RHS Staff Pick of the Year 2021 Spectator Gardening Book of the year 2021 'A refreshingly
insightful history of plant introductions.' - Roy Lancaster Travel the world with extraordinary
tales of the botanical discoveries that have shaped empires built (and destroyed) economies
revolutionised medicine and advanced our understanding of science.Circling the globe from
Australia's Botany Bay to the Tibetan plateau from the deserts of Southern Africa to the
jungles of Brazil this book presents an incredible cast of characters - dedicated researchers
and reckless adventurers physicians lovers and thieves. Meet dauntless Scots explorer David
Douglas and visionary Prussian thinker Alexander von Humboldt the 'Green Samurai' Mikinori
Ogisu and the intrepid 17th century entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian - the first woman known
to have made a living from science.Beautifully illustrated with over 100 botanical artworks
from the archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew this absorbing book tells the stories of
how plants have travelled across the world - from the missions of the Pharaohs right up to 21st
century seed-banks and the many new and endangered species being named every year.***THE ROYAL
BOTANIC GARDENS KEW is a world-famous research organisation and a major international visitor
attraction. It harnesses the power of its science the rich diversity of its gardens and
collections to unearth why plants and fungi matter to everyone. Its aspiration is to end the
extinction crisis and help create a world where nature and biodiversity are protected valued
and managed sustainably.
