Deal: Cribb's book

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naoki

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Just heads-up for the deal of The Genus Paphiopedilum 2nd ed. (the newest version) by Phillip Cribb. The price has been hovering above $200, and the last time it went below $100 was Aug-Sept 2013. The cheapest now is $59, which is the lowest price for a new copy. The ratings of the sellers are kind of low, so it is a bit concerning.

There were a big dead stock? They haven't reissued this, have they?

http://www.amazon.com/The-Genus-Pap...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=9838120235
 
$200 for Cribb?? Surely you jest! The driest most boring botanical author around. Lucky if habitat descriptions (which most people are interested in these days) get 2 lines. Pages of technical descriptions are pretty much irrelevant in a book these days. (IMO)
 
Besides that, according to Eric Hanson, Cribb was involved with several of the invasions and confiscations
of orchid growers. Wouldn't pay a penny for anything
with his name on it.
 
LMAO...so true about Cribb. Boring as can be.
Since we are on the subject who has the best books slipper orchid culture wise? Braem?
 
That's too bad it is all alpha taxonomy. Most books by Braem seem to be similarly alpha taxonomy and nomenclature oriented. I do like following books by Cribb, though; Genus Pleione, Genus Cymbidium, Slipper Orchids of Borneo (and Genus Cypripedium at a lesser degree). The first 2 are co-authored, though.

I wish there were some slipper books similar to Fowlie's Bifoliate Catt book. Very entertaining to read (compared to Braem's). Something based on real field work instead of brown plant study. My favorite slipper book is Averyanov, where I can learn about the biology of plants. I guess Cribb is a co-author of this book, too. JAB, if you are interested in basic culture, then Lance Bark's book is probably most useful. Well, I still had to get Cribb's just for the sake of completeness!

Angela, then, there is the CITES App. 1 issue of Paph/Phrag, which can be argued good or bad. No-one is perfect, but he is doing his job, I guess.
 
Well, at less we don't have a Paph slipper named after Cribb (yet!).

I always enjoyed Dr. Jack Fowlie's articles in the Orchid Digest. A real adventurer that had my imagination going wild. Too bad he never published all of his field studies in one hard bound book.
 
Cribb's book is a great taxonomic work and summation of the genus. I admit it's not overly exciting to read but if you want to learn about a species it's a good place to go. It's a bit dated, though.

SlipperKing said:
Well, at less we don't have a Paph slipper named after Cribb (yet!).

I always enjoyed Dr. Jack Fowlie's articles in the Orchid Digest. A real adventurer that had my imagination going wild. Too bad he never published all of his field studies in one hard bound book.
Click to expand...

Paph. x cribbii, the natural hybrid between appletonianum and villosum. Described by Averyanov in 2006.
 
Stone, we must have the same sources. I think Cribb is
a rather unsavory character and hurt many people who
thought he was a friend. The orchid community doesn't
need that kind of friend.

Naoki, I know you like to think well of people, but save your good
feelings for others whom Cribb betrayed. No, he wasn't doing his
job when he participated in raids and confiscated orchids that either
ended up dying or being resold.
 
Agree with Rick. The Orchid Digest should re-publish Dr. Jack Fowlie's series "Malaya Revisited" and "Awash in the Bitter Sea". These were originally published in the 1970's and 80's and contained wonderful descriptions of Paph. habitat. I moved many Paph. species around the greenhouse to find micro-climates that most closely resembled those habitat descriptions.

A lot of people don't realize Jack was the among the first American explorers of Chinese Parvi habitats. Interestingly enough, he gained access to those remote parts of China at a time when foreigners were not tolerated by the regime, and he did so by convincing the Chinese authorities he was actually Chinese (!), by claiming his parents were missionaries in China in the early 1900's, and since he was born in China, he obviously must be a Chinese citizen. He was eventually found out and had to leave the country. Many of his travels made for interesting reading.
 
Angela,

You're going to love "Frederick Sander the Orchid King"! A few others you might enjoy reading are: "The Plant Hunters" by Tyler Whittle, "The Gardens of the Sun" by F.W. Burbidge, "Into the Heart of Borneo" by Redmond O'Hanlon and "A Naturalist in Borneo" by Robert W. Shelford.

As far as Jack Fowlie, one other important bit of information I gleaned from him was about Paph. micranthum culture. A long time ago, when the Parvi species were just being imported in quantity, we (FVO) found Paph. micranthum very difficult to grow. The plants would bloom once (probably a stress induced event) and die. Try as we might, it seemed impossible to keep them alive let alone re-bloom them. One night at one of Norris Powell's pre-Paph. Guild dinners at McClintock's, I happened to be sitting next to Jack (no accident) and started talking to him about micranthum habitat conditions. He swore there was nothing special about the habitat compared to armeniacum or malipoense, but then he thought a bit longer and said there was one thing that did stick in his mind. Most who knew him knew he was a heavy smoker (cigarettes) and he remembered it was difficult to find place in micranthum where he could have a cigarette because of the high winds, and when he did find a quieter area, there were few if any micranthums growing there. Of course, the first thing I did upon my return to the greenhouse, was to install "Casablanca" ceiling fans over themicranthum area. The change in growth was phenomenal! So I guess the message is if you're having problems with this species, try higher air movement.
 
Thank you for the suggestions Tom. I've read one of the
Borneo books but have forgotten which one. Whichever
one it was didn't have much in the way of writing talent.
Perhaps the other will be a better writer. Being an old
Eng. Prof., I notice writing style over content first. I
can't help it.

Interesting info. about air movement. I have two 52" ceiling
fans in my 12 x 28 greenhouse plus a couple of smaller fans
going 24/7 and find air movement perhaps one of the most
important aspects of orchid growing.
 
Thank you for lots of interesting story, Tom! ST is a wonderful place.

I wonder what is the reason for the benefits of strong wind for P. micranthum. Their surface cells do seem to have something special (thick wax?). Wind causes higher transpiration (and evaporative cooling of the leaves as the consequence) and gas (CO2/O2) exchange through stomata.
 
abax said:
Tom, FREDRICK SANDER THE ORCHID KING is on the way
from amazon. Are there other books you recommend for
orchid growers for fun? Fowlie sounds like great fun and
stories.
Click to expand...

I am at my 2. reading of 'The Orchid Thief' by Susan Orlean. Imo an interesting story because, besides the main fact of John Laroche with members of the Seminoles hunting in the Florida Fakahatchee for the ghost-orchid, with the along going problems, there are lots of other nice besides, like the description of meetings with a.o. Lee Moore, Robert Fuchs, Martin Motes, and many other sagas of the orchid-world!!


Of course, the Orchid King is a very interesting lecture too, Imo!

Jean
 
Tom,

I seldom disagree with you but your comments about Dr. Fowlie smoking are not accurate. Jack never smoked a cigarette in his life.

Angela, and others,

Brisk air movement is the key to successful orchid culture. You should re-read that chapter in my grower's manual(s).

BTW: Next week I will publish my revised Web site where I offer a substantial discount for my 2nd edition book. (All you newbies should take advantage of the book that changed the world of orchid growing) http://www.lancebirk.com/TPGM2.html
 

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