The orchid family (Orchidaceae), with some 22 000 species, is one of the two largest families of plants. In spite of the vast available literature on orchids, rather little is known about their seeds, which are generally considered as wind dispersed, small and reduced "dust seeds".
For this first monograph of orchid seeds, the authors have analysed some 1 400 collections of orchid seeds over the last four decades by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and other methods. The material studied represents about 1 100 species from 350 genera (out of about 880 recognized orchid genera).
Orchid Seed Diversity provides a unique and indispensable resource for all those studying orchid systematics, those seeking to identify orchid seeds, as well as those with more general interests in the Orchidaceae.