Passion Flowers

by John Vanderplank

Book Overview

"Lost flower of the Andes is blooming in Britain." This headline in the Daily Telegraphcelebrated the last remaining example of Passiflora lourdesae, a Venezuelan herbaceous climber that was raised from a cutting by John Vanderplank-the only successful attempt from a dozen cuttings sent to botanists around the world. The story of this dramatic recovery from extinction is just one of the delights of Passion Flowers. The book documents more than 150...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262720353
• ISBN13: 9780262720359
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.7" x 11.0"

Customer Reviews

Lovely photos and good information, if incomplete

This is a beautiful book with many impressive photographs of wild and cultivated Passiflora species, written by one of the foremost Passiflora botanists alive. Unfortunately it is rather incomplete, and only contains descriptions for a fraction of the species in the genus. However, this drawback does not detract from the appeal of the book, which seems mostly geared toward horticultural enthusiasts and botanists looking for quick desk reference "field guide" type identification help. The species that are contained in the book are described in depth, with notes on natural history and much information on cultivation. The book should be a great help identifying almost all commonly cultivated Passiflora. And of course, the photos are stunning and extremely helpful for characterizing the species. Definitely a book that any Passiflora botanists or enthusiasts would appreciate and use. Also worth noting is that since the publication of this book, numerous new species of Passiflora have been described (some by the Vanderplank himself, such as P. miniata), some of which are in conflict with the species descriptions in this book. It is worth performing a Google Scholar search on any given species to be sure and turn up the most recent taxonomic literature before conclusively settling on an identification made using this book.

Excellent source of plant identification

Passiflora growers who find the tags affixed by nurseries and discount stores to be either sadly lacking in information -- or just plain wrong -- will want this book on their shelves. Its photographs, taxonomy data, history, and cultural information -- all coupled with its reader-friendly presentation -- make this a must-buy for the enthusiast.

covers all species and give full details : encyclopedic info

This book is the best about the passiflora : it gives all informations about all species, how to grow the plant and the passion fruits. It also gives historical info and economical : where to find passiflora in the world. The author is the world recognised expert about the subject making this book the most advanced in the knowledge of the passion flower (passiflora) and the passion fruit.