“Plants continually excite and surprise me” says Michael Perry. but how does Nigel Chaffey feel about Perry's new book Hortus Curious?
Tag - economic botany
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.
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...
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...
Do we need another picture book about plants?
It depends on whether or not it's a good picture book about plants.
Cultivating interest in fruits
Taming fruit: How orchards have transformed the land, offered sanctuary, and inspired creativity, by Bernd Brunner, 2021. Greystone Books Ltd. One might tame lions, or dogs, or other animals, but, does one really tame...
Welcome to the wonderful world of … weeds(!)
Plants despised today still have value, and this book explores their contribution to the British ecosystem.
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.
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...
