Saving Orchids Stories of Species Survival in a Changing World

About this book

A gorgeously illustrated ode to the beauty and significance of orchids – and to those fighting to save these unique plants across the globe.

Until recently, a myriad of lifeforms enriched our lives. In some places, listening to a nighttime chorus of frogs in the neighbourhood marsh was an archetypal touchstone of childhood. Children would search for tadpoles, just steps away from native Lady's Tresses orchids. Year by year, the chorus became quieter. Today, only a few frogs and orchids remain. Is this the world we want our children to inherit? Do we want orchids to slip through our fingers and, eventually, to vanish?

For biologists Philip Seaton and Lawrence W. Zettler, and the intrepid orchid defenders they introduce in this book, the answer is no. Seaton and Zettler have travelled the world over the past three decades, studying orchids – flagship species for plant conservation. Stunningly illustrated, Saving Orchids is a culmination of stories about the people – young and old alike – dedicated to protecting these remarkable plants from extinction. In the 19th century, collectors removed, shipped, and sold vast numbers of orchids from the wild. Today, scientists strive to reverse this harm – to protect and rebuild remnants of orchids' original habitats against human disruption, including climate change. Seaton and Zettler reveal these plants' bizarre pollination partners, risky liaisons with fungi, and adaptation to human domestication to show that learning orchids' scientific secrets – and finding human helpers – is key to these plants' survival.

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Biography

Philip Seaton is a Churchill Fellow and Project Manager for the Darwin Initiative project and has travelled widely to study orchid conservation since retiring as a biology teacher. Lawrence W. Zettler is a biology professor at Illinois College and a research associate at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He illustrated two entomology books and has co-authored over 70 scientific papers.