BULBS OF THE FYNBOS, by botanists John Manning and Dee Snijman, and published by Penguin Random House SA, was one of the books featured on Paige Nick’s Book Choice on Fine Music Radio on Tuesday 7 July.
Plants with bulbs or other subterranean storage organs occur widely around the globe, but the richest concentration of bulbous plants anywhere on earth is found in the Cape Floristic Region! Having worked with the City of Cape Town on the Cape Town Green Map since 2009, nothing surprises me when Cape Town leads the field.
The book is compiled and written by two seriously accomplished botanists.
John Manning is is the internationally acclaimed botanist at the SA National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and recognised as a prolific writer, illustrator, and photographer- much needed for this gloriously illustrated book.
Dee Snijman is a senior research associate at SANBI and internationally recognised for her outstanding contributions in the field.
This book is a guide that enables one to identify fynbos bulb families, important genera and over a quarter of the region’s species.
Firstly you are introduced to what is a bulb with good illustrations that go with it. To understand the scope, there are over 1,200 bulb species occurring naturally here in the Cape Floristic Region, the undisputed bulb capital of the world. Bulbs of the Fynbos features 345 of the region’s more common, showy, and unusual species. You start initially with a guide to the family groups, and then you go to the genera and species specifically..
Impressive are the details given and the beautiful photographs of the flowers and the time of year you are likely to see them. There’s a calendar with the months of the year indicating flowering times.
The introduction also provides the context of the use of by the indigenous people who depended on the range of plants for their survival. From the 17th Century bulbs from the Cape were introduced to European gardens, and their influence spread and continues to this day.
BULBS OF THE FYNBOS, by botanists John Manning and Dee Snijman, and published by Penguin Random House SA is a wonderful reference guide!
