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188 BLUMEA Vol. 46, No. 1, 2001 Review H.P.LINDER & H.KURZWEIL: OrchidsofSouthernAfrica.A.A.Balkema,Rotterdam, 1999. xii +492 pp., 500 colour plates, 82 b/w line drawings, 458 maps. ISBN 90- 5410-445-7(hardcover). Price: EUR 90. This finebook consistsoftwoparts: ageneral account (pp. 1-64)andataxonomic account (pp. 65-451).Thetaxonomicaccount consistsofdetaileddescriptions ofall 466 species in 52 orchid generathatareknownto occur in SouthernAfrica, i.e.the area covering theterritoriesofSouthAfrica, Namibia,Lesotho,Swaziland, andBots- wana.Asurprisingly high percentageofthe species is illustratedwithcolourphoto- graphs ofexcellent quality.Distributionmaps are provided foralmostalltaxa, while foreachtaxon anumberofselectedvouchers are given. Thispartofthe bookleaves littletobedesired:keys tothespecies, references,synonymy, illustrations,cladograms, almostallone couldwishtofindinsuchabookisthere,andthissolidcomprehensive- nessmakesOrchidsofSouthernAfricabyfarthebestsource everproduced onorchids fromthisregion. Unlike European botanists working on tropical orchids, the authorsofthisbook liveinthearea wheretheirsubjects occur,whichis obviously a greatadvantage. Itis forthisreasonthat Ifeeljustifiedinslightly qualifyingmyotherwiseuniformpraise. Iamalittledisappointedtofindthenotes ontheecology ofthespecies inmanycases quitesuperficial. The photographs often showthe species growing in theirhabitats, anditisreadily apparentthatthey usually occupyhighly specific niches.Yet, not in- frequently all thatwe learnoftheecology ofaparticular species is that itgrows in damp grassland. Surely muchmore is known to theauthors andtheircollaborators thanwhatwefindhere. Thegeneral accountconsistsofeightchapters, someofwhicharefurthersubdivided intoanumberofessays on particular topics. Thechapter calledBiology forexample consistsofparagraphs onhabitattypes,orchidstructure,andecology. Informationon habitatscan, however,alsobefound inthechapter called Vegetation andinthepara- graph withthe cumbersometitleDifferent lifestrategies andhabits, whichis partof thechapter calledThe OrchidFlora.Inotherwords, theorganisation of the topics in this general part is somewhatincoherent.Besides, sometopics are treatedin arather uninspired way. Forexample, thechapter on classification starts withthesentence: "Forpracticalreasons orchidspecies arecombinedintogroupscalledgenera,different generaare further grouped into larger unitscalled subtribes, andthese furtherinto tribesandsubfamilies."Tomy minditconveys awrongideatothepublic to suggest that 'practical reasons'(whatever thatmeans) are the drivingforceoftaxonomy. On thewhole, however, this general account is arich source ofinformationthatis not easily accessible elsewhere,ifatall. This well-produced bookendswitha glossary, anextensivelistofreferences,and two indices. Orchids ofSouthernAfrica is not only warmly recommendedto anyone fascinatedbyorchids, but itis simply indispensable tothose interestedintheorchids ofSouthernAfrica. AndréSchuiteman