Plants despised today still have value, and this book explores their contribution to the British ecosystem.
Tag - Botany
Nigel Chaffey
The mangroves the ice left behind
In the waters of a river in Tabasco grows a population of red mangrove: a lost world whose origins can be traced back to the last glaciation.
Agustín Ávila-Casanueva
A book about trees and fungi, what’s not to like?*
Fungi and trees: Their complex relationships, by Lynne Boddy, 2021. Arboricultural Association. Arbor is the borrowed-from-Latin word for a tree. You’d therefore expect a book from the UK’s Arboricultural Association to...
Dr Ward and the case of the globe-trotting plants…
The wealth of some of the 19th century powers can be traced to a piece of botanical equipment.
The who, when, where of global plant discovery
A fascinating book is hampered by its approach to citations.
Half of all plants have never been photographed in the wild
If you can't find a photo of a plant in the wild, is that because the photo doesn't exist - or because you're looking in the wrong database? A recent article concludes either answer could be right, depending on the...
Nigel Pitman
Approaches for orchid conservation at the U.S. Botanic Garden
The United States Botanic Garden combines science and education to keep orchids safe in their collections and in the wild.
Benjamin Crain
The mighty ash, tree of materials, mythology and medicine
Ash by Edward Parker 2021. Reaktion Books Ltd Spoiler Alert! (and Summary?) Edward Parker’s Ash [which book is here appraised] is a title in Reaktion Books’ Botanical series. Having read any of my previous views on...
Celebrating Botany’s 400th birthday!
Roots to seeds: 400 years of Oxford botany by Stephen A Harris 2021. Bodleian Library Botanic gardens are important resources, both for plants and people. For example they have a major role in helping humanity manage...
Plants’ plan preserves people and planet
The Nation of Plants, by Stefano Mancuso 2021. Other Press. Who’s in charge of the Earth? Aside from religioso-spiritual responses to this question, the mantle of this awesome responsibility appears to be have been...
Plant parables for the 21st Century
A lifestyle guide where plants take the lead instead of sitting in the background.
Glorious global gambol through the plants
Around the World in 80 Plants by Jonathan Drori 2021. Laurence King Publishing Ltd. In my review of Jonathan Drori’s Around the World in 80 Trees [‘80 Trees’], I suggested there were many more tree species worthy of...
In celebration of plants
In Defense of Plants: An Exploration into the Wonder of Plants by Matt Candeias 2021. Mango Publishing. Having read a lot of books from a plants-and-people perspective lately, I’d forgotten the sheer joy of reading...
