Conservation 75 9. Hybridization 78 Part 2 10. Useful Addresses 349 2. The present title is one of the few published books on this topic. The emphasis is on orchids that are unique to the African continent and therefore only sub-Saharan Africa, excluding Madagascar and other Indian Ocean Islands, is covered.
Coverage does include the islands off the west coast of Africa.
The first part of the book is composed of short chapters on various topics. Chapter 1 consists of a very general overview of African geography and climate. Chapter 4 discusses issues relevant to orchid classification and includes a useful table of orchid genera with the total number of species in each genus and the number of African species. As it is assumed that the reader is an experienced orchid grower, the chapter on cultivation does not cover the fundamentals of orchid culture because African orchids are like others in their basic requirements. Nevertheless, topics such as temperature, ventilation, repotting, and watering are briefly discussed.