Reviews (1)

"Must have" reference on the #1 perennial plant in the USA!
W. George Schmid, recipient of the 1996 Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Award--the highest honor of the American Hosta Society, has compiled a comprehensive and instructive reference for Hosta. He explains in photographs (incl. 208 in color) and words more information than available in any other source for these marvelous and increasingly popular shade plants--The #1 selling perennial in the USA. I believe I own all the books published on Hosta, and this is incomparable--better than all the others combined. Species and cultivars are listed alphabetically with detailed information. Make it your first choice. Our nursery specializes in Hostas, including being the exclusive source for George Schmid's new introductions, so I am very familiar with this topic ... Read more

Book Description

This profusely illustrated field guide covers the 31 species of orchids that grow wild in California. The first book on California's native orchids, it will be a valuable resource for professionals and hobbyists alike. The Wild Orchids of California is an impressive extension of Ronald A. Coleman's wide fieldwork, literature review, and herbarium research. Written in a clear narrative style, Coleman's species accounts describe the plants and flowers, their habitats, distribution, pollinators, and blooming season. ... Read more

Book Description

Algal Culturing Techniques is a comprehensive reference on all aspects of the isolation and cultivation of marine and freshwater algae, including seaweeds. It is divided into seven parts that cover history, media preparation, isolation and purification techniques, mass culturing techniques, cell counting and growth measurement techniques, and reviews on topics and applications of algal culture techniques for environmental investigations.

Algal Culturing Techniques was developed to serve as both a new textbook and key reference for phycologists and others studying aquatic systems, aquaculture and environmental sciences. Students of algal ecology, marine botany, marine phycology, and microbial ecology will enjoy the hands-on methodology for culturing a variety of algae from fresh and marine waters.Researchers in industry, such as aquaculture, pharmaceutical, foodstuffs, and biotechnology companies will find an authoritative and comprehensive reference.

* Sponsored by the Phycological Society of America
* Features color photographs and illustrations throughout
* Describes culturing methods ranging from the test tube to outdoor ponds and coastal seaweed farms
* Details isolation techniques ranging from traditional micropipette to automated flow cytometeric methods
* Includes purification, growth, maintenance, and cryopreservation techniques
* Highlights methods for estimating algal populations, growth rates, isolating and measuring algal pigments, and detecting and culturing algal viruses
* Features a comprehensive appendix of nearly 50 algal culture medium recipes
* Includes a glossary of phycological terms ... Read more

Book Description

The Flora covers over 4,500 taxa, including all native, naturalized and crop plants, and all recurrent casuals. Over 150 pages of specially prepared illustrations are provided to aid identification of critical groups and less familiar alien taxa. Technical terms are kept to an essential minimum. Over 100 species and subspecies have been added, together with numerous extra hybrids in this new edition. ... Read more

Book Description

Long prized by the fragrance industry for its essential oils, the genus Lavandula is steadily increasing in popularity among gardeners and horticulturists worldwide. This is the first full treatment of this important genus to be undertaken since 1937. It treats 40 species and their cultivars and hybrids, presenting their taxonomy, distribution, and the history of their cultivation. With several useful appendices, as well as chapters on cultivation, propagation, and pests and diseases, The Genus Lavandula is a comprehensive and authoritative account of this important genus. Exquisite paintings from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, complement the text. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

get lost in a real world
I saw this book in my doctor's office waiting room, I was swallowed up in it during my wait. After my appointment I stayed and looked more, amongst the sneezing feverish folks even! Beautiful inspirational drawings! ... Read more

Book Description

Dense with winding paths, dominated by huge rock piles and buildings squeezed into small spaces, the characteristic Chinese garden is, for many foreigners, so unlike anything else as to be incomprehensible. Only on closer acquaintance does it offer up its mysteries; and such is the achievement of Maggie Keswick's celebrated classic that it affords us--adventurers, armchair travelers, and garden buffs alike--the intimate pleasures of the Chinese garden.

In these richly illustrated pages, Chinese gardens unfold as cosmic diagrams, revealing a profound and ancient view of the world and of humanity's place in it. First sensuous impressions give way to more cerebral delights, and forms conjure unending, increasingly esoteric and mystical layers of meaning for the initiate. Keswick conducts us through the art and architecture, the principles and techniques of Chinese gardens, showing us their long history as the background for a civilization--the settings for China's great poets and painters, the scenes of ribald parties and peaceful contemplation, political intrigues and family festivals.

Updated and expanded in this third edition, with an introduction by Alison Hardie, many new illustrations, and an updated list of gardens in China accessible to visitors, Keswick's engaging work remains unparalleled as an introduction to the Chinese garden. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

It takes me back to my hometown
How great Chinese garden are!From north to south ,east to west,royal to normal,fancy to simple,you could see all of the best gardens in China.Especially two cities that must visit:Beijing,my hometown,and Suzhou,a wonderful small town built beside the river.The spirits of Chinese gardens were focused on how to combine nature and humanity together.The gardens in Suzhou absolutely rendered an ideal level without artificial fixing,you might called it "Eastern Venice".On the oher hand,Beijing seems much more luxurious since it used to be the capital of China for 5 dynasties.The best known garden named Summer Palace ,which settled in Western part of Beijing,belong to the royal family. A fire desaster ruined most valuable garden named Yuan Ming Yuan,if it still being there,Yuan Ming YUan might be the most gorgeous garden in the world.However we pitifully left a waste garden,morely a Country's shame.You luckily better read this book before you visit China.<>is a helpful tourguide take you a preview.

Acutely Perceptive, Informative, Profound
A superb study that is as engrossing as it is elegantly written and lavishly illustrated, and a sensitive inquiry into the aesthetics, the history and the philosophy that underpin an ancient and majestic civilization's view of mankinds's place within the cosmos. Both unique and profound. An essential work. ... Read more

Book Description

176 pages with 430 full color photographs of some of the most beautiful fossil specimens in existence.Chapters include Paleobotany, Geology, Mineralogy, and Collecting Petrified Materials.Hundreds of specimens from private collections are for the first time available for public view.

Petrified Wood: The World of Fossilized Wood, Cones, Ferns, and Cycads presents photographs of fossil specimens from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Madagascar, Turkey, and Zimbabwe, and from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming in the United States.

Photographs include a variety of types and genera of wood, including Araucaria, Woodworthia, Schilderia, Pentoxylon, Hermanophyton, oak, maple, tamarack, and Ginkgo; cones of Araucaria, Pararaucaria, Cycadeoidea, and Sequoia; and the ferns Tietea singularis, Tempskya, and Osmundacaulis. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Blaze of color
As the various reviews point out this book is a blaze of color. Excellently photographed and excellently printed this volume gives a good impression of how beautiful petrified wood can be. This work is perfectly suited as a coffee table book.

As a wood anatomist I cannot help feeling that an even more beautiful book could be produced by shifting the focus to anatomy: when magnified these woods would look even better. I guess a palaeobotanist would agree with me that this would make for, from a scientific point of view, a more usable and valuable book.

Nevertheless this is a magnificent piece of work: there are some quite stunning pictures in here.

Petrified Wood: The World of Fossilized Wood
The best photographic presentation of petrified wood I have every seen. Frank Daniels' love of the subject can be seen in his work as laid out between the covers of this superb book. I totally enjoy showing non palaeontologically minded people this book when they visit. If a person is looking for a photographic presentation of petrified wood, then this would have to be the book. I heartily recommend it. Congratulations Frank on a terrific book. ... Read more

Book Description

It is a challenge to learn and retain information about the characteristics of the hundreds of commonly used Chinese herbs, as well as to select the best herbs for use in treating patients. This book brings to life, through vivid and clear discussion, the characteristics of the commonly used Chinese herbs. The easy-to-use question and answer format offers a method for learning and memorizing the functions of herbs through comparing the characteristics and strengths of specific herbs. The detailed discussions in this book enable experienced practitioners to achieve better quality and results, and the clinical applications feature can be used in practice to expand the treatment range. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Review of How to Know Freshwater Algae
This is a fantastic book for those interested in identifing algae to a Genus level. I work as an aquatic biologist for a private microbiological testing and consulting firm, and I use it everyday. The book offers very good discriptions and lots of helpful illustrations. The one thing I don't like about the book is that it fails to include size ranges of the organisms. I would highly advise anyone who deals with freshwater algae on a regular basis to pick up this book. It will definately come in handy!! ... Read more

Book Description

Seagrasses occur in coastal zones throughout the world in the areas of marine habitats that are most heavily influenced by humans. Despite a growing awareness of the importance of these plants, a full appreciation of their role in coastal ecosystems has yet to be reached. This book provides an entry point for those wishing to learn about seagrass ecology and provides a broad overview of the present state of knowledge. The volume discusses the recent progress in research and current research foci, complemented by extensive literature references to guide the reader to more detailed studies. This book will be valuable to students of marine biology wishing to specialize in this area and to established researchers wanting to enter the field. In addition, it will provide an excellent reference for those involved in the management and conservation of coastal areas that harbor seagrasses. ... Read more