A rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but where do these names come from? Nigel Chaffey reviews a book that explores the stories of some of the people behind the plant names.
Category - Reviews
Nigel Chaffey
Sowing the seeds of future food security
"It’s easy to see how The Age of Seeds could be an award-winning book."
House plants – the exotic within the home
Should African Violets have a conservation tariff to help protect their natural habitats? A new book asks some serious questions about the plants with which we share our homes.
Revealed, the hidden kingdom of fungi
Author Keith Seifert is a charming guide as he introduces us to a fungal world many of us are largely unaware of.
Crime Scene Botanics, the forensic side of botany
Planting Clues should not only appeal to the general reader, but will also serve well as a textbook for an undergraduate course on forensic botany.
For fans of fungi – The magic of mushrooms
You can listen to an abridged version of this page as an audio file. The Magic of Mushrooms: Fungi in folklore, superstition and traditional medicine, Sandra Lawrence, 2022. Welbeck, in partnership with RBG Kew. How...
Greening the next generation
The Green Planet by Leisa Stewart–Sharpe and Kim Smith, 2022. Puffin Books (an imprint of the Penguin Random House group of companies). Not so long ago I appraised The Green Planet by Simon Barnes. Although I had...
Plants – and plant products – promoting global trade
You can listen to this page as an audio file. Spices, Scents and Silk: Catalysts of world trade, James F Hancock, 2021. CABI. I first encountered James Hancock’s work at the World History Encyclopedia site (e.g. his...
How green is my planet?
Stunning images, like the TV programme, incredible facts, like the TV programme and the same referencing as the TV programme.
You can’t beat a good book
You can listen to this page as an audio file. A Cultural History of Plants* by Annette Giesecke (Anthology Editor) and David Mabberley (Anthology Editor), 2022. Bloomsbury Publishing. I like books [actually, I love them...
Australian animals might kill you, but the plants could cure you…
You can listen to this page as an audio file. Phytochemistry of Australia’s Tropical Rainforest: Medicinal potential of ancient plants by Cheryll J Williams, 2021. CSIRO Publishing/CABI. It is often remarked that...
Novel tree hunted by fictional Victorians
You can listen to an abridged version of this page as an audio file. The Plant Hunter* by TL Mogford, 2022. Welbeck Fiction Limited. I don’t really read novels (Amanda Prahl). It’s not that I have anything against that...
This plant book is amazing
A book that considers not only how plants have nourished the body, but also the soul.
Do we need another picture book about plants?
It depends on whether or not it's a good picture book about plants.
