Plants

'A fascinating treasure trove for plant lovers and gardeners alike.' - Frances Tophill Often beautiful and sometimes strange, flowering plants have evolved to become masters of seduction. We are surrounded by extraordinary partnerships between plants and the birds, bees and other insects that pollinate them. In The Sexual Life of Flowers, botanist Simon Klein leads a beguiling and fascinating tour...

An illustrated natural history of British native trees, by a celebrated botanical artist and her forester brother-in-law. Our trees are among our greatest national treasures, and yet today many people have forgotten their names, their identifying features, and the stories we used to tell about them. In Overleaf, the botanical painter Susan Ogilvy and the forester Richard Ogilvy reacquaint us...

Get ready for the shocking truth about botanical sex. Who knew that bee orchids trick insects into having sex with them, avocado flowers are female one day and male the next, and some flowers are the insect equivalent of nightclubs where males and females meet and mate? Bestselling popular science author Mike Allaby reveals over 200 of nature's most unseemly...

There has never been a better time to plant trees. As well as playing a vital role in the health of the natural world and of us humans, these essential life-giving plants also deliver a vast array of hidden benefits such as cooling shade, rainfall interception, and carbon capture—but only if we plant the right tree in the right place....

Did you know your irises are lying to you and all human eyes are actually brown? Want to know the absolute worst way to die, according to science? Did you know that smoking psychedelic toad milk could alleviate depression for up to four weeks? 117 Things You Should F*#king Know About Your World tells you the answers to these questions...

A guide to the spectacular oddities of the New Zealand forest, by the bestselling author of The Meaning of Trees and Secrets of the Sea Deep in the forest, in places you would never think to look, are some of the most remarkable creatures. Overlooked and unsung, this is the forgotten forest: a world of glow-in-the-dark mushrooms and giant mosses,...

A poetic and intimate essay collection on the lives of plants and their entanglement with our human worlds. A seed slips beyond a garden wall. A seaweed drifts through an ocean. A tree is planted on a shifting border. A shrub is uprooted from its culture and its land. What happens when these plants leave their original homes and put...

Sexus Botanicus is a richly illustrated exploration of the astonishing diversity in sexual characteristics and behaviours of plants, from the fig-tree to the sacred lotus. Why do some plants flower while others do not? What happens during pollination? How can the Haleakala silversword reproduce all alone? In Sexus Botanicus, artist and writer Joanne Anton sheds light on the fertilisation process...

An enthralling and original encounter with darkness—and the secret, vital world within it. The Darkness Manifesto urges us to cherish darkness for the sake of the environment, our own wellbeing, and all life on earth. Entire ecosystems rely on natural darkness to flourish, from bats and keen-eyed owls capering across the starry sky to the bioluminescent creatures of the deep....

This fully updated special edition of the classic complete guide to the edible species that grow around us includes a new foreword from the author and a plate section with identification guides for all major species. Originally published in 1972, Richard Mabey’s classic foraging guide has never been out of print since. Food for Free is a complete guide to...

“[A] delightful mix of memoir and field study.” — Publishers Weekly STARRED review Award-winning and beloved author Helen Humphreys discovers her local herbarium and realises we need to look for beauty in whatever nature we have left — no matter how diminished. Award-winning poet and novelist Helen Humphreys returns to her series of nature meditations in this gorgeously written and...

A glorious celebration of wildflowers around the world. Wildflowers are not only beautiful, they are of vital importance in providing food for bees and other pollinators. And they are found everywhere - in meadows, woodlands, jungles, mountains, deserts, grasslands and even in towns and cities. This fabulously illustrated book showcases dozens of different species with over 130 flower and insect...

This book explores the apple's history and the latest debates about the use of agrichemicals, the rise of organic and heirloom orchards, and the hopes and fears of genetic crop modification. Beautifully illustrated with historic and contemporary images, and with a directory of popular and heirloom varieties, Apple is a mouth-watering exploration of this fascinating fruit.

An inspirational and beautifully illustrated book that tells the stories of 80 plants from around the globe. In his follow-up to the bestselling Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori takes another trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture, and folklore. From...

Mountains, deserts, and coastlines are home to some of the most interesting plants in the world, and a crevice garden, with its closely packed rocks and free-draining soil media, provides the perfect environment for them. The Crevice Garden offers in-depth guidance on the design, construction, and planting of crevice gardens of all kinds, including those suitable for containers, small gardens,...

This book takes the houseplant look outside by exploring the delights of lush, green, foliage plants that are hardy in the garden. Unlike flowers, which fade, these arresting, often big-leaved plants provide year-round impact. Courtyards and small gardens are the perfect home for them. The sumptuously illustrated A-Z recommends over 100 jungle plants hardy to -20°C (-4°F). Philip Oostenbrink's jungle...

Identify Arizona succulents with this easy-to-use field guide, organised by shape and featuring full-colour photographs and helpful information. Learn about a variety of cactus species in Arizona. With this famous field guide by Nora Bowers, Rick Bowers, and Stan Tekiela, cactus identification is simple and informative. The Cacti of Arizona Field Guide features 50 of the most common and widespread...

Cannabis, one of humanity's first domesticated plants, has been utilised for spiritual, therapeutic, recreational, and even punitive reasons for thousands of years. Humans have excellent practical knowledge of the uses of cannabis, yet limited understanding of its sociocultural consequences, past or present, due to its widespread prohibition. In Cannabis, Chris Duvall explores the cultural history and geography of humanity's most...

Carnation permeates our culture from the wedding bed to the funeral wreath. Derided in Shakespeare as 'nature's bastards', they challenged the tulip as the florist's favourite flower and went on to give their blessing to both a military coup and a Soho nightclub. Spanning the world from the gardens of the Ottoman Empire to the Mothers' Day traditions of America...

Cronin's Key Guide to Australian Wildflowers serves both as a field guide for travellers and a reference book for the home library. It covers more than 590 wildflowers from all parts of the continent. Each species is beautifully illustrated and described in clear, concise language, including details about the leaves, flowers, fruit, flowering season, and habitat. Additionally, there is a...

There is food within 3 metres of your front door. Three generations ago, it was common practice all over the world to collect this wild food; knowledge of what, where, and when to forage was a necessary part of daily life. We still had lived experience of harvesting wild food with our own hands. However, with the advent of supermarket...

The extraordinary palm: diverse, prolific, essential, symbolic, and often sacred, exotic—and at times erotic—exploited and controversial. The signature plant of the tropics and subtropics, these record-breaking botanicals produce the world's biggest and heaviest seed, the longest leaf, and the longest stem. Over thousands of years, palms sustained rainforest communities and were bound up with the development of ancient civilisations. They...

More than 60,000 species of trees are found in an amazing variety of forms, sizes and habitats. Every tree has its own story, and here are over 60, selected for their particular resonance and connection with humankind, representing most of the world's major zones and ecologies. In portraits that combine vivid cultural and historical narrative with a firm scientific grounding,...

Although we tend to think of our cities as concrete jungles, our post-new urban environment is awash in plant life. Wild urban plants have taken root along roadsides and chain-link fences, between cracks of pavement, and within vacant lots, rubble dumps, and highway medians. Spontaneously propagating, these resilient plants find distinctive niches to thrive in and inhabit our most derelict...

Produced in association with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this collection of 40 orchids tells the many intriguing stories of this beguiling plant. It is enhanced with botanical illustrations by the great orchid artists, 40 of which have also been selected to be included as prints and presented in a handsome collector's box. Captivating, beautiful, incredibly diverse and often elusive, orchids...

The Sydney district is one of the great wildflower regions of the world, with over 1500 species occurring within an hour's drive of the city centre. Wildflowers of Sydney by Alan Fairley is a field guide containing 268 of the more common species or those with striking attributes. Each page is devoted to a single plant, offering a full-colour photograph...

A beautiful and comprehensive handbook covering everything you need to know to grow plants in pots all year round, no matter how small or large your space. Pots includes top tips on how to plan and prepare your containers, a directory of plants to dip into, and pro advice on achieving year-round interest and structure. The guide also includes winning...

As a wildflower enthusiast and keen amateur botanist, Arthur Bennett aims to capture, and convey to a wider audience, the pleasure that can be had from observing wildflowers. Immigrating to New Zealand almost 60 years ago, Bennett admits that, although he has put down roots and acclimatised, he will never be regarded as a native. He finds a parallel in...