Orchids of Piedmont

Amalita Isaja and Lorenzo Dotti present a pocket-sized field guide to Piedmont's wild orchids, exploring herbariums, orchid ecology, habitat conservation, especially arid grasslands, and pollinators.

This 14 x 21 cm pocket guide includes illustrations and watercolor plates to help readers identify the 90 species of wild orchids found in Piedmont.

It features:

• advanced identification keys based on species comparison and distinguishing traits.
• in-depth sections on pollination mechanisms and scientific insights into orchids' history and ecological role.
• distribution maps drawn from decades of field observations, bibliographic and database research, and herbarium reviews, including the Herbarium Pedemontanum at the University of Turin's Botanical Garden.
• discovery trails and biodiversity hotspots across Piedmont's most notable sites, highlighted for their landscape, environmental, and naturalistic value.
  

A major undertaking involving the collection, digitisation, and critical review of thousands of records, starting with a large-scale compendium in the Piedmont Region's Flora Database, curated by IPLA, Institute for Timber and the Environment, and further expanded since 2017 through field research and Citizen Science projects.

The project was made possible by the support and involvement of the Orchidee Piemontesi community.

Amalita Isaja and Lorenzo Dotti

Amalita Isaja, a cultural mediator and science communicator, and Lorenzo Dotti, a watercolorist and naturalist illustrator, have designed and curated science and nature exhibitions for quite a number of museums and nature parks across Italy.

For nearly forty years, they have been devoted to wild flora, especially wild orchids, conducting fieldwork across Piedmont and contributing to several research projects. Their publications include Wild Orchids of the Susa Valley (2003), Wild Orchids of the Province of Asti (2010), Identifying the Ophrys of Piedmont (2014), and Orchids of Piedmont, Atlas and Identification Guide (2017, 2nd ed. 2021), alongside articles in scientific and popular journals on ecology and landscape.

Since 2012, they have managed the Facebook page Orchidee Piemontesi, which now counts over 3,700 members, enthusiasts and researchers whose observations have expanded knowledge of wild orchids and inspired a number of conservation initiatives.

Free admission, booking required.