CRC World Dictionary of Palms

CRC World Dictionary of Palms Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonym Umberto Quattrocchi has brought us some amazing and useful works through the various dictionaries that he has compiled. This time it is for two very important plant families, the palms and the cycads, that are synthesized here in these two volumes. Each entry is fascinating not just for the botany and full nomenclature of the plant species but for all the associated uses, folklore and interactions with other organisms. The research required to achieve such comprehensive entries is extensive even in these days of electronic access to information and this could only be achieved by a polymath like Umberto. The extensive bibliography and information for every entry will be useful to many people. Some years ago I was asked in a radio programme that if I had only one plant family on which to survive which one would I chose? I immediately selected the palms. As is shown here palms provide food, both savoury and sweet and even alcoholic at times, they provide thatch for houses, wood for tools and hunting weapons, fibre for cloth and hammocks, medicines and many other things that can be found out by browsing through these pages. What I had not thought of until I looked through the text was how many different animals and epiphytic plants are hosted by palms and cycads. These entries are fascinating glimpses of natural history. In the cycads many species are mentioned as rare or endangered. I hope that the material here will be used to promote the conservation of some of the severely threatened species of both palms and cycads. Botanists, conservationists, ethnobotanists, anthropologists, geographers, bird watchers, naturalists, historians and those of many other disciplines will find these volumes a most valuable and useful resource. These are the sorts of books that will be in frequent use in my library.