Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Crassulaceae

Rating:
Summary: Not great for photographs but wonderful for information.
Review: First I should say that I nearly sent this book back. I was expecting a book with lots of wonderful photographs to identify a family I love very much. Instead I got a book with photographs that were fine but not as good or as large as I had expected. Many of my favorite plants don't even have photographs in this book. Many don't show enough detail to use for identification. If I were to rate the books on the photographs alone I would only give it 3 stars at best. They just are not large or detailed enough for my taste.

That being said, you are probably wondering why I gave it 5 stars. Please read the entire review before you decide not to get the book. I understand that it is long but you should find the information useful in determining if you want this book or not. I plan on getting the entire series. I do agree with the publisher's description. This will be The set to have for descriptions of all of the species described in the set.

After looking the book over I realized that the descriptions were wonderful and very up-to-date. They are also very technical and use botanical terms that only someone familiar with taxonomy would understand fully. I have a lot of books on cacti and succulents but very few have very good technical descriptions of these plants. There is no Glossary of terms used so you may want to obtain one that is specific to succulent plants. I listed two later on in the review. Neither one are listed on Amazon.com but I did list where I got mine. I just hope they are useful along with this book. I have not tried them yet. There probably just isn't enough demand for such specific books.

I also discovered that the author was a splitter. He divided some of the genera into new genera that I was unfamiliar with until now. Some of the sedum had been divided into new genera. For example: Sedum populifolium is now Hylotelephium populifolium. The book has a "Taxonomic Cross Reference Index" so finding out where to look for specific species should not be a problem. The system may take a bit of getting used to.

If you are looking for a book for identifying these wonderful plants from photographs alone you won't want this book. It has technical descriptions that the average person will not be able to understand. Most people stop listening when you use a plants botanical name, let alone a description. They want a nice, simple, common name that they can easily remember. Any more information than that is too much for many people. There are no common names listed that I could find.

The book is more for a botanist or someone who can understand the technical botanical terms a botanist would use. All of the names are given in Alphabetical order by their "new" genera. Descriptions are as compact, concise and diagnostic as possible. All measures are given in metric units.

"Special terms used in descriptions are explained when first used; other botanical terminology is not further explained. Readers are referred to numerous botanical glossaries, of which Stern (1992) is cited by way of a most importand and useful example".

The previous paragraph was out of the book. I could not find a botanical glossary under that author through Amazon.com. You will want to get a glossary to help you understand the botanical terms used. Try to find one for succulents such as "Glossary of Botanical Terms With Special Reference to Succulent Plants" by Urs Eggli. I purchased a copy a few years ago through Rainbow Gardens Bookshop. They have a website that specializes in books on Cacti and Succulents. They may also have a copy of "Succulents: A Glossary of Terms and Descriptions" by R. B. Ivimey - Cook. Published by The National Cactus And Succulent Society.

Rating:
Summary: Not great for photographs but wonderful for information.
Review: First I should say that I nearly sent this book back. I was expecting a book with lots of wonderful photographs to identify a family I love very much. Instead I got a book with photographs that were fine but not as good or as large as I had expected. Many of my favorite plants don't even have photographs in this book. Many don't show enough detail to use for identification. If I were to rate the books on the photographs alone I would only give it 3 stars at best. They just are not large or detailed enough for my taste.

That being said, you are probably wondering why I gave it 5 stars. Please read the entire review before you decide not to get the book. I understand that it is long but you should find the information useful in determining if you want this book or not. I plan on getting the entire series. I do agree with the publisher's description. This will be The set to have for descriptions of all of the species described in the set.

After looking the book over I realized that the descriptions were wonderful and very up-to-date. They are also very technical and use botanical terms that only someone familiar with taxonomy would understand fully. I have a lot of books on cacti and succulents but very few have very good technical descriptions of these plants. There is no Glossary of terms used so you may want to obtain one that is specific to succulent plants. I listed two later on in the review. Neither one are listed on Amazon.com but I did list where I got mine. I just hope they are useful along with this book. I have not tried them yet. There probably just isn't enough demand for such specific books.

I also discovered that the author was a splitter. He divided some of the genera into new genera that I was unfamiliar with until now. Some of the sedum had been divided into new genera. For example: Sedum populifolium is now Hylotelephium populifolium. The book has a "Taxonomic Cross Reference Index" so finding out where to look for specific species should not be a problem. The system may take a bit of getting used to.

If you are looking for a book for identifying these wonderful plants from photographs alone you won't want this book. It has technical descriptions that the average person will not be able to understand. Most people stop listening when you use a plants botanical name, let alone a description. They want a nice, simple, common name that they can easily remember. Any more information than that is too much for many people. There are no common names listed that I could find.

The book is more for a botanist or someone who can understand the technical botanical terms a botanist would use. All of the names are given in Alphabetical order by their "new" genera. Descriptions are as compact, concise and diagnostic as possible. All measures are given in metric units.

"Special terms used in descriptions are explained when first used; other botanical terminology is not further explained. Readers are referred to numerous botanical glossaries, of which Stern (1992) is cited by way of a most importand and useful example".

The previous paragraph was out of the book. I could not find a botanical glossary under that author through Amazon.com. You will want to get a glossary to help you understand the botanical terms used. Try to find one for succulents such as "Glossary of Botanical Terms With Special Reference to Succulent Plants" by Urs Eggli. I purchased a copy a few years ago through Rainbow Gardens Bookshop. They have a website that specializes in books on Cacti and Succulents. They may also have a copy of "Succulents: A Glossary of Terms and Descriptions" by R. B. Ivimey - Cook. Published by The National Cactus And Succulent Society.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Book
Review: This book is a must for any person interested in succulent plant evolution- either novice or expert. Very well illustrated with fantastic color photos of most major genera of Crassulaceae.