An Encyclopedia of cultivated palms

R. L. Riffle, Paul Craft

TIMBER PressINC, 2003 - Gardening - 528 pages

Cowritten by the author of the award-winning The Tropical Look, An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms offers a definitive account of palms that may be grown in the garden and landscape. Because palms are often underutilized as a result of their unfamiliarity — even to tropical gardeners — Robert Lee Riffle and Paul Craft have exhaustively documented every genus in the palm family. Approximately 890 species are described in detail, including cold hardiness, water needs, height, and any special requirements. Generously illustrated with more than 900 photos, this volume is as valuable as an identification guide as it is a practical handbook. It even contains photos of several palm species that have never before appeared in a general encyclopedia. Interesting snippets of history, ethnobotany, and biology inform the text and make this a lively catalog of these remarkable plants.

About the author

Robert Lee Riffle (19402006) was an internationally recognized authority on palms and tropical plants. His first two books, An Encyclopedia of Cultivated Palms (co-written with Paul Craft) and The Tropical Look: An Encyclopedia of Dramatic Landscape Plants (1998) each won an American Horticultural Society Book Award. He is also the author of The Timber Press Pocket Guide to Palms. He lives in Florida.

Paul Craft trained as a chemist and is vice president of the International Palm Society. A resident of Loxahatchee, Florida, he was the founding president of the Palm Beach Palm and Cycad Society and also a palm nurseryman. He is currently active in efforts to promote palm conservation.

Bibliographic information

• Title: An Encyclopedia of cultivated palms
• Authors: R. L. Riffle, Paul Craft
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: TIMBER PressINC, 2003
• ISBN: 0881925586, 9780881925586
• Length: 528 pages
• Subjects: Gardening / Ornamental Plants; Gardening / Trees; Science / Life Sciences / Horticulture; Science / Reference