Field Guide to the Orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean

Authors: Rolf Kühn, Henrik Ærenlund Pedersen, Phillip Cribb. 432pp. Over 2000 colour photographs. 300 maps. Paperback ISBN 9781842466698, Kew Publishing 2019.

Field Guide to the Orchids of Europe and the Mediterranean is a comprehensive photographic guide to the orchids of the region written by leading experts, who between them have decades of orchid field and research experience. The book covers orchids from Europe and the Mediterranean, extending to Turkey and the immediate near east of North Africa and Macaronesia.

Many guides to orchids of this region exist, but in this new book the authors have drawn on the latest scientific research to bring clarity to orchid identification and names, with an emphasis on the natural variability that exists in many wild species. With over 2000 colour photographs, the book provides the reader with an accessible and easy to use identification guide to the natural variability seen in these orchids.

The book covers 30 genera and their species including Ophrys, Cypripedium, Orchis, Dactylorhiza, Epipactis and Serapias, as well as 70 natural hybrids. Much of the confusion over identification is due to the morphological variation a species can have within a habitat and across its distribution, and therefore to simplify identification, several images accompany each species to illustrate this diversity, along with notes on distinguishing features and distribution maps. Each species is also accompanied by common names and important synonyms, as well as notes on habitat, flowering times and distinguishing features.

Media reviews:

Shortlisted for Practical Book of the Year at the Garden Media Guild Awards 2019

...this field guide is a useful tool and definitely recommended. The Orchid Books Review site

Rolf Kühn is associated with the Swiss Orchid Foundation at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He has spent more than 40 years searching and exploring for and photographing orchids in their native habitats in Europe and the Mediterranean.

Henrik Ærenlund Pedersen is Emeritus at the Natural History Museum of Denmark where he was previously Associate Professor and Curator. He runs Select Nature, a consultancy firm also offering lectures, courses and guided tours. He has had a life-long interest in European and Asian orchids and is the author or co-author of several books including Ophrys: the bee orchids of Europe (Kew Publishing, 2007) and Orchids (William Collins, 2017).

Phillip Cribb is a leading specialist on the taxonomy and conservation of orchids, and a member of the RHS Orchid Committee. He was Deputy Keeper of the Herbarium and Curator of the Orchid Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew until his retirement in 2006. He has studied orchids for 45 years and is the author or co-author of many books including The Orchid (Andre Deutsch, 2018), Guide to the Flowers of Western China (Kew Publishing, 2011), Field Guide to the Orchids of Madagascar (Kew Publishing, 2009), and Growing Hardy Orchids (Kew Publishing, 2011).