china and asia

A beautiful and colourful overview of the twenty seven species of Philippine pitcher plants (Nepenthes). Several species featured in this work have been discovered only in the last two years and are documented here for the very first time.

This lavishly illustrated guide book consists of a short introduction to Nepenthes, followed by an overview of the species known from the Philippines (complete with full page map). Each species is then profiled over two pages with the use of three images (most of which have never been published before) and a brief, but detailed text summary written in clear, easy-to-understand English. Concluding sections cover Nepenthes hybrids, conservation of Philippine pitcher plants, a bibliography, and an index.

Unrivalled in the temperate latitudes of the world, China’s rich flora comprises 30,000 species of plants, and nowhere is this floral richness more evident than in western China. With its lush forests, meandering rivers, and majestic mountains, the west of China has been a centre of plant exploration for over two centuries, giving rise to many well-known species of trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs that populate our parks and botanical institutes, including rhododendron, orchids, peonies, and roses. This guide describes and illustrates more than two thousand species, from the common to the endemic to the extremely rare. Plant families are arranged following the latest DNA-based classification, making this pictorial guide a comprehensive reference for western China.

This guide covers the flora of the Altai Mountain range, which lies on the borders of Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and China. It provides a detailed and comprehensive account of the 288 endemic and subendemic plants of this region. Introductory chapters provide general information on the environmental and socio-economic conditions of the region, together with details of the main habitat types, the Altai flora and its features, and the endemic flora. Information is also provided about the main protected areas. The main part of the book is devoted to illustrated profiles of 100 of the endemic plants, with taxonomic accounts (including key features to aid identification, flowering times and differences between similar species), plus details of distribution, habitats, conservation status, threats and cultivation. Summary details are given for the other 188 endemic species.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), under its ‘Living Planet Campaign’, has identified 200 of the Earth’s most biologically outstanding habitats. One of these is the Altai-Sayan Montane Forests Ecoregion, an extraordinary mosaic of coniferous forests, intermontane steppe and alpine meadows. Half the flora of Siberia is to be found here. The team of authors has surveyed over 300 endemic plants, many important for medicine or food, to plug a gap in a poorly-studied region, and as such the work represents a testament to international scientific collaboration. Many species have been photographed for the first time.

This book is the product of many years of fieldwork by the authors. It can be used at three levels. Firstly, it is a comprehensive account of Sabah rhododendrons which can be appreciated for their form and variety in a purely visual manner. Secondly, the book will enable identification of the species seen by walkers and climbers, especially on Mt. Kinabalu. Thirdly, it aims to be a scientifically up-to-date account of the morphology and known distribution of the rhododendrons for the whole of the state which can be used for further scientific study, educational purposes and conservation.

Rhododendrons are some of Sabah’s most attractive plants and are a significant part of the rich heritage of natural history of which the country can boast. This book describes the 42 species known from Sabah, 16 of which are Sabah endemics, some known only from single localities. There are two artificial keys enabling identification of the species. The first is a simplified key to just those species known from the main Kinabalu massif which is designed for the many tourists visiting the mountain to enable them to easily name the rhododendrons that they see. The second includes all the known species from Sabah and is more technical.

This book is lavishly illustrated with colour photographs of all but two of the species, mostly taken in the wild by the authors. In addition, there are many watercolour paintings of the more colourful species which have been done by various artists. There is a very detailed introduction, and chapters to cover the vegetation types in which rhododendrons are found, and transects to cover all the main mountain ranges. This book will be of interest to botanists, horticulturists, Rhododendron enthusiasts, ecologists and conservationists, and it is hoped that it will stimulate further studies of these plants and a wider appreciation of their natural environment.

Antidesma is a genus in the family Phyllanthaceae (Malpighiales; Euphorbiaceae sensu lato). It comprises trees and shrubs which are conspicuous by their racemes of often abundant red or purple fruits. The genus is most diverse in South-East Asia where it is commonly found in the understorey of tropical forests as well as in open vegetation. This taxonomic revision describes the 56 species and 13 varieties occurring in Malesia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea) and Thailand. Separate identification keys for staminate and pistillate plants are presented, and critical characters are illustrated. The distribution of each taxon is shown in a map. Ecology, uses, common names, etymology and conservation status are given, and line drawings of 25 taxa are included.