Camellias:The Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use Trehane, Jennifer 1998. ISBN 088192-462-8 (cloth U.S. $34.95) 176 pp., and The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Camellias Macoboy, Stirling, with Roger Mann, 1998. ISBN 0-88192421-0 (cloth US$39.95) 304 pp., both from Timber Press, 133 S.W. Second Ave., Suite 450, Portland OR 97204-3527. - Timber Press has recently issued a pair of complementary volumes on the important genus Camellia, which both charms our eyes with beautiful flowers and opens our eyes when we drink tea (Camellia sinensis). Camellias the Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use by Jennifer Trehane orients itself toward cultivation, while The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Camellias by Stirling Macoboy dwells principally on the task of listing and illustrating a large number of cultivars. Macoboy is the Australian author of What Flower is That? and a series of similarly titled general guides to plants. Each of these two new books on camellias provides some of the information focused on by the other book, but their different foci make them complementary.

Camellias the Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use comes from the pen of the Vice President of the International Camellia Society, someone with extensive experience in operating a British camellia nursery. She has traveled the world observing the members of this genus both in the wild and in cultivation. The history of camellias in the garden is considered both for Europe and for other parts of the world, followed by a botanical description and consideration of Camellia, including a discussion of which species are important in cultivation today. Cultivation is extensively covered, down to such details as the names of specific brands of fertilizer available in the United Kingdom which are suitable for use with camellias and suggestions for how those individual brands should be used. Camellias in the garden are then considered, along with the various issues involved in exhibiting camellias.

Trehane then turns to the problems involved in raising camellias before considering the various species and cultivars of camellias which are available today. Camellias the Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use finishes with information on nurseries, gardens, and societies devoted to camellias. Surprising is a lack of information on Chinese and Japanese nurseries and gardens, given the origin of most species and cultivars of Camellia in that part of the world, along with the custom of drinking tea. Some of the detail presented is unnecessary, useless outside a limited geographic region where products are available, such as the details about fertilizer use given above. In addition, there is the bizarre comment that a Dumas character, a consumptive prostitute who loved camellia blossoms, was a "wonderfully outrageous advertisement" for them (p. 12). These are a few disappointing features in an otherwise very good book which contains particularly attractive photographs (see p. 23).

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of camellias gives briefer sections on the camellia in history and botany, but its true purpose is the illustration of a large number of species and cultivars, considered according to traditional groupings such as the japonica camellias and the higo camellias. The pictures are lovely, though compared to Camellias The Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use, some of the colors are flat. Given the large number of pictures in Macoboy's book, this difference in color quality could be due to a difference in the method of reproduction used to keep the price of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Camellias within a reasonable range. The author commendably includes traditional Chinese or Japanese names for cultivars which have been renamed in the West along with the names in Chinese or Japanese characters. Information, briefer than is found in Camellias The Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use, is also provided in areas such as cultivation and propagation, and inserted in the pictorial encyclopedia are short discussions of topics such as the origins of tea and its consumption.

Both of these books on camellias are highly recommended. Camellias The Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use will be valuable to a broader audience since it contains such extensive instructions for cultivation, while The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Camellias belongs in the personal libraries of interested professionals, university libraries, and anywhere a basic reference is wanted for identifying and comparing many types of camellias. Macoboy's book would also be of value for any amateur specializing in camellias or for nurseries carrying a range of camellias.

The relevance of Camellias The Complete Guide to Their Cultivation and Use will be limited to a degree by the cultural information which it provides, since that information concentrates on North America, Britain, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. On the other hand, the inclusion of Japanese names and Japanese characters will give the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Camellias value in countries outside the area covered by Trehane's book. Due to the attractive nature of the subjects and of the pictures used, either book would be an excellent resource for generating interest and enthusiasm in students. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801

Campanulas: A Gardener's Guide Lewis, Peter, and Lynch, Margaret 1998. ISBN 0-88192-463-6 (cloth U.S. $34.95) 176 pp Timber Press, 133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450, Portland, OR 97204-3527. - Campanulas a Gardener's Guide by Peter Lewis and Margaret Lynch concerns itself with the genus Campanula (Campanulaceae), an important genus of garden plants. The species which comprise this genus will be familiar to many readers since Campanula includes species found in the wild over a wide geographic range. Perhaps most familiar for BSA members will be Those known as harebells or bluebells. Peter Lewis is one of the United Kingdom's Campanula National Collection holders, making his authorship particularly germane. Given the predominance of blue and purple flowers in this genus, the design of the dust jacket is at once striking and highly appropriate. Throughout, the illustrations are of very high quality with rich colors and sharp details.

After a brief introductory paragraph, the authors turn to the history of the genus Campanula, with a particular emphasis on its place in the garden. Lewis and Lynch then deal with classification of species and with characteristics of these plants as shared within the genus. Other genera from the Campanulaceae are also briefly noted in order to expand the context in which Camellia is considered, and the botany of Campanula is explained, including a detailed line drawing on p. 24. Though this particular drawing is sufficient for the task, it falls short of the line drawings seen in related books from Timber Press, and does not even equal in quality some of the other line drawings in this particular volume.

The history chapter in Campanulas a Gardener's Guide is organized according to the various figures in horticulture and botany who recorded and influenced the place of the campanula in Western gardens, starting with the author of Gerard's Herbal and continuing to Bailey and Ingwersen. The authors then consider the details of the cultivation of campanulas, including pests and diseases, followed by the individual plants themselves. This last task is accomplished with a single chapter containing a mixed alphabetized list of species and hybrids. This list includes short descriptions of each species or hybrid, with important and notable cultivars or forms listed at the end of the entry for a given species. The book concludes with an adequate Appendix listing societies and sources of seed, the great majority of which are in the United Kingdom or United States. This Appendix is not as complete as many found in similar books from this publisher, and the reader finds no list of gardens where campanulas may be seen, which is especially surprising given the popularity of the members of this genus. One superior item, a complete glossary, ends the book.

This book is yet another in a long line of fine gardening books from Timber Press which combine useful cultural information with sufficient taxonomic detail to give the book a wide audience. The information which has a more formal orientation is written in a style which should be accessible to gardeners and botanists alike. While Campanulas a Gardener's Guide does not equal some similar books from Timber Press in its scope or detail, it is nevertheless a useful volume.

This book is recommended for gardeners, especially those with an interest in campanulas and/or in alpine gardening, and for professionals who deal with campanulas, such as those in horticulture and floriculture programs along with those in landscape architecture. The book is appropriate for their professional libraries as well as for university and public libraries, given the appeal which this book will hold for a general audience of gardeners. - Douglas Darnowski, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana IL 61801