PALMS Dransfield: Palm Literature Vol. 51(1) 2007 PALM LITERATURE disciple, Ugolino Martelli. Martelli bequeathed Beccari’s collections to the University of THE PALMS OF ODOARDO BECCARI. Piero Florence, where botanists of today can enjoy Cuccuini & Chiara Nepi. Dipartimento de the beautifully curated herbarium and the Scienze Botaniche dell’ Università di wonderful Renaissance city! Palermo. 2006. Pp. 251, many photographs. The authors describe the current status of the Odoardo Beccari was the most important collections, illustrating the cupboards and palmologist of the late 19th and early 20th bundles of palms, and providing samples of centuries. His published oeuvre is astonishing, original drawings, carpological collections and ranging from papers published in botanical or one of the large photographs that were horticultural journals to massive folio works included in many of Beccari’s sumptuous illustrated by drawings and crisp black and monographs. The herbarium specimens are white photographs. He monographed many then catalogued by the scientific names under genera and had a worldwide interest in the which they are stored. family, although his major interests were undoubtedly in the palms of Asia, Malesia and The volume also includes biographical notes the West Pacific. It comes as something of a on the collectors of the specimens included in surprise to realise that his own fieldwork was the Herbarium Palmarum with cross references limited. However, the time he spent in Sarawak to the genera collected and also a listing in the 1860s was to instil in him an collectors by genus. Finally there are enthusiasm for tropical plants, especially geographical listings of taxa and lists of types palms. including a separate list of all the types recognized in the herbarium by Harold E. Once he had returned to Italy, Beccari began Moore Jr. There are also many reproductions to work up his collections and once his of annotation labels. expertise in palms was established, botanists began to send palm material from all over the The catalogue refers to the palm specimens by world to Beccari in Florence for his judgement. the name under which they have been filed in His enormous collection of dried pressed the herbarium, which is often the name used palms, separate fruit and material stored in by Beccari himself. There has been no attempt alcohol was deposited eventually in the to bring the nomenclature up to date. In fact Herbarium of the Botanic Institute in Florence, this is probably the most useful way of which, consequently, holds one of the premier presenting the data, as the palm taxonomist palm collections in the world. who consults the Florence Herbarium will most likely to want to see the types of the The Palms of Odoardo Beccari could easily have Beccari names. been produced as a bare listing of names and collections. Instead it is much more and thus The authors have provided an essential of much greater appeal. The volume contains reference for the serious palm taxonomist, a brief introduction explaining the two major while the general reader who dips into the herbaria collectively catalogued – the Erbario publication may find much of interest in the della Malesia consisting of Beccari’s own general introductory notes on Beccari. collections from Sarawak, Sumatra, the Congratulations to the authors on a most Moluccas and New Guinea, and the Herbarium worthwhile publication. Palmarum containing the material To obtain a copy, send an amount accumulated by Beccari from other collectors. corresponding to the shipping charges by a The Malesia herbarium comprises 405 postal order (Italy) or an international postal herbarium specimens and 28 carpological (fruit order (other countries) to the following or seed) specimens, while there are 6800 dried address: Dr. Piero Cuccuini, Sezione Botanica, specimens, 214 carpological collections, 1205 Museo de Storia Naturale, Via La Pira 4, I- illustrations and 1368 photographic plates in 50121, Firenze, Italy. For Europe (Including the Herbarium Palmarum. Mediterranean Africa and the Middle East) – The authors provide a synopsis of Beccari’s life, Euros 6.00; For Africa, Asia and the Americas his interest in palms and the events relevant – Euros 8.50; For Oceania – Euros 11.50. to the accumulation of the Herbarium JOHN DRANSFIELD Palmarum. This magnificent herbarium was Herbarium in fact Beccari’s own personal herbarium. On Royal Botanic Gardens Kew his death it was donated by his children to his 42 PALMS 51(1): 42.