Filter to

To discover how the rose has insinuated itself into the consciousness and the gardens of so many ages and cultures, Jennifer Potter begins by tracing the flower’s origins in the wild briars of the northern hemisphere, then examines its appearance in Christian iconography and other traditions; its development in early modern European gardens; the plant’s progress in China, the Middle East and North America; its role in medicine and perfumery; and the hybridization and changing fashions of modern roses.

This collection of high-magnification photographs makes visible the tiny and beautiful structures that are found on fruits, seeds and pollen grains. A collaboration between an artist and two botanists from Kew Gardens, the book reveals how these minuscule details relate to the sophisticated strategies that plants have evolved to survive.

The diverse ecosystems of the High Weald, in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty running from West Sussex into Kent, shelter a wide array of wildflowers. Illustrated in colour throughout, this handbook examines the flora of each of its habitats: woodland, meadows, heaths, farmland, lakes and streams, and the coast, and includes a checklist of plants and a map.

A tireless rambler and observer of nature, Henry David Thoreau kept a daily record of the plants he observed on his walks around Concord, Massachusetts, along with notes on the weather and his own philosophical speculations. This chronological selection is illustrated with line drawings by Barry Moser, and includes an introduction, notes, a map and a key to place names.

The 'greening' of urban spaces is a concept that has taken off in recent years, and programmes of planting are underway across the planet. This volume, with original artwork showing their leaves, fruits and flowers, explores the history and characteristics of trees that flourish in cities across the world.

Following a history of its cultivation around the world, this illustrated guide offers practical advice on growing and caring for walnut trees, including information about different varieties and the pests that can damage them. Also discussed are its culinary potential and the use of its timber for ornate doors and furniture, in settings such as Hever Castle and the Royal Château of Blois.

‘A tree guide filtered through cities as well as a city book filtered through trees’, Sylvan Cities introduces some of the species that grow in urban parks and gardens, and along canals, cycle paths and city streets. As well as helping to identify trees in British cities, the book visits species in foreign countries, including Alders in Venice and Wild Cherries in Hiroshima, and tells the stories of urban wooded places and the ‘wild things’ that live in them.

This illustrated compendium offers information such as the Latin name, habitat, history, associations, intriguing facts and famous quotes pertaining to 50 genera of trees from around the world. It also contains chapters that cover the spiritual and medicinal properties of trees, how they have inspired the work of artists, authors and composers over the centuries and the threats posed to them by fungi, parasites and humans.

This visual guide to the most prevalent tree and shrub species in India includes the common and scientific names of each species, its status in each state and its global IUCN status as at 2015.

Challenging the view of plants as passive vegetation, Mabey approaches them as ’authors of their own lives’ and explores our relationship with them, from prehistoric cave painting, through cultivation and exploration to the ‘astonishing revelations of 19th-century botany’. Among the intriguing plants whose lives he discusses are the baobab tree; ginseng, the panacea; the carnivorous tipitiwitchet; an Amazonian giant water lily whose leaves were the model for the Crystal Palace; and the intelligence of mimosa.

An ornithologist and a botanical artist, Mike and Liz Fraser lived at the Cape for twelve years, marvelling at the wild flowers and retracing the journeys of the first European plant hunters to visit this ‘botanical treasurehouse’. Illustrated with drawings, watercolours and colour photographs, their book begins with the early Portuguese and Dutch explorers and includes Kew’s first international collector, Francis Masson, as it follows the history of botany and botanical exploration at the Cape up to present-day research at Kirstenbosch.

Jim Endersby explores ‘the curious and unexpected variety of significances that people have ascribed to orchids’ in western cultures, from Theophrastus’ herbals in ancient Greece to Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep, deadly species in science-fiction and ongoing research into Spider Orchids on the South Downs. The book looks at our relationship with orchids in terms of science, sex and death, and examines the theme of empire, describing how European imperial expansion and wealth stimulated the search for ever rarer orchids.

The Millennium Seed Bank Partnership comprises more than 120 plant science institutions in 50 countries and has collected and stored seeds from one in ten of the world’s plant species. This book gives a richly illustrated account of the global network dedicated to conserving plant species for future generations.

Famed for cultivating plants from around the world, Kew Gardens is also home to many uncultivated species. Drawing on historic citations and herbarium specimen records, this illustrated catalogue lists all native and alien flora documented growing wild at Kew since its foundation in 1759.

Slightly off-mint.

Starting his career as assistant-surgeon aboard HMS Erebus as it set off on a four-year scientific expedition to the Antarctic, Joseph Hooker (1817–1911) is now recognized as one of the founding fathers of botany. This concise, richly illustrated account traces his life and travels and discusses some of the hundreds of plants he collected and identified.

After briefly explaining the classification of plants, this introduction to the world’s flora comprises descriptions of more than 100 flowering plant (angiosperm) families, arranged alphabetically within two groups: the dicotyledons and the monocotyledons. For each family, the text presents a botanical description along with information on distribution and economic uses, while colour artworks and captions illustrate the plants’ key features. The book ends with a glossary and an index of common and scientific names.

A celebratory anthology of plants and flowers, this Florilegium was created by today’s botanical artists to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Australia’s extraordinary flora has beguiled botanists and plant collectors since Sir Joseph Banks, who arrived in Sydney Cove in 1770, and each of the 85 plants depicted in this volume is accompanied by notes on its history, including early admirers among plant hunters, as well as a botanical description.

The cyclamen is one of the most ubiquitous houseplants and, for a genus comprising just 23 species, it has attracted a large amount of attention from horticulturalists and botanical illustrators. This comprehensive survey explains the plant's botany and structure, its natural habitats and history of cultivation, and its representation in the arts and crafts. Watercolours illustrate the rich variety of foliage and flower that have contributed to its popularity.

The botanist Ben-Erik van Wyk presents a fully illustrated, scientific guide to nearly all the commercial herbs and spices in use today. After chapters on the history of spices and culinary traditions and lists of common names, the A to Z covers over 150 species, from Aframomum corrorima (Ethiopian cardamom) to Zingiber officinale (ginger), each illustrated entry giving details of the spice or herb, the plant, its origins, cultivation and culinary use and the chemistry of its flavour.

From the Alcoholic Agave, remarkable for its nine-metre high flower as well as its intoxicating sap, to Zoophilous plants and their cunning ways of attracting animal pollinators, this is an A–Z of botanical heroes, villains and eccentrics. The heroes are explorers and botanists such as Charles Darwin and EH Wilson; the villains include the deadly castor oil plant, described under U for Umbrella Assassinations.

After an introduction explaining the process of ageing in trees and their biological and environmental importance, the National Trust’s Ancient Tree Adviser Brian Muelaner and photographer Edward Parker survey the ancient trees in 40 National Trust properties, arranged alphabetically from Ankerwycke in Surrey, where the Magna Carta may have been signed under the great Ankerwycke Yew, to Sir Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree at Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire.

The Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures have been televised since 1966. Introduced by David Attenborough, this selection explores the mysteries of human and animal behaviour, and includes talks by Desmond Morris, Richard Dawkins and Sue Hartley.

Since the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, scientists have been intrigued by the nutritional, medicinal and decorative potential of plants. Societies have revolved around the trade in spices, fruit and vegetables, and fortunes have been made from it. Illustrated with historical engravings, lithographs and hand-coloured botanical illustrations, this volume celebrates the investigation, appreciation and exploitation of plants through the ages, the lives and adventures of the plant-hunters, and the books that document their discoveries.

Visiting trees with names like ‘The Monarch’ and ‘Old Knobbley’, Archie Miles’s well illustrated book combines profiles of 50 famous old oaks with an overview of the oak tree in British culture, society and economy. There are chapters on the history of the oak, its place in myth and folklore, art and literature, and its vital role in building and ship-building, but also in many smaller industries, from tanning and pannage (pigs foraging for acorns) to charcoal burning and fish smoking.

This authoritative pocket guide identifies 530 of the most widespread and eye-catching flowering plants growing around the Mediterranean. The key is divided by flower colour, number of petals, and plants with inconspicuous flowers like trees and ferns. Illustrated with large-format colour photos, each entry includes common and scientific names, and describes plant uses, habitats and similar species.

A Botanical Magazine Monograph, this illustrated volume covers the distribution, history, conservation, classification and cultivation of Calluna, Daboecia and those Erica species growing naturally in the northern hemisphere.

Challenging the view of plants as passive vegetation, Mabey approaches them as ’authors of their own lives’ and explores our relationship with them, from prehistoric cave painting, through cultivation and exploration to the ‘astonishing revelations of 19th-century botany’. Among the intriguing plants whose lives he discusses are the baobab tree; ginseng, the panacea; the carnivorous tipitiwitchet; an Amazonian giant water lily whose leaves were the model for the Crystal Place; and the intelligence of mimosa.