The Pines of Mexico and Central America

Rating:
Summary: The best book on pines in many years.
Review: Perry's work could well serve as a model for other authors writing about trees. He clearly has a vast knowledge, based both on scholarly research and on field experience, of the world's most complex national pine flora. For each species, he presents a detailed description, a detailed description of its habitat, an excellent range map, several photographs (always in black-and-white, unfortunately), remarks on its taxonomic status (essential in light of the uncertain evolutionary relationships among Mexican pines), and a description of where the species may best be seen and exactly how to get there. This last feature will be particularly appreciated by anyone who has had the ambiguous pleasure of wandering around an unfamiliar country trying to find an unusual plant! I also appreciated the fact that Perry is not slow to point out that many of these pines are rare and that they may be in danger of extinction due to logging and habitat destruction. The two chapters dealing with this problem are a worthwhile read for anyone concerned about the loss of forest habitats due to population and development stresses in the Third World.