THE CAPE ORCHIDS ( Vol 1 & 2) Signed by both authors

1048 pp. 2000 colour photographs and paintings.

Both volumes signed by William Liltved and Steven Johnsson.

Hard cover books with dust jackets encased in a pictorial slip case. The condition of the books and slip case are all excellent, almost mint. 

Please note that this is a heavy book, weighing over 6kg.

The book is endorsed by the Botanical Society of South Africa.

Over a century since the appearance of Dr Harry Bolus's magnificent account of the Orchids of the Cape Peninsula (Darter Bros & Co., Cape Town. First edition 1888; second edition 1918) and the first volumes of his seminal and beautifully illustrated series of three volumes on the Orchids of South Africa (William Wesley & Son, London. 1896, 1911, 1913), it is a pleasure to welcome a worthy successor. William Litved and Steven Johnson's long-awaited The Cape Orchids, a regional monograph in two volumes, was published at last in August, 2012. It is an authoritative and comprehensive overview of the 241 orchid species, both terrestrial and epiphytic, of the 24 genera native to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, one of the world's biodiversity hot-spots, a region that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is a magnificent two-volume set which covers every aspect of the Cape orchid flora in a depth that I have not seen in other similar works anywhere.

    As befits a modern account of an endangered flora, great emphasis is placed upon the systematics, biology, ecology and conservation of these beautiful plants. This account comes at an opportune time for global conservation awareness. Habitat destruction has severely reduced populations of many orchid species, none more so than those of the Cape, which anyway has more species of limited distribution than anywhere else. Somewhat pessimistically, but perhaps realistically, the publishers note that these volumes could offer a 'final look' at a number of highly endangered or virtually extinct species. Orchids are one of the most treasured elements of the Cape flora and this book is a fitting tribute to their magnificence.

    Many Cape orchids are fire-dependent and may remain dormant for long periods, thus some spectacular species are rarely seen in flower. Significant aspects of their natural history, biology and distribution have thus, until recently, remained poorly documented. The Cape Orchids fills many of the gaps in our knowledge, scarcely surprising given the expertise of the authors who have spent over 20 years studying Cape orchids in the field and laboratory. Indeed, Steve Johnson is one of the leading pollination biologists of his generation and provides a deep insight into the complex pollination syndromes adopted by many of the species....

Review by Phillip Cribb, Curtis's Botanical Magazine Vol. 29, No. 4 (December 2012), pp. 367-369

https://www.jstor.org/stable/45066228