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Accessing detailed and accurate information on tropical plants is not always easy, yet there is a huge interest in the beautiful and fascinating flora from the tropical regions of the world. Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants is the most comprehensive survey of tropical plants in a single publication to date.
Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants brings together over 3000 species of tropical plants selected to reflect the major plant groups in the tropics all over the world. It uses the most up-to-date nomenclature and systematics and arranges the species in family order, rather than by the usual alphabetical genus name, which makes identification and comparison of similar plants easier. Species descriptions include the plant's leaves, flowers, stems and fruit, as well as its native habitat, distribution, blooming season and zone. Full-color photographs illustrate the major features of the plants described.
Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants is an up-to-date, comprehensive and authoritative reference for botanists, horticulturists, professional growers and tropical plant enthusiasts.
Ahmed Fayaz has been a collector and grower of tropical plants for over 25 years. He is the co-founder and president of the Maldivian Wildlife Society and is currently working on a doctorate in Plant Systematics at Massey University, New Zealand.
Customer Reviews:
A Grand Encyclopedia
by Aishath Sahar in New Zealand (01/11/2011)
This is the largest encyclopedia on tropical plants I have had the pleasure of reading. The packaging is excellent with a colorful dust jacket. The encyclopedia describes over 3000 tropical plant species (with a selection of subtropical species as well) in great detail. Each species is also accompanied by a high resolution glossy photo. The plants are all arranged in phylogenetic (or natural) order, which makes this publication excellent as an identification guide.
Cultivation information, hardiness zones and ethnobotanical information are also provided for the plants. I would recommend this book for any gardener growing tropical or subtropical plants, and students studying plant systematics or taxonomy.
Media reviews:
"This book is an excellent look at the characteristics of the many tropical and subtropical species that avail themselves to horticultural propagation and enjoyment. It is among the first books to group species by the latest phylogenetic categories based on cytogenetic study of the included groups and species [...] The audience for this reference work falls somewhere between the plant enthusiast and the botanist. It is reasonably priced and will fit well into any library's general botanical collection."
– Linda Scarth, Booklist, 2011-12-15
"One expects great photography in a Firefly title, but more than 3000 color photos in one book – yowza! Fayaz presents in this decade-long labor of love the fruit of his lifelong interest in tropical flora [...] This is likely to become the standard guide for tropical plants. Essential for botany and horticulture students, growers, and researchers."
– Teresa R. Faust, Vermont Dept. of Libraries, Library Journal, Starred Reviews, 2011-11-15
"A huge instant classic. It arranges the species in family order (called phylogenetic), rather than by the usual alphabetical genus name. This is unique in a book so large and makes identification and comparison of similar plants much easier."
– Clear Englebert, West Hawaii Today, 2011-12-20
"This encyclopedia will become the standard reference book on tropical plants. The research for this volume was a mammoth task, using the latest nomenclature and plant systematics to develop a comprehensive and useful text. The plants are arranged according to evolutionary order, rather than alphabetically by generic name, so that the identification and comparison of similar plants is easier. Thousands of color photographs help to illustrate the major features of the plants described."
– Adele Kleine, Chicago Botanic Garden, 2012-03-01
"The pictures in this most recent guide to tropical plants are jaw dropping. Just as anyone can be overwhelmed with the beauty of a tropical forest or garden, the reader is overwhelmed with the gorgeous pictures in this book [...] What makes this book especially useful and timely is the arrangement of the plants [...] by the 2009 Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III [...] The description of each plant is what a serious plant scientist expects, yet it is also useful for the layperson [...] The glossary and indexes for both common and scientific names are extensive and thorough. This work is highly recommended for public and academic libraries."
– Georgia Briscoe, American Reference Books Annual 2012, 2012-04-01
"Fayaz is a collector and grower of tropical plants whose work has taken him from the Maldives mangroves to the orchids of Sri Lanka. Ten years of exploration have resulted in the most comprehensive volume on tropical plants to date, describing more than 3000 species from all of the major groups from mosses, ferns, and nonflowering gymnosperms to spectacular flowering angiosperms that make up 80 percent of all extant plant species on Earth. More than 3000 color photographs aid identification. Simply spectacular."
– Brian E. Coutts and Cheryl LaGuardia Best Reference 2011, Library Journal, 2012-02-28
