Plant Hunters Atlas

by Ambra Edwards

Overview

"A refreshingly insightful history of plant introductions." - Roy Lancaster 

Travel the world with extraordinary tales of the botanical discoveries that have shaped empires, built (and destroyed) economies, revolutionized medicine and advanced our understanding of science.

Circling the globe from Australia's Botany Bay to the Tibetan plateau, from the deserts of Southern Africa to the jungles of Brazil, this book presents an incredible cast of characters - dedicated researchers and reckless adventurers, physicians, lovers and thieves. Meet dauntless Scots explorer David Douglas and visionary Prussian thinker Alexander von Humboldt, the 'Green Samurai' Mikinori Ogisu and the intrepid 17th century entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian - the first woman known to have made a living from science.

Beautifully illustrated with over 100 botanical artworks from the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this absorbing book tells the stories of how plants have travelled across the world - from the missions of the Pharaohs right up to 21st century seed-banks and the many new and endangered species being named every year.

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THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW is a world-famous research organization and a major international visitor attraction. It harnesses the power of its science, the rich diversity of its gardens and collections to unearth why plants and fungi matter to everyone. Its aspiration is to end the extinction crisis and help create a world where nature and biodiversity are protected, valued and managed sustainably.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529410112
Publisher:	Mobius
Publication date:	06/28/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	634,827
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.80(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Ambra Edwards is an award-winning writer and garden historian, known for the intellectual rigour underlying her easy, entertaining writing style. Three times named Journalist of the Year by the Garden Media Guild, her work appears regularly in the UK broadsheets and garden magazines. Her best-selling book Head Gardeners was voted GMG's Inspirational Garden Book of the Year in 2017. This was followed by The Story of the English Garden, published for the National Trust and one of the Sunday Times' garden books of the year in 2018. Her latest book, written with Penelope Hobhouse, The Story of Gardening traces the evolution of gardening from 3,000BCE to the latest ecological trends in planting.

Table of Contents

Locations map 6

Introduction 8

Australia and the Pacific 18

New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax)

Saw banksia (Banksia serrata)

Wax flower (Hoya australis)

Wollemi pine (Wollemia nobilis)

Scoparia (Richea curtisiae)

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis)

Corpse lily (Rafflesia arnoldii)

Giant Malaysian pitcher plant (Nepenthes rajah)

Asia 62

Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba)

Hydrangea otaksa (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Otaksa')

Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis)

Tea (Camellia sinensis var. sinensis)

Pride of Burma (Amherstia nobilis)

Rhododendrons (Rhododendron)

Handkerchief tree (Davidia involucrata)

Showy Chinese gentian (Gentiana sino-ornata)

Himalayan blue poppy (Meconopsis baileyi)

Tibetan tree peony (Paeonia ludlowii)

Rice-paper plant (Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex')

Epimedmm ogisui (Epimedium ogisui)

Europe and the Mediterranean 146

Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus)

Tulip (Tulipa)

Sweet pea (Lathyms odoratus)

Cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani)

Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Africa and Madagascar 174

Frankincense (Boswellia)

Starfish flower (Stapelia)

Living stones (Lithops)

Coffee (Coffea)

Flamboyant tree (Delonix regia)

Linsonyi (Talbotiella cheekii)

North America and Mexico 208

Dahlia (Dahlia)

Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)

Southern bay (Magnolia grandiflora)

Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

Giant redwood (Sequoiadendron giganteum)

South America 240

Peacock flower (Caesalpinia pulcherrima)

Fever tree (Cinchona)

Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa)

Bougainvillea (Bougainyillea spectabilis)

Monkey puzzle (Araucaria araucana)

Amazon water lily (Victoria amazonica)

Heliconia (Heliconia)

Orchideliriurn (Cattleya labiata)

Select bibliography 298

Index 300

Picture credits 304