The Plant Hunters

Description

"The Plant Hunters" tells the story of our obsession with plants. This book contains topics that range from the entourage of Alexander the Great which included naturalists to the establishment of botanical gardens and the discovery through exploration of the plants that have made or broken economies, such as tulips, tea and rubber. Travelling right around the world and throughout history, this is a tale of the botanical pioneers who changed the face of the world's landscape. Lavishly illustrated, it also includes some 20 items of memorabilia such as: a letter from Carl Linnaeus, the father of taxonomy; extracts from Joseph Hooker's notebooks; an extract from the orchid sketchbook of John Day; and, an original map of Kew Gardens made in 1740 by Jean Rocque.

Carolyn Fry is a journalist and author specialising in science, conservation and natural history. A former Editor of Geographical, the magazine of the Royal Geographical Society, she is a contributor to BBC Online (science and technology), New Scientist, BBC Wildlife, The Times, Independent on Sunday, Guardian Unlimited (environment) and Kew magazine. She is author of The World of Kew, the book that accompanied the 2007 BBC TV series A New Year at Kew. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Carolyn lives in London.