Saving Orchids - by Philip Seaton & Lawrence W Zettler (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Until recently myriad lifeforms enriched our lives. In parts of the United States, listening to a night-time chorus of frogs in the neighborhood marsh was a normal part of childhood. During the day, children would search for tadpoles, just steps away from native Lady's Tresses orchids. Year by year, the chorus became quieter, and the marshes changed. 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? The answer is "no" for the intrepid orchid conservationists whom biologists Philip Seaton and Lawrence Zettler introduce in this inspiring and beautifully illustrated book. During the past three decades, Seaton and Zettler have traveled the globe, from Madagascar to Florida, studying orchids and the people protecting them. Readers learn the basic science of plant evolution, pollination, and reproduction to see how the orchid family became both the pinnacle of plant evolution--with upward of 27,000 species--and a canary in the coal mine for environmental degradation. Starting with a history of exploitation, of orchid fever and the looting of the tropics for their botanical treasures, the book ends with hope. Although the current perilous state of the environment can't be ignored, all around the world people are saving orchids"--

Book Synopsis

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 neighborhood 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 traveled the world over the past three decades, studying orchids--flagship species for plant conservation. Stunningly illustrated, this book 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.

Review Quotes

"[The authors] have traveled the world in search of orchids, and they have stories to tell...Charming."-- "Choice"

"The clear-eyed, unsentimental account in Saving Orchids is also heartening and inspiring, determinedly optimistic. Compact, succinct, and wide-ranging, it is packed with stories and illustrated by superb, haunting photographs. . . . Entirely at ease with their subject, [Seaton and Zettler] share their knowledge lightly, brilliantly explaining botanical complexities in language any layperson can understand. . . . Every page is fascinating, beginning with the descriptions of countless varieties of orchids and their habitats. . . . What makes this book so stirring is the depiction of the continuous, shifting relationship between plants and people, not only the nurserymen and plant hunters of the past but the individuals and communities working today on protection and conservation."-- "The New York Review of Books"

"Saving Orchids is a remarkable and extremely timely book--and some would say it is overdue. Seaton and Zettler outline the many mistakes made over the last few centuries that landed us in rather dire straits as well as some of the modern solutions that could be employed by diverse stakeholders. Awareness is the key to creating change. I believe positive change is possible if Saving Orchids is widely read by the upcoming generation of conservationists, botanists, and orchid enthusiasts."--Tom Mirenda coauthor of "The Book of Orchids"

"Beginning and ending with Florida's iconic ghost orchid, Seaton and Zettler bring to life the heroic efforts of people from all walks of life caring about and protecting orchids. They show how profoundly humans have affected life on Earth but also how inspirational actions by dedicated individuals are central to the fate of orchids, the 'canaries in the coal mine' for environmental change. Orchids teach us that the fate of nature is in our hands."--Sandra Knapp author of "Extraordinary Orchids"

About the Author

Philip Seaton is a retired biology lecturer and, until recently, managed a global orchid seed banking network on behalf of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He has authored, illustrated, and coauthored a number of books about orchids and their cultivation. Lawrence W. Zettler is professor of Biology at Illinois College and a Research Associate at the Chicago Botanic Garden. He has authored or coauthored over fifty peer-reviewed scientific publications and illustrated two books in color involving insects.