Field Guide to Succulents of Southern Africa
Regular price
€31.99
Southern Africa is the natural home of the richest and most diverse succulent flora in the world. These plants come in all shapes and sizes, from trees such as the baobab at more than 20 m tall, to miniature soil huggers, just a few millimetres high, which mimic their pebble-desert surroundings. This user-friendly, richly illustrated field guide features more than 700 southern African succulents, focusing on the most interesting and commonly encountered species. An introduction to families and their key features will help readers identify the relevant plant group, while concise accounts describing the plants' diagnostic features, along with distribution maps, will enable quick ID of species. More than just an ID guide for plant lovers, this book will inspire gardeners who are turning to indigenous, low-maintenance and waterwise plants for cultivation.
Gideon F. Smith has authored many papers and books about succulent plants in southern Africa. An Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, he is a research associate at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. Neil R. Crouch works in the biodiversity economy field, promoting the sustainable use and commercialisation of indigenous South African plants. He has written widely on the subject of ethnobotany, succulents and ferns. He is an Honorary Professor in the School of Chemistry and Physics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Estrela Figueiredo has a keen interest in succulent plants, the African flora and sustainable gardening, on which she has authored many books and papers. She is a research associate at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, and at the University of Coimbra in Portugal.