CYCADS OF AFRICA

Collectors’ Edition: 256 pages, colour frontispiece, maps, numerous colour plates, text illustrations and distribution maps, bound by Peter Carstens in half green morocco with marbled paper sides, contained in a cream buckram marbled paper slip slipcase with leather lips, a very good copy.

‘Cycads of Africa is the most complete reference work on the genus Encephalartos and includes all 50 known species of this distinctively African group as well as the sole living representative of the genus Stangeria. It also includes a single species of Cycas - endemic to Madagascar but introduced to East Africa by Arab traders some centuries ago. Each species account is accompanied by three full-page colour plates, showing the plant in its natural habitat, details of leaf and cone-scale structure, and the diagnostic features of the male and female cones. The comprehensive and up-to-date text focuses on cycads in the wild - not on horticultural specimen plants - and emphasises the desirability of conserving them in their natural environment. There are clear and concise descriptions of each species' habit and habitat, its stems, leaves, cones and seeds, together with an account of its geographical distribution, its conservation status and its susceptibility to damage by fire, mammals, insects and plant-collectors. Two distribution maps accompany each species account......Douglas Goode has successfully captured the form, textures and colours of each cycad in a way that will delight all cycad enthusiasts, particularly in the case of those groups of closely related species whose members can appear identical at first sight. This book takes you to all the habitats where these wonderful plants grow, and where, sadly, some may already have become extinct in the wild’. Editor's notes from the original publisher's subscription brochure.

Collectors’ Edition: This is volume 75 of the Collectors’ Edition which is limited to 100 copies. Signed by the author.