Helechos Arborescentes de Guatemala: Distribución, Diversidad, Usos
y Manejo, by Mario Véliz and Jorge Vargas. 2006. Unidad de Investigación Herbario BIGU, Escuela de Biologı́a, Facultad de Ciencias Quı́micas 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. Méndez) 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.