Field Guide to the Orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean

An updated, comprehensive guide to the orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean region.

Field Guide to the Orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean: Second Edition is a comprehensive photographic guide to the orchids of the region written by leading experts, who between them have decades of orchid field and research experience. The book covers orchids from Europe and the Mediterranean, extending to Turkey and the immediate near east of North Africa and Macaronesia.

Many guides to orchids of this region exist, but in this completely revised second edition, the authors have drawn on the latest scientific research to bring clarity to orchid identification and names, with an emphasis on the natural variability that exists in many wild species. This edition incorporates the latest updates in taxonomy. With over 2000 color photographs and new images, the book provides the reader with an accessible and easy-to-use identification guide to the natural variability seen in these orchids.

The book covers thirty genera and their species including Ophrys, Cypripedium, Orchis, Dactylorhiza, Epipactis, and Serapias, as well as seventy natural hybrids. Much of the confusion over identification is due to the morphological variation a species can have within a habitat and across its distribution, and therefore to simplify identification, several images accompany each species to illustrate this diversity, along with notes on distinguishing features and distribution maps. Each species is also accompanied by common names and important synonyms, as well as notes on habitat, flowering times, and distinguishing features.

Rolf Kühn is associated with the Swiss Orchid Foundation at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He has spent more than forty years exploring for and photographing orchids in their native habitats in Europe and the Mediterranean. Henrik Ærenlund Pedersen is emeritus at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, where he was previously associate professor and curator. He runs Select Nature, a consultancy firm also offering lectures, courses, and guided tours. He is the author or coauthor of several books including Ophrys: The Bee Orchids of Europe, also published by Kew. Phillip Cribb is a leading specialist on the taxonomy and conservation of orchids and a member of the RHS Orchid Committee. He was deputy keeper of the herbarium and curator of the orchid herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew until his retirement in 2006. He is the author or coauthor of many books including The Orchid, Guide to the Flowers of Western China 2nd Edition, Field Guide to the Orchids of Madagascar, and Growing Hardy Orchids.