American Fern Journal 98(3):178 (2008)

REVIEW
Helechos Arborescentes de Guatemala: Distribucion, Diversidad, Usos
y Manejo, by Mario Veliz and Jorge Vargas. 2006. Unidad de Investigacion
Herbario BIGU, Escuela de Biologa, Facultad de Ciencias Qumicas y
Farmacia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. 94 pp. $22.00. ISBN:
99922-2-296-4.
This book is not only intended for botanists, but also for local environmental
authorities. It is the first book about tree ferns in Guatemala written in Spanish
by Guatemalan botanists. It presents a summary of the distributions, diversity
and conservation of tree ferns in Guatemala, and is divided in six parts. The
first part provides a description of the habitats in which tree ferns occur in
Guatemala. The second is a treatment of 21 species of tree ferns in a broad
sense (including the genera Alsophila, Cnemidaria, Cibotium, Culcita,
Cyathea, Dicksonia, Lophosoria, Marattia, and Sphaeropteris). The third
section gives a brief description of some of the actual and earlier uses of tree
ferns in Guatemala. The fourth section (authored by Claudio A. Mendez)
presents an initial description of the vulnerability and management of tree
ferns. The fifth and sixth sections give keys to the families, genera and species,
and provide a list of the specimens examined. At the end of the book there is a
small illustrated glossary.
By far the biggest part of the book is the taxonomic treatment that is based on
the Flora Mesoamericana treatment. Descriptions and photos of the principal
and diagnostic characters are given for every species treated. At the end of each
description there is a paragraph in English that highlights the diagnostic
characters of each species. A novel aspect of the treatment is that it gives
photos of the root mantle of some of the species and a key to distinguish these
species based on this character. The photos of the roots as well as photos of the
scales of some species are in a color plate at the end of the book. This plate can
be used to identify parts of the ferns being harvested in the absence of leaves,
thus being useful for local environmental authorities.
It is interesting that local Guatemalan institutions are making efforts to
document the diversity and conservation status of some of their ferns. This
book, however, is in great need of a thorough editorial revision (the Spanish
and the English parts). The text contains a high number of stylistic,
grammatical, and even typographical mistakes that cloud the huge effort in
time and money that writing a book entails.ALEJANDRA VASCO. New York
Botanical Garden/City University of New York, Bronx, NY 10458-5126.