A copy of Genera Palmarum, the much anticipated volume on palm evolution and classification was recently gifted to Montgomery Botanical Center by the authors.
Genera Palmarum gives an encyclopedic account of the 183 genera comprising the palm family. The 2008 edition has the most up to date palm classification based on phylogenetic research and is available from Royal Botanic Gardens Kew or the International Palm Society. Genera Palmarum, Dr. Dransfield’s latest book, is co-authored with other prominent palm researchers including Dr. Carl Lewis of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
Dr. John Dransfield of Kew and Dr. Natalie Uhl of Cornell have made extensive use of MBC palm collections. The authors write:
“Throughout our work on palms, we have been given generous access to the many of the best living collections in botanic gardens throughout the world, allowing us to make direct observations of living palms and to collect material for micromorphological and molecular studies. We make special mention of the unparalleled facilities provided by the Montgomery Botanical Center (MBC), Miami. From 1997, JD and NWU visited Miami annually for seven years in a row, making ourselves at home in the MBC guest house and making extensive use of the fantastic palm collections at the MBC and the neighbouring Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. We often received visits from the remaining coauthors and we are left with many happy memories of those times, of the camaraderie engendered by our meetings, and of the concentrated peace and quiet in which we were able to discuss and develop ideas on palm morphology.”
Genera Palmarum includes many photographs taken during John’s time at MBC; Nypa fruticans, Zombia antillarum, Coccothrinax miraguama, and Cryosophila stauracantha are some of the many MBC collections featured in the book.