BROMELIADS
by Victoria Padilla
Crown Publishers, Inc., New York, 1973
ISBN 0-517-500450

      The subtitle of this book says it all; it is, "A descriptive listing of the various genera and the species most often found in cultivation". It does so in a little more than 130 pages, including 8 pages of color photos and a glossary. There are also numerous black and white photos. She devotes 12 pages to general topics - cultivation, nomenclature, etc. The rest of the book consists of entries for the various species, giving their geographic range and in most cases the altitudes at which they grow, followed by a description of the plant. The descriptions are given in text form rather than the tabular format that Rauh used. The mistakes are very few; an example is the listing of Tillandsia festucoides as being in Florida.

      Victoria Padilla was one of the charter members of the BSI, a very significan name in bromeliad horticulture, and it is a shame that this book is out of print. It is the first book on the subject that I encountered when I started growing bromeliads in 1977, and I could not have had a better introduction. Copies surface at used book dealers from time to time; buy a copy if you ever encounter one.

      Review by Kenneth Quinn