For
many lovers of flowers, orchids have a particular allure. Popular among
gardeners, florists and nature lovers, orchids come in a huge array of shapes,
sizes, and colours, and have some of the most intriguing names of any flower
speciesFlying Duck, Beard, Fire and Boat-lip Orchids or, Doubletails, Fairy
Bells, Parsons Bands and Greenhoods. Some spend their whole lives underground
while others grow high in trees. And they are the tricksters of the flower
world, many mimicking the forms and smells of female insects and spiders to
sexually deceive their male counterparts into pollinating the flower.
The
Allure of Orchids features an essay by orchid expert Mark Clements,
accompanied by a portfolio of illustrations, both historical and modern, of
this alluring species. In it you will find works by around 25 artists,
including the extraordinarily detailed lithographs of early botanical illustrator
Ferdinand Bower, Ellis Rowans beautiful paintings, the delicate watercolours
of Margaret Cochrane Scott, and many more.
