Field Guide to the Palms of Madagascar

Book excerpt: Madagascar's native palms are of enormous economic and biological importance. Not only are they used for food, house building, crafts and medicines, most are found in no other part of the world, they are a part of Madagascar's great natural heritage and many are becoming increasingly rare. Simple keys and lavishly illustrated pictorial descriptions, distribution maps and diagrams of leaf, fruit and flower arrangement enable quick and easy identification. Notes on local uses, rarity and in what type of vegetation each grows in follows. This is not just a field guide, it is a book that shows why palms are so important to the culture, economy and the natural heritage of Madagascans.