The Native Orchids of Florida

Book excerpt: "In the year 1957, my wife and I were fascinated when we saw a flower of Polyrrhiza lindenii. We were greatly impressed when we learned that this amazing leafless orchid, the flower of which resembles the ghoulish ghost of a frog leaping in mid-air, was a native of our own state of Florida. We became excited over plans to find one, which we accomplished without too much trouble except for getting our feet wet. The fun we had in finding this species and the photographs we took home as lasting trophies led us from one orchid to another. This was only the beginning of a hobby which was soon to develop into a gigantic effort to find and photograph every species of orchid known to have occurred naturally in Florida, and eventually to publish this book. As years wore on, horizons widened. A second volume on the native orchids of the United States and Canada, exclusive of those species found only in the southeasternmost states contained in this volume, will follow. Many monographs on local orchid flora have appeared throughout the years. The present work has been designed first of all for orchidophiles like ourselves, be they amateur or professional. With the treatises of Morris and Eames and of Correll as basic guides, each genus is described as a separate chapter. Since the recognition of a plant by a technical description and line drawings may be difficult, especially for an amateur, a series of photographs in color has been assembled, which will provide the reader with a greater feeling of familiarity with each species, something we have always wanted to see ourselves. With very few exceptions each species has been pictured in its native habitat. Close-up portraits of individual flowers and such interesting features as roots, fruit, and unusual variations have been included."--