First Edition: 2423 pages, colour photograph as frontispiece, 20 colour plates, numerous black & white photographs, line drawings and distribution maps and maps as endpapers, mustard cloth gilt, a very good copy in the dust jacket signed by the author on the title page.
Editor's note: 'The Stapelieae comprise a vast complex of forms, colours and specialized floral structures. Ceropegias and Brachystelmas are fore-runners of the Stapelieae in the tree of plant evolution and one detects numerous similarities between the groups concerned. The variety of form is so great that the reader may be inclined to say that seeing is believing.
‘The present book is a valuable contribution to botanical science. It abounds in original observations which lead the reader to accounts of both ancient and modern discoveries. The author states that his object has been to present the information largely in a pictorial manner with the emphasis on illustrations, black and white and in colour.
‘Nearly all species are illustrated, thus with the text and keys it should be possible to identify species with confidence.
‘The author has enlisted the assistance of colleagues and other workers who have wide field experience and have given generously of their knowledge. Auriol Batten has contributed a number of beautifully executed paintings which give distinction to the volume at first sight.’
- Overall Condition: Very good
- Size: 8vo (255 x 175 mm)
