Wild Orchids of Southern Africa
Joyce Stewart, H.P. Linder, E.A. Schelpe & A.V. Hall

Orchids, have sometimes been described as the 'royal family of plants' and in Southern Africa this elegant and varied family is well represented by over 400 species. Not only is this region richly endowed with species, but it contributes uniquely to the world's orchid flora by the fact that three-quarters of the total number of species are endemic to this area. The descriptions are brief, specially designed to allow the reader, book in hand, easily to identify the orchids in their natural state, whether found in veld or vlei, field or forest, bush, desert or mountain. Details are given of their habitats, distributions and flowering times. Full-colour photographs accompany all but a few of the 433 species, and many of them show orchids illustrated for the first time.