Book Review: Pitcher Plants of Sarawak

Pitcher Plants of Sarawak: A Pocket Guide by Charles Clarke and Ch'ien Lee is a fantastic little book. Although 80 pages may seem short, this is a fantastic guide to Nepenthes in Sarawak both for those there and those growing them elsewhere.

Anyone who has been to Ch'ien Lee's fantastic website can probably tell you, even without looking at this book, that any book with photos by Ch'ien Lee will contain some great ones. Pitcher Plants of Sarawak: A Pocket Guide does not disappoint. It contains both shots of the habitat preferred by different Nepenthes species as well as the Nepenthes species themselves.

On top of the fantastic photographs, the authors have added valuable textual information, and a fantastic map of the region. The text is vital because it teases out differences between habitats, which is valuable not only for enthusiasts hunting these plants in the wild, but also helping growers elsewhere diagnose what may be ailing their plants or what could be added to promote growth.

Although this pocket guide, which actually would fit nicely in a pocket, is not designed for growers, but only explorers, I would say that it is a valuable addition to Nepenthes grower's library. I found it to be an easy read, with lots of minute detail - more than is captured in the more recent Pitcher Plants of the Old World - and pictures that were well integrated into the text. Not only are most pictures framed by text, but they are also positioned in a manner that makes the references in the text to certain aspects readily apparent.

Overall, I would highly recommend Pitcher Plants of Sarawak: A Pocket Guide, and, as you can tell, I have no real complaints about it.