Orchids of the Crimea

The Crimean Peninsula is one of the most beautiful regions in Eastern Europe. Within a relatively small area (26,900 km2), the peninsula has diverse landscapes and a rich flora with more than 2,500 vascular plant species. The floristic richness has been of special interest to Russian and foreign naturalists for more than 230 years.

Many natural history books on Crimea have been published, most of them in Russian. However, Orchids of the Crimea is the first book to be entirely devoted to the orchids of the Crimean Peninsula. It covers all known 45 orchid species and 5 infraspecific taxa that occur there. The distribution for each taxon is shown on 5-km grid maps. The treatment of each species, subspecies, and variety includes a morphological description and information about its type and nomenclature, as well as information about its habitat, flowering time, geographical and altitudinal distribution in the Crimea and elsewhere, and pollinators. Where necessary, other important aspects, e.g. occurrence of hybrids and current threats, are given as well. All orchid taxa are illustrated with numerous colour photos. Photos of a few natural orchid hybrids, occurring in the Crimea, are also provided. The book also includes a general section, which describes the main aspects of the Crimean geography, history, vegetation and flora, as well as the conservation and botanical exploration of the Crimean orchids.