





"This book has the most beautiful illustrations of carnivorous plants that I have ever seen."
- Carroll E. Wood, Jr., Curator and Professor of Biology, The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

"This book has the most beautiful illustrations of carnivorous plants that I have ever seen." -- Carroll E. Wood, Jr., Curator and Professor of Biology, The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

Plants that catch and feed upon animals exert a strange fascination of their own. The mobile tentacles of the Sundews, the snapping lobes of the Venus Fly Trap and the slippery, baited pitfalls of the Pitcher Plants provide the stuff of which science fiction is made. Yet far from being fantasy, these extraordinary organisms are fact, and this book explores in depth the astonishingly subtle manner in which each type of trap entices, catches, and digests its prey.

The author focuses on some fifty species, using photographs, line drawings, and diagrams to illustrate their peculiarities. He takes us from his own climate to the mountains of Borneo, through the bushlands of Australia, to the swamps of the Amazon Forest. We find plants whose traps catch only microscopic animals, and others that may trap small reptiles, mammals and even birds.

In addition to its spectacular photographs, other important features are the book's world-wide coverage of carnivorous plants (the first since 1942) and its comprehensive chapters on cultivation of the various groups. It will appeal to botanists and zoologists and to the numerous enthusiasts who will find a good many of these intriguing plants easy to grow indoors. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Marston House (December 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1899296131
• ISBN-13: 978-1899296132
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,180,365 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for the collector, but probably not for a beginner, May 19, 2003

By	J. Green (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carnivorous Plants (Paperback)

This book takes a look at the various types and species of carnivorous plants. It is not an all-encompasing field guide and doesn't try to list every known species, but is a good introduction to carnivorous plants and the methods they use to trap prey and some of the more common species in cultivation at the time.

Practical growing advice is at a minimum - for that it's better to see the author's later work Insect-eating Plants and How to Grow Them (recently reprinted as Insect Eaters), or a more recent book such as D'Amato's The Savage Garden. As I understand it, this was the first serious book devoted specifically to the study of carnivorous plants since the 1940's. As such it is probably more suitable to the collector of carnivorous plants (and books about them) than someone who is trying to grow them.

But still, I've heard Slack called the "Father" of modern carnivorous plant cultivation, and his books deserve respect for that alone. The photos in the book are superb, although there are few, and most are B&W.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best, May 1, 2001

By	T. H. Wyman (Stone Mountian, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Carnivorous Plants (Paperback)

This book is one of the best books on carnivorous plants (CP). Slack writes in an easy fluid style that reads well, although occasionally his British terminology can confuse the reader. The book covers a wide variety of species and techniques for growing each of them. My only major complaint (and my reason for giving it only 4 stars) is the small number of colored pictures. These plants are some of the most beautiful plants on earth but it is hard to grasp their beauty from line drawings. Slack's second book (Insect-Eating Plants and How to Grow Them) and D'Amato's book (The Savage Garden) do better in this regard. I would recommend this book both to the beginner and experienced CP grower for its wealth of useful information.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and comprehensive, great photos, May 12, 2001

By	Brandon Einhorn (Millburn, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Carnivorous Plants (Paperback)

The book is outstanding. It covers most types of carnivorous plants, and has many excelent color photos. It has a section on how to grow & care for each type of plant. From pot size, soil, light, humidity, fertilizers, growing period and more.

A minor negative - some additional information would have been useful. I wish it had a little more information on the optimal pot size for the plants, some have this info, some don't. And don't expect it to have every complex Sarracenia Hybrid covered, although it does have a lot of them.

Ive read many (most?) books on CPs published in the last 50-60 years, and this one covers more, provides more info, and has better pictures. This deserves 5 stars, unlike the typically inflated rating. I use it to research any plants I consider buying. If you're interested in CPs this book would be worth buying. It's a steal at its current price. ... .