Cut Flowers of the World

Ben-Erik van Wyk is a plant taxonomist with broad research horizons that include ethnobotany and economic botany. He is a Professor of Botany based at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He currently holds a National Research Chair in Indigenous Plant Use. His research interests include plant classification, useful plants, medicinal plants and ethnobotany. He has authored and co-authored more than 390 scientific papers, 23 books, 30 taxonomic revisions, and more than 100 new plant species and other taxa. He is best known for his series of international full-colour reference books on useful plants, including global reviews of Medicinal Plants, Food Plants, Herbs and Spices, Mind-altering and Poisonous Plants, Phytomedicines, Cut Flowers and Garden Succulents.

• 1: Preface 2: Introduction 3: History of flowers 4: The language of flowers 5: Regions of origin 6: The modern cut flower industry 7: Main production areas 8: From breeder to consumer 9: Cultivars and breeding 10: Cultivation of cut flowers 11: Harvesting of cut flowers 12: Post-harvest treatment of cut flowers 13: Marketing of cut flowers 14: Properties of cut flowers 15: Quality criteria 16: Care and handling of fresh cut flowers 17: Care and handling of dried flowers 18: Care and handling of cut greens and foliage 19: Care and handling of potted flowers 20: Cut flowers in alphabetical order 21: Concluding material, including common name indexes; Overview of cut flower production; Glossary of terms Quick guide to commercial florist flowers