Field guide to the bulbs of Greece
A Field Guide to the Bulbs of
Greece, by Christopher Grey-
Wilson, 224 pp, 2010,
Alpine Garden Society, £26,
isbn 0900048808
Greece has Europe’s richest flora
and a wealth of spring- and autumn-
flowering bulbs. ‘Bulbs’ sensu lato (a
misnomer, like ‘alpines’!) of course
includes plants with bulbs, corms,
tubers and rhizomes. The author of
this profusely and beautifully
illustrated book is an experienced
guide to the variety and beauty of the
Greek bulbous flora who has spread
his net widely. He not only describes
well-known and less familiar bulbs of
spring and early summer, but also
several dicotyledonous genera and
the so often neglected display of
autumn-flowerers.
The taxonomy is sensible, the
descriptions concise. The author
wisely keeps Chionodoxa apart from
Scilla and takes a narrow view of
Cretan tulips, retaining C. bakeri as
distinct. Colchicum, Crocus and
Cyclamen are valuable synopses of
recent taxonomic and floristic
research, and the brave section on
star-of-Bethlehem (Gagea and
Ornithogalum) is one of few accessible
accounts of these genera. It is good
to see orchids taking their place
alongside other bulbs, rather than in
their own volume. There is a sane
account of bee orchids (Ophrys) and a
liberal view of modern DNA-based
orchid taxonomy.
This is a field guide in that clear
simple keys link species descriptions;
but the text is more narrative, with
pictures sometimes straying from
accompanying words. The
‘landscape’ format suggests the
book’s natural habitat is as much
coffee table as rucksack – no bad
thing in itself. The handsome layout
is rather cramped, and a little harder
editing would have eliminated some
typos and minor inconsistencies.
Field botanists, gardeners and
anybody who loves bulbs, wild
flowers, Greece or the wider
Mediterranean will welcome this
book. Hopefully it will encourage
gardeners to grow more of these
spectacular plants. Above all, it well
records Greece’s superb autumn
bulb flora, which should encourage
out-of-season visits.
John Akeroyd is a botanist and
conservationist with 40 years’
experience of the Greek flora
