From the Back Cover
Acer holds a proud place among the largest and most important woody genera. Its significance in both ornamental and economic uses is matched by its taxonomic complexity.
This book represents the fruit of almost two decades of work by its distinguished authors. In 1975, three years before Timber Press published his landmark
Japanese Maple, the late J.D Vertrees visited the authors--a nurseryman, a taxonomist/dendrologist and an avid maple collector--in the Netherlands and suggested that they collaborate to produce a definitive work on the genus . The challenge was accepted, and the three, for a time calling themselves the Club of Acerologists, set to work. Any early outline of the book optimistically called for completion and publication within five years.
As the initial work began, it became clear that a massive research effort was required; this took far longer than the author had anticipated. A full nineteen years after its initial conception the much-anticipated book is appearing, the first truly comprehensive treatment of the genus. Among the topics discussed are the history of maple names, maple structure, native habitats and distribution, pests and diseases, propagation, and taxonomy. The hear of the book is the proposed revision of the genus, which combines the exhaustive descriptions of hybrids and cultivars to create the greatest single source of information on maples in any language. The more than 200 color photographs of significant species and cultivars add greatly to the book's usefulness.
Of enormous importance to botanists because of its taxonomic and nomenclatural contributions, as well as for its exhaustive bibliography,
Maples of the World is a significant book for horticulturists, landscape architects and designers, growers and gardeners because of the key role maples play in ornamental planting. It is a book which Timber Press takes great pride in publishing.
Taxonomist and dendrologist P. C. de Jong, formerly on the faculty of the University of Utrecht and curator of the university's seven botanic gardens, is currently in charge of the Experimental Research Station in Boskoop. Dr. de Jong's special areas of interest are the genera Acer, Betula, Euonymus, and Lilium.
Dr. H. J. Oterdoom, F. L. S., a retired thoracic surgeon of international repute, is a passionate collector of maples and former president of the Dutch Dendrology Society.
D. M. van Gelderen is the principal author of several books on trees and shrubs. His family nursery, Firma C. Esveld in Boskoop, is one of the world's great specialist nurseries, famous for its conifers, maples, rhododendrons, and other woody plants. Among the awards D. M. van Gelderen has received in recognition of his contributions to horticulture are the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal of the Royal Horticultural Society and the Dutch Dendrological Society's Silver Doorenbos Medal. In 2000, he was named "Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau" by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, in recognition of his work for the Royal Boskoop Horticultural Society and his contribution to horticultural literature.
