18 January 2002 Humphrey J. Welch
THE CONIFER MANUAL
Volume 1
Forestry Science, Volume 34, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1991, 439 pages, line drawings, black-&-white photographs, index
ISBN 0-7923-0616-3

Back-Cover

The authors of Manual of Cultivated Conifers, published in 1965, claimed to have covered all the species of conifers that are hardy in the cold- and warm-temperate zones and also to have included all the names of cultivars published since 1753, with descriptions. The book at once established a claim to be the most complete survey of the cultivated conifers possible, a lead that it has held for nearly a quarter of a century and which, despite the appearance of other manuals, it can still claim because of its documentation of the names.

A very large number of the older names in that book relate to selections that have long since been lost to cultivation. On the other hand, since 1965 there has been a great increase in the number of new cultivars. The present Conifer Manual takes account of both these matters and also incorporates changes in the taxonomy of conifers that have been accepted during this period. The opportunity has been taken to amplify the descriptions of species and to introduce a new system of guides to their identification which many readers will find easier to use than formal keys.

A notable change since 1965 has been an increase in the use within ornamental horticulture of species that never attain arboreal proportions and of slow-growing variants of larger species. This has resulted in a proliferation of cultivars loosely embraced under the term 'Dwarf conifer'. These have been dealt with in depth in the present author's own books, notably in Manual of Dwarf Conifers, published in 1979. The incorporation of a complete up-date of that book within the present work will serve to justify the claim to comprehensive treatment that is implicit in the title The Conifer Manual.

Table of Content
Volume One

Author's Introduction			1		Watering		42
Picture Credits			3		Pruning		42
				5.	Classification and Nomenclature		44
A Conifer Bibliography			4		Botanical classification		44
1.	General Introduction		9		Historical review		47
	The word 'conifer'		9		Nomenclature of cultivated plants		50
	The origin of conifers		9		The codes of nomenclature		51
	The morphology of conifers		11		Latin-form cultivar names		53
		The roots	11		Authorities		54
		The trunk	11		Types and protologues		54
		The branches	11		The World Conifer Data Pool		56
		The buds	13		Conifer names registration		56
		The leaves	14		Conifer Data Sheet		60
		Flowers and cones	14	6.	Identification		62
2.	The Uses and Value of Conifers		18		Keys		62
	Conifers in nature		18		Guides to identification of species		63
	Using conifers		18			Method of using the guides	63
	A solitary specimen		20			The twelve main groups	64
	Hedges and shelter belts: woodland		20			'Go-to' listing for main group one	65
	Dwarf conifers		20			'Go-to' listing for main group two	65
	Alpine forms		22			'Go-to' listing for main group three	66
	Seedling mutations		22			'Go-to' listing for main group four	69
	Juvenile fixations		23			'Go-to' listing for main group five	72
	Bud mutations		23			'Go-to' listing for main group six	74
	Witches' brooms		24			'Go-to' listing for main group seven	75
	Cultivariants		25			'Go-to' listing for main group eight	80
	Using dwarf conifers		25			'Go-to' listing for main group nine	83
						'Go-to' listing for main group ten	83
3.	Choice of Species and Varieties		31			'Go-to' listing for main group eleven	85
	Climatic zones and hardiness ratings		31			'Go-to' listing for main group twelve	86
4.	Cultivation		37	7.	Varieties Currently Available		90
	Soil preparation		37		Citation of 'authorities'		90
	Purchase of plants		38		Citation of Latin-form cultivar names		91
	The planting season		41		Abies		92
	Planting		41		Acmopyle		167
	Aftercare		42		Actinostrobus		167
	Agathis		167		Diselma		316
	Amentotaxus		167		Ephedra		317
	Araucaria		167		Fitzroya		317
	Athrotaxis		171		Fokienia		317
	Austrocedrus		174		Ginkgo		317
	Austrotaxus		174		Glyptostrobus		321
	Callitris		174		Halocarpus		322
	Calocedrus		174		Juniperus		322
	Cathaya		178		Keteleeria		404
	Cedrus		178		Larix		405
	Cephalotaxus		191		Libocedrus		421
	Charnaecyparis		194		Metasequoia		421
	Cryptomeria		263		Microbiota		423
	Cunningharnia		279		Microcachrys		424
	x Cupressocyparis		282		Microstrobus		424
	Cupressus		288		Papuacedrus		425
	Dacrycarpus		313		Phylloclaclus		425
	Dacrydium		315
	Decussocarpus		316		Index to Volume One		427

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18 January 2002