Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Algarve

Description

This is the first comprehensive identification guide to the rich Mediterranean flora of the Algarve region of southern Portugal, including the Cape St. Vincent Peninsula National Park, an area of immense botanical importance with numerous endemic and rare species. The Algarve is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Europe (it receives more than 7 million tourists per annum), and this guide is the essential companion for wildlife tourists, and the first comprehensive easy-to-use identification guide to its wild flowers.Information is provided on where and when to see plants with information on their habitat and vegetation types. In addition rare and unusual plants of the region are highlighted, including orchids and parasitic plants. With over 1,000 species descriptions, the book is abundantly illustrated throughout with over 650 stunning colour photographs, 780 line drawings and distribution maps.

Chris Thorogood studied parasitic plant biology for his PhD at the University of Bristol where he then worked as a postdoctoral researcher. Chris has taught field courses to university students with Simon Hiscock in the Algarve since 2006, during which time they documented the flora of the region, and he currently studies the flora of the western Mediterranean basin and has a particular interest in parasitic plant speciation. Simon Hiscock is Professor of Botany in the Biological Sciences Department, University of Bristol and Director of the University of Bristol Botanic Garden. He has lead botanical field courses in the Algarve since 2002 and his main areas of research include plant evolutionary genetics and plant reproduction.

"Exceptional for those interested in the natural world: beautiful photography, excellent notes on identification and natural history, and a focus on a distinctive geographical and diverse floristic domain that stretches across the southernmost region of mainland Portugal, and its least developed region--the western Algarve."-- "Plant Science Bulletin"