Carnivorous Plants

by Adrian Slack

Book Overview

Adrian Slack focuses on some fifty species, using photographs, line drawings, and diagrams to illustrate their peculiarities.

The mobile tentacles of the Sundews, the snapping lobes of the Venus Fly Trap, and the slippery, baited pitfalls of the Pitcher Plants seem the stuff of science fiction, yet these amazing plants do exist. Adrian Slack focuses on some fifty species, using photographs, line drawings, and diagrams to illustrate...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0262690896
• ISBN13: 9780262690898
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Mit Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.1" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Outstanding reference for carnivorous plants!

I think some of the previous reviewers may not have been aware that Adrian Slack has a different book available that deals specifically with growing carnivorous plants. This book's intended purpose is definitely not to be a "growing guide" for carnivorous plants. Rather, it is a rigorous and detailed study of the plants themselves, their history, biology and trapping mechanisms. Yes, there is a small section in end of the book regarding cultivation, but it is clearly intended to serve more as an appendix than a main chapter in the book. To dismiss this text on the basis that it is not a growing guide and that it lacks sufficient cultivation information is a cheap shot, because that was never the author's intent and anyone who has read it could tell you that. For what this book IS intended to do, it is without a doubt the best on the market (even today!). No other carnivorous plant book on the market today covers their biology and trapping mechanisms in such vivid detail, nor do they provide such high quality drawings and examinations of just how these plants function. If you want information on how to cultivate these amazing plants, this is definitely not the book for you. If, however, you want to know where these plants come from and seek rigorous scientific detail on just how they work, this is without a doubt the best resource in publication, bar none. This book has been around for a long time and I hope it remains in publication because there is currently nothing else that supplies the same information. If you are growing these plants and want to know more about them than what is covered in more popular cultivation books (e.g. Peter D'Amato or Barry Rice's texts) then this book is what you need. It makes an excellent companion to many of the cultivation books on the market today and will give you an even greater appreciation and understanding of these remarkable plants.

Fantastic on the scientific side of things

This book definitely excels in the scientific side of things. Reading the various methods by which the plants lure their prey and then trap them was extremely fascinating. There is no doubt, that if you want to know the different mechanisms by which these amazing plants work, then this book is for you. Unfortunately, I don't feel it explained in any great detail on how to cultivate the plants or how to grow them. The section of the book that dealt with growing the plants was rather superficial and disorganised. Nonetheless, when it comes to science I give it 5 stars, but when it comes to methods of growing, I give it 3 stars. Overall, I would give it four stars. I still recommend it- it was a great read for me and I'm sure it will be for you too.

Great for the collector, but probably not for a beginner

This book takes a look at the various types and species of carnivorous plants. It is not an all-encompasing field guide and doesn't try to list every known species, but is a good introduction to carnivorous plants and the methods they use to trap prey and some of the more common species in cultivation at the time. Practical growing advice is at a minimum - for that it's better to see the author's later work Insect-eating Plants and How to Grow Them (recently reprinted as Insect Eaters), or a more recent book such as D'Amato's The Savage Garden. As I understand it, this was the first serious book devoted specifically to the study of carnivorous plants since the 1940's. As such it is probably more suitable to the collector of carnivorous plants (and books about them) than someone who is trying to grow them. But still, I've heard Slack called the "Father" of modern carnivorous plant cultivation, and his books deserve respect for that alone. The photos in the book are superb, although there are few, and most are B & W.

Informative and comprehensive, great photos

The book is outstanding. It covers most types of carnivorous plants, and has many excelent color photos. It has a section on how to grow & care for each type of plant. From pot size, soil, light, humidity, fertilizers, growing period and more.A minor negative - some additional information would have been useful. I wish it had a little more information on the optimal pot size for the plants, some have this info, some don't. And don't expect it to have every complex Sarracenia Hybrid covered, although it does have a lot of them.Ive read many (most?) books on CPs published in the last 50-60 years, and this one covers more, provides more info, and has better pictures. This deserves 5 stars, unlike the typically inflated rating. I use it to research any plants I consider buying. If you're interested in CPs this book would be worth buying. It's a steal at its current price. ... .

One of the best

This book is one of the best books on carnivorous plants (CP). Slack writes in an easy fluid style that reads well, although occasionally his British terminology can confuse the reader. The book covers a wide variety of species and techniques for growing each of them. My only major complaint (and my reason for giving it only 4 stars) is the small number of colored pictures. These plants are some of the most beautiful plants on earth but it is hard to grasp their beauty from line drawings. Slack's second book (Insect-Eating Plants and How to Grow Them) and D'Amato's book (The Savage Garden) do better in this regard. I would recommend this book both to the beginner and experienced CP grower for its wealth of useful information.