Lawyering the mistletoe

“Fridlysta växter” is a book in Swedish about plants and somewhat-allied organisms protected by law in Sweden. As usual, illustrator Bo Mossberg´s name is more prominent on the front cover than that of the actual author, one Hans Rydberg. The reason is Mossberg´s local fame in Sweden – I suppose we could call him “the Lars Jonsson of plant and mushroom illustrations”. The book, published in 1995, was a collaboration with the Swedish “Sierra Club”, the Naturskyddsföreningen (NF). It´s both a field guide of sorts and an extended pitch for the specific form of environmentalism represented by the NF. Since the work is in Swedish, it´s of limited use to outsiders, but could perhaps be an interesting collectors´ item if you like plant illustrations. A weird detail is that the list of protected plant species at Swedish Wikipedia is from 1996, suggesting that very few updates have been made since the time this little book was published!

Rydberg argues that the entire system of making specific plant species “protected by law” doesn´t really help much. The right of landowners to exploit their land always takes precedence, and the best way to save threatened plant species isn´t to protect them one by one, but rather to shield entire areas from outside exploitation. After all, plants are part of wider eco-systems while being less mobile than many animals. Also, most of the legal protection is local or regional rather than national. Only the orchid family is protected all over Sweden. Nor is there a correlation between a plant being rare and a plant being legally protected!

That being said, Rydberg is strongly into the myth of “biodiversity”, something Nature is not (despite the romantic conceptions of many Green activists). He admits that floral diversity is often the result of *human* activity, most notably certain old fashioned agricultural practices. Take away these, and Nature suddenly becomes more homogenous (butterflies follow the same patterns). But if so, eco-activists must admit that they are making a human-centered choice between two human-created landscapes, not choosing “natural biodiversity”.

Otherwise, I loved the book for all the weird facts (or factoids?) it contains. Thus, it turns out that a species of bacteria is protected by the Swedish nanny state. Well, almost: Nostoc zederstedtii (the scientific name of this Something) is a blue-green alga and visible to the naked eye, but research suggest that these algae are actually closer to the kingdom of the bacteria, where they form a sub-group all their own known as cyanobacteria. The species in question can´t be plucked (or whatever it is humans do with cyanobacteria) in Lake Vettasjärvi in Lapland. Skipper, you have been warned. The lichen Letharia vulpina is protected, which makes me wonder, since it was used in bygone times to poison wolves – another protected species and apparently a favorite of the Swedish conservationist movement. Could there be a connection, LOL? Many of the protected species grow at the small island of Rörö off the Swedish west coast, including a highly aberrant variety of raspberry, known in proper Latin as “Rubus idaeus f. anomalus”. Hybrids where one of the parent species is legally protected are sometimes also legally protected – and sometimes not. (I suppose we could call this the “one seed rule” or something to that effect.)

There is also an interview with a bureaucrat at the agency responsible for environmental protection. It, too, is fun reading. Thus, you can´t remove orchids – unless you mow the lawn (or, I suppose the golf course) when it (weirdly) suddenly becomes OK to simply move on over the damn things. “Remove” is to be interpreted very broadly in other contexts, though. Thus, you can´t take a legally protected species even if it has been removed by somebody else and then simply left for dead. You can pluck the flowers of a legally protected species at your own backyard, provided *you* planted them there from seeds bought at a respectable vendor, but you can´t remove them from areas outside your private property even if you suspect they are feral descendant of your own legally reared plants. In the county of Västmanland, landowners can remove and sell mistletoe from their trees, but in the rest of the country, they can only fell the trees and destroy the mistletoe, but not sell it…

If you are a Paleo-Pagan Druid living in Sweden, the pro tip would be to buy land in Västmanland...

LOL!

Wow, do you need to be a lawyer to sort these things out? Gotta love it! OK, I admit. I read books like “Fridlysta växter” mostly for the entertainment factor…

Plain orchids

“Orchids” is a book written by Henrik Aerenlund Pedersen, with illustrations by Bo Mossberg. At least in Sweden, Mossberg is often regarded as the “main author”, probably because he is more famous than the actual writers of books he illustrates. Of course, it's possible that Mossberg *is* the de facto editor.

Mossberg has previously worked on two field guides to European orchids, later published under one cover (at least in Sweden). Many illustrations in this new volume seem to be adapted from these field guides. “Orchids” contains general chapters on the orchid family, and information on the various genera found in Europe. It illustrates most European species, but contains very little species-specific information. “Europe” is here defined as everything west of the Urals and north of the Caucasus, plus the Canary Islands, Madeira and Azores. It also includes the East Aegean islands and the “European” part of Turkey, but excludes Cyprus.

This isn't a “bad” volume, but I nevertheless wonder about who might want to buy it. It's not really a field guide, and feels too small for a reference volume. It may look good on your coffee table, or perhaps in a public library…

Four stars for the artwork, but still unsure as to value?

Excuse me, is this a comedy?

"Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid". It sounded promising, but for various reasons, I missed the first 50 minutes of the movie. Not to worry. The rest of it was just as bad as I expected!

A bunch of stereotyped, out-of-place characters starred by mediocre actors. A greedy, mad scientist searching for the fountain of youth (which turns out to be a rare orchid). And...well, anacondas. And then, maybe not, since the meagre plot is set in Borneo. Anacondas, of course, are South American. Borneo is in, ahem, the East Indies. Presumably, the "anacondas" are pythons, then?

Fortunately, the film has a happy ending, with Mr. Mad Scientist being killed by a noxious spider and subsequently feasted upon by the snakes during their mating ritual. The blood orchid (Perennia immortalis) is destroyed together with the 'condas, and, well, there the story pretty much winds down.

If you are a kid, you will definitely be scared stiff by the giant serpents in this production, but the rest of us either gasp or laugh, perhaps depending on the amount of lite alcoholic beverages we have consumed beforehand. Being a tee-totaller, I mostly gasped. But sure, "Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid" might entertain those of a somewhat less classy disposition.

Blah, blah, blah.

Wind in the willows

This is the book version of David Attenborough's TV series “The Private Life of Plants”. Books like these were indispensable in the good ol' days before the World Wide Web. All the highlights of the show are here: bristlecone pines (one of these trees is 5000 years old?!), strangler figs (only 500 years old – tssk, tssk), an underground orchid in West Australia, the giant water lily of the Amazon, carrion flowers (guess what they smell like), the Venus fly trap, plants fooling insects into “mating” with them, etc etc. Some fungi have been thrown in for good measure, too, although fungi aren't really plants (well, not anymore). Good if you like plants, including the slightly absurd varieties. Probably a total waste of time otherwise…

Also available in English

This is the original Swedish edition of Sven Nilsson's book "Orchids of Northern Europe". It's probably mostly of interest to collectors of rare and beautiful books, since Nilsson's illustrator Bo Mossberg has managed to give the Northern orchids an almost "tropical" quality. This book might not help you in an exotic flower shop, but its almost a work of art in its own right!

There is also a sequel titled "Syd- och Mellaneuropas orkidéer", which covers the somewhat more exotic orchids of central and southern Europe. Apparently, there is also a one-volume version of the entire work in Swedish. None of these can be purchased from Amazon, however, and seem to be pretty hard to come by even in Sweden.

It seems that only the Northern volume has been translated into English. But then, we can't have everything, can we? ;-)

Not exotic enough?

A review of "A Celebration of Flowers" 

I never heard of Curtis's Botanical Magazine (now Kew Magazine), but it's apparently a long-running botanical journal, first published in 1787 when it was founded by William Curtis. The magazine insisted on coloring plates by hand until 1948 - no photographs allowed!

This book is a celebration of the first 200 years of this particular periodical. Many color plates from various issues of the magazine are reproduced. One chapter deals with William Curtis, the founder. He was an apothecary by trade and natural history enthusiast by inclination. The point of his magazine was to illustrate and describe the exotic species of flowering plants popular at the time, and apparently the periodical was intended for the general reader (or whatever passed for general reader during the late 18th century). Many subscribers complained about the featured plants not being exotic enough!

Subsequent chapters of this book deal with Curtis' successors at the editorial chair: John Sims, William Jackson Hooker and Joseph Hooker. There is also a chapter on Lovell Reeve, the actual owner of the magazine. Finally, there are special chapters on glasshouses and gardens, the pursuit and transportation of plants, and (surprise) orchids.

Four stars for a relatively popularized book that might nevertheless be of interest only to botanists or garden-enthusiasts.

The wilder orchids

Although "Wild orchids of southern Africa" is probably too large to bring with you in the field, this is nevertheless a kind of field guide. It covers 433 species found in South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho. The introductory chapters deal with the structure of African orchids, scientific names and synonyms, distribution, ecology and conservation. The main part of the book includes keys, species presentations and photos.

Lars Jonsson´s wonderful birds

A review of "Lars Jonsson´s Birds: Paintings from a Near Horizon"

Lars Jonsson is a Swedish painter and amateur naturalist who illustrated several field guides to European birds. Actually, to call Jonsson an "amateur" naturalist feels somewhat ridiculous, since he probably spent more time in the field than most scientists!

This book is an excellent introduction to Jonsson and his art for the American public. Jonsson has always been something of a natural. At the age of seven, his parents submitted one of his works to a children's art competition. They were accused of fraud! The jury didn't believe that the drawing was made by a child. Jonsson had his first exhibit at the age of 15, at the Museum of Natural History in Stockholm (the capital of Sweden). He also illustrated a membership bulletin for a young naturalists' association. Curiously, at the age of 20, Jonsson's application to the Academy of Arts was rejected! But perhaps that's the fate of all great artists?

Perhaps it was just as well. Instead of lingering at the Academy, Jonsson took a trip to the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea, and realized that all field guides to birds were seriously flawed. None of them showed waders in juvenile plumage, despite the fact that such waders are the most common in real life. This would have been around 1971. Jonsson spent the next years working on a five-volume series of new field guides to European birds, which he both wrote and illustrated. They have become classics, and have even been translated into English. As a kid, my father bought me one of them, ironically at the Museum of Natural History. Much later, Jonsson also published a one-volume field guide, "Birds of Europe", based on the five-volume series. By that time, he had moved to Gotland, where he owns a small private museum exhibiting his paintings. He has received the prestigious Master Wildlife Artist Award, and some younger painters apparently try to imitate him and "the Lars Jonsson look".

"Lars Jonsson's Birds" contains a representative selection of Jonsson's art, plus short commentaries by the artist himself. The earliest work is the funniest: a very bad drawing of a sparrow made by Jonsson at the age of four. It looks like a parrot. Well, it's good to know that Jonsson wasn't a prodigy when he was *that* young! All the other works are serious, and include watercolors, oil paintings, illustrations from the field guides, and lithographs. Most paintings show birds (naturally), but some orchids and other flowery plants are included, plus a self-portrait and a portrait of Jonsson's brother. There is also a curious photo of Jonsson somewhere in Arabia, looking at a gull caught by his guides. And then there are eiders, eiders, eiders... Jonsson seems to be down right obsessed by eiders! (The eider is a large, black and white duck living on seashores.)

What always struck people about Jonsson's bird paintings is that they are very realistic. This is true even of the somewhat standardized illustrations in the field guides. Jonsson manages to capture the individual character of each bird. The paintings and illustrations in this book cover a whole range of different bird species, but my favourites are the gyrfalcons. They look almost magical. But there does seem to be three kinds of birds not even Jonsson can paint properly: magpies, crows and jays. I'm an unofficial corvid aficionado, and I can't say the magpies and crows in this book touched me. (The jays in his field guides are even worse - and jays have personality!)

But that's a very minor complaint against a great artist. If you are a lover of great art, birds, or both, I recommend "Lars Jonsson's birds". In fact, I even recommend his one-volume field guide "Birds of Europe". I don't think you should use it in the field, though. Both books are for the coffee table.

Recommended.

Why I flunked botany 101

A review of Fitter-Fitter-Blamey, the classical field guide to British and Northern European plants.

I've realized that I'll never become a good botanist. Or even amateur botanist. For starters, I find flowering plants confusing. The other day, I thought I had made a sensational discovery of orchids in my *boring* strolling area, only to find out that the "orchids" were actually mints or figworts. And how many small plants with red flowers are there out there? How on earth do you tell which is which??? Moreover, the kids from a local day care centre have seeded some plants of their own in the forest next to the industrial zone where I work, making the local flora even more confusing. Two weeks ago, I even found a Lilium martagon (it took me days to identify it, leafing through several different books). It must have gone AWOL from some nearby garden plot!

Second, this field guide didn't exactly help. Every time I follow the keys, I end up on a page spouting dozens of similar-looking species, plus another dozen that aren't even illustrated. Pick your choice! (But yes, Lilium is there.)

The illustrations aren't bad, and the book is supposed to be pocket sized so you can easily bring it out in the field. A more comprehensive field guide would look like a medieval bible, and be just as heavy. (They are!) Yet, I just can't bring myself to like Fitter, Fitter and Blamey. "The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe" is as densely packed as a train in rush hour. And, as already mentioned, many of the species mentioned aren't even on the colour plates.

I'll give it three stars for old times sake. I actually have the 1979 edition!

And now, please show me some ORCHIDS.

Clinical, antiseptic and boring

Perhaps it's pointless to criticize a field guide for being frankly boring, rather than being an aesthetically pleasing experience. Still, we are spoiled with field guides in Sweden that actually are aesthetically pleasing. I'm referring, of course, to Lars Jonsson's books on birds, and the books on orchids and mushrooms illustrated by Bo Mossberg. Maybe that's why I was disappointed by Pierre Delforge's field guide to the orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. I mean, a book about *orchids* that make you yawn, or wish you were somewhere else entirely? But then, perhaps I'm unfair. After all, the point of this field guide is to identify orchids in the field, not necessarily to show them from their best side...

"Orchids of Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East" is a comprehensive field guide and reference work, covering over 500 species of wild orchids found in Europe, North Africa, Turkey, Israel, Syria, Jordan and the Sinai. All of Europe is covered, including Russia west of the Urals. So are the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores. Most species are illustrated with photographs, both a photo showing the entire plant, and close ups on the flowers. (The Ophrys species are only illustrated with close ups.) Two rare species from Algeria are illustrated by colour drawings, presumably because no photos of them exist. Each species presentation contains a detailed description of the plant, information on its scientific name, habitat and approximate range. The most common pollinators of each species are also mentioned, as are hybrids and aberrant varieties. Identification keys are included. One negative is that no vernacular names are included, giving the guide as a somewhat "elitist", "professional botanists only" impression. I have to admit a strong dislike to such an approach. I therefore laughed when I saw that the vernacular name "lady's slipper" accidentally slipped into the section on that particular species. Ladies first, huh? A more "elitist" negative is that the world wide range of each species isn't given, only its range within the area covered by the book. Since "Orchids of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East" is also a reference work, this is a clear drawback.

How good this book is as a field guide, I honestly don't know. I'm quite lazy, and prefer watching orchids in botanical gardens! But yes, I'm sure it functions well as a reference for botanists, or perhaps advanced students of the subject. I was also struck by the wide diversity of the orchid family, even in such a "boring" area as the Western Palaearctic.

And yet, I somehow can't talk myself into liking this clinical, antiseptic and very professional work...

Boring, meaningless and cheap

A review of "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids" by Alec Pridgeon.

This isn't really an encyclopaedia. Rather, it's a meaningless coffee table book. True, 1100 orchid species are illustrated and identified, but so what? The presentations are extremely short, so short that Wikipedia would consider them stubs, and the photos are plain boring. Usually, we only get a close up of one particular flower! Nor are common names included, not even of species which have established English names (such as the Lady's Slipper orchid). If you own a barbershop or run a health clinic, this book may be good for the waiting room, but to actually *read* it is pointless. Instead, try to find books about a specific geographical region, or a specific group of orchids. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Orchids" will just annoy you and make you $30 poorer.

Orchids as art

"Orchids of Northern Europe" by Sven Nilsson and Bo Mossberg was published by Penguin in 1979.

I have the Swedish original edition, and although I'm not particularly interested in orchids, I must say that it's the best orchid book I've seen. It's illustrated by Bo Mossberg, who seems to be the Lars Jonsson of plant and fungi painting. (Jonsson is a famous bird painter.) The pictures of orchids in the book are better than in any other book I'm familiar with. In some strange way, they are even better than the original thing. (I've seen photos of all the species in this book, in another field guide.)

If you think a field guide to "boring" northern European orchids isn't as beautiful as a coffee table book about tropical species, think again! For obvious reasons, I don't think this book is of any particular use to Americans, but if you are an orchid-lover, you might want to buy it anyway, as a collectors' item.

Species covered in this volume include the fairy slipper, the lady's slipper, the lesser butterfly orchid, the elder-flower orchid (known as "Adam and Eve" in Sweden, since plants with white flowers usually grow together with plants sporting red flowers), and, of course, the fly orchid!

In Swedish, there is both a sequel covering the orchids of central and southern Europe, and a combined volume covering all of Europe. Their titles escape me at the present time, and they are not readily available in Sweden either. (Unless you break into my flat!)

As mentioned, "Orchids of Northern Europe" might not help you in the New York City botanical gardens, but it's a nicely produced book for orchid-lovers.

High five!