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Books > Gardening > Gardening: plants > Flowers
This is the first complete and illustrated monograph of the genus
Lachenalia, a horticulturally important and botanically diverse
plant group. Lachenalia ranks with Gladiolus as one of the two most
popular genera of South African bulbous plants worldwide, and next
to Ornithogalum is the second-largest member of the family
Hyacinthaceae in southern Africa. The flowers of some species have
exceptionally showy blooms that occur in numerous interesting
colours, shapes and sizes, and their fascinating leaves, many of
which are attractively spotted or barred, or covered with
attractive hairs or pustules. The flowers of many species are
attractive in another dimension in that they emit distinctive
aromas, ranging from spicy (like cloves) to various degrees of
sweet (like a mixture of carnations and orchids), while one species
is strongly coconut-scented. All species are described, classified
and illustrated, with detailed text on history, morphology,
phylogeny, phytogeography, pollination biology, cultivation and
propagation. This book includes many highly attractive species
which have never been illustrated in colour before, with 11 new
taxa, ten of which are new species. This will become the standard
reference work on all aspects of the genus and will appeal to
botanists and taxonomists, bulb-growers, horticulturalists,
gardeners, collectors of fine botanical works, ecologists and
nature conservationists, as well as libraries and universities.
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