Reviews

BENZING, D.H. 1990. Vascular epiphytes. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, etc. ISBN 0-521-26630-0. Price unknown (We in L paid Hfl. 156.00, which is roughly US$ 87.00). A manual on the circa 25,000 species of vascular plants that have the peculiar habit of rooting in tree crowns rather than on the ground. Their importance should not be underrated: in some pluvial neotropical forests 30-50% of the vascular flora is composed of them! They create niches for myriads of other organisms, including the majority of the 30+ M species of insects. They thus form an important part of the biosphere and biodiversity, while their biomass and so influence on the atmosphere can rival, if not exceed that of ‘normal’ plants.