Key summary
Thank you to NetGalley for a temporary ebook. This is a great little book about one of the largest plant families. The introduction provides a good foundation about orchids and is followed by profiles of 75 species. There is a nice range of species, including some which are considered especially beautiful and others which are cultivated for food (e.g. vanilla). Written in an accessible and engaging style, this is a lovely book for anyone interested in orchids in particular or nature in general.

My Thoughts
The introduction provides a good overview and covers topics including: what orchids are, how they are classified, their lifecycle, their anatomy, and evolution. The individual orchid profiles comprise of a colour picture (engraving) of the orchid, their range, habitat, conservation status, type and flowering period. This is followed by a page describing their appearance and other interesting facts about the species in question, such as its mimicry ability. The profile ends with a map illustrating their geographical distribution. The book is completed with a glossary and an index.

I very much enjoyed learning more about this fascinating plant family and spotting which of the orchids I’d seen before at botanic gardens. I liked the wide variety of orchid types included and found the writing engaging and easy to understand. The glossary was particularly useful for some of the technical botanical terms. A lovely little book which I can see myself dipping in and out of often.

I did not know there were so many varieties of orchid!

This is a beautifully illustrated and detailed book. The illustrations are detailed and perfectly represent the specimens that they are designed to portray. There is also a great deal of accompanying information about the genesis of each species, geographical information and other technical information (habitat, flowering times, size and so on).

An excellent addition to any non fiction nature collection.

Thanks to the publisher, authors and Netgalley for access to this informative and interesting eARC.