Plants

A radical proposal for how a tiny organism can transform our understanding of human relations Serving as both a guide and companion publication to the conceptual art project of the same name, The Lichen Museum explores how the physiological characteristics of lichens provide a valuable template for reimagining human relations in an age of ecological and social precarity. Channeling between...

A full-colour guide to the healing power of the 12 most important essential oils mentioned in the Bible. This guide explores 12 essential oils: cassia, galbanum, myrrh, myrtle, spikenard, onycha, sandalwood, frankincense, hyssop, cedar, cistus, and cypress. It details, for each oil, its Bible verses, historical information, botanical and chemical components, uses in folk medicine, and modern uses for healing...

The National Trust is one of the largest private custodians of ancient trees in Europe. Amidst its properties are oak trees that support entire ecosystems, yew trees that were fully grown before the Romans arrived in Britain, and woodland that has remained virtually unchanged since the last ice age. It is possible to stand under the yew tree that witnessed...

A stunning collection of botanical art, featuring nature’s most beautiful trees and leaves. Folium is an exquisite treasury of arboreal masterpieces from botanical artists across the ages. Immerse yourself in the verdant textures, forms, and moods as each page unveils the majesty of trees through the eyes of artistic and scientific visionaries. This anthology celebrates the universal language of leaves...

Create your own special spellbook full of charms, spells and potions - with stickers, pockets, journaling pages and more! Your own keepsake spellbook, a beautifully crafted guide that invites you to create and document your unique journey and record your magickal experiences. Overflowing with charming recipes and mystical potions, this guide will be your treasured companion in spellcraft. Imagine a...

An Instant New York Times Bestseller From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Braiding Sweetgrass, a bold and inspiring vision for how to orient our lives around gratitude, reciprocity, and community, based on the lessons of the natural world. As Indigenous scientist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the...

An internationally celebrated poet and critic brings Jagadish Chandra Bose's revolutionary writings on plant sentience and communication to English readers for the first time. Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858–1937) was a Bengali scientist and polymath who developed a theory of plant communication more than a century before Western scientists began to explore such ideas. Bose suggested that plants had their own...

Fossils plants allow us to touch the lost worlds from billions of years of evolutionary backstory. Each petrified leaf and root shows us that dinosaurs, saber-toothed cats, and even humans would not exist without the evolutionary efforts of their leafy counterparts. It has been the constant growth of plants that have allowed so many of our favourite, fascinating prehistoric creatures...

For perhaps fifty thousand years, the Aboriginal people have lived, and lived well, in Australia. They have developed a unique knowledge of native plants and a deep understanding of the value of many animal products. Bush Food is an exploration of these traditional skills and a compendium of the kinds of foods eaten by Aborigines. It indicates how food is...

This collection of 50 vibrant postcards features Katie Scott's incredible illustrations of all things botanical. From the tiniest algae to the world's biggest flower, these beautiful images are perfect for sending to friends, or pinning on your wall.

A comprehensive, easy-to-use, illustrated guide to hydrangeas for novice gardeners and experienced horticulturists alike. With large, long-lasting flowers that range from showy pinks to heartbreaking shades of blue, hydrangeas are captivating, popular plants. Yet gardeners often find themselves flummoxed by the challenge of blooming these fickle flowers. Writer, radio host, and gardening consultant C. L. Fornari (also known as The...

Weeds are everywhere. If you've ever been frustrated by weeds erupting into your garden, overgrowing your favourite reserve, or popping up in your paddock, then this book is for you. Whether it's privet or lantana, bitou bush or serrated tussock, Sonia Graham invites you to consider how we can rethink weeds from being pesky and pervasive to a problem that...

Explore humanity's fascination with death through 60 poisonous plants and how they have affected history, magic, warfare, art, and more. Dispatching people with poisonous plants isn't just an Agatha Christie plot; it began thousands of years ago and continues to this day. Deadly Fascination presents sixty profiles divided into five themes, from classic killers to frightful fungi. Each profile includes...

This book is the first to explore and highlight the history of the plants mentioned in the Qur’an, many of which are part of our everyday life, from pomegranates and grapes to ginger and garlic. Author Shahina A. Ghazanfar explores the context in which these plants are mentioned in the Qur’an — mainly as food plants, as well as for...

A charming ode to trees and a pocket-sized guide to appreciating them in their full glory. Often overlooked amid the hustle and bustle of our modern world, trees have many lessons to impart. In this portable guide crafted to kindle a sense of curiosity and wonder as we explore the nature of trees, you’ll discover: The inner workings of the...

Over 720,000 Kew Gardens books sold in 15 languages! The perfect gift for anyone who enjoys nature. The Kew Gardens Nature Journal by Felicity Forster invites you to explore the wonders of the natural world. Whether you're an avid gardener, a dedicated environmentalist, or simply someone who finds peace in the beauty of nature, this journal is ideal for capturing...

From vibrant orchids to prickly cacti, this colour-by-numbers compendium contains over 40 elegant flower designs to complete. This collection is produced in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, a world-famous centre for botanical research based in London. It holds extensive archives of botanical art, many of which first appeared in Curtis's Botanical Magazine. These black and white designs...

Discover the magical world of the honeybee with this deluxe book, featuring 70 stunning images shot with ultraviolet technology. A comprehensive look into the amazing science of bees, this book collects mesmerising ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence (UVIVF) photography of flowers and nature and offers fascinating research that explores every aspect of our relationship with honeybees. Learn about the history of beekeeping,...

A makers’ guide to sourcing and harvesting foraged plants to make natural cordage and baskets. Making with our hands is a fundamental human activity; connection with the natural world and the feeling of belonging to place are basic human needs. A counterbalance to our digitalised lives is the wish to connect with the simple joy and satisfaction of creating beautiful...

Guardian 'Book of the day' Winner of the Richard Jefferies Award for Nature Writing Shortlisted for the 2025 Highland Book Prize ---- For millennia, elms shaped our landscape and our folklore; then they started dying. Few young people have seen a mature elm tree. They once covered great swathes of Europe and North America, but Dutch elm disease has since...

Growing mushrooms at home is simple and satisfying - it requires minimal space, no extensive gardening experience, and can produce results in 5-6 weeks. It's easy to buy a ready-made kit, but you can also grow mushrooms from spores in a bucket or plastic tub, or on logs outside. You can even cultivate mushrooms from store-bought caps. Depending on the...

Delve between the sheets to learn about the romance and rudeness of plants. Uncover the romance and revealing nature of plants. A beautiful collection of 30 plant stories, Botanica Erotica celebrates a rude name, a suggestive appearance, or unusual reproduction antics. Illustrated and laced with fascinating facts, tantalising tales, and baffling biology, this compendium brings the private life of plants...

“Peter Marren is a master storyteller … he was destined to write The Devil’s Garden.” Richard Mabey A lively exploration of the poisoners, tricksters, stingers, stinkers and invaders of the plant world and how their lives intertwine with ours. Some plants and fungi – those we cultivate in farms, gardens and allotments – are pretty, useful or edible. Others are...

Plant Humanities moves plants to the centre of critical inquiry, positioning them as biocultural entities with distinct environmental and social histories that have profoundly shaped human cultures. Its thirteen chapters cover a broad geographical range, including the Americas, Europe, the Pacific, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, and Africa, to explore the dual character of plants as place makers and world...

The Definitive Visual Guide to New Zealand Ferns Compiled and written by Te Papa's foremost fern experts, this fully illustrated guide is for anyone wanting to understand, identify and distinguish 201 of the most commonly encountered species of ferns and lycophytes found across Aotearoa. Ferns and lycophytes grow in most places in Aotearoa, from freshwater to alpine habitats, along exposed...

Everything you need to know to turn your garden, balcony, patio or windowsill into a haven for wildlife. If you want to attract more bees, birds, frogs and hedgehogs into your garden, Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything is your go-to guide. Teaming up with the RHS and Wildlife Trusts, award-winning, wildlife gardening writer Kate Bradbury shares expert, up-to-date advice...

This big, glorious book mines Te Papa's collections to explore and expand upon the way we think about our botanical world and its cultural imprint. A true treasure, it features over 400 selections by an expert, cross-disciplinary museum curatorial team that range from botanical specimens and art to photography, furniture, jewellery, tivaevae, applied art, textiles, stamps and more. Flora's twelve...

Botanicals: A Smithsonian Sticker Book offers a journey through a peaceful garden with over 300 stunning botanical stickers drawn from the collections of the Smithsonian Institution, making it perfect for journaling, scrapbooking, and decorating. Invite tranquility from the vast and vibrant plant kingdom. In collaboration with the Smithsonian Gardens, this refreshing sticker compendium features more than 300 botanical illustrations and...

Step into a world where every wildflower tells a secret story with this illustrated botanical and cultural guide to over 75 wildflower species. The Folklore of Wildflowers invites you to rediscover the magic hidden in nature's most unassuming blooms. This book goes well beyond a traditional field guide; it is an immersive exploration of the intricate interplay between botanical beauty,...

At a moment when the planet is so clearly in peril, the trees stand as both guardians and messengers. They have words for us — if only we would listen. As climate change imposes significant challenges on the natural world, we are being encouraged to plant trees. At the same time, urban intensification and expansion threaten our existing arboreal resources...

A beautifully written and illustrated account of the threatened plant species that inhabit the British Isles. Britain and Ireland are home to around 300 species of rare flowering plants, and many more rare ferns, mosses, liverworts, and freshwater algae. These are species at the cutting edge of biodiversity: fascinating, often beautiful, and in decline. Yet as some teeter on the...

A stunningly illustrated A-Z celebration of popular indoor plants, from the creators of Dogphabet and Catphabet. Step inside the psychedelic world of Plantphabet, a magical A-Z celebration of indoor plants. Vividly brought to life in full-colour illustrations, discover bizarre and wonderful BFFs (best fronds forever) that help make you healthier and happier, and learn what makes them tick too. PRAISE...

The definitive field guide to the floristic wonders of the Alps Walking through an Alpine meadow in late spring is one of Europe’s great wildlife experiences – the variety of flowers can be both dizzying and magical, while the prospect of identifying them can appear intimidating. This brilliant guide book provides the answer. Alpine Flowers covers every species that occurs...

Lab Girl is an enthralling memoir that beautifully intertwines the personal and professional life of acclaimed geobiologist Hope Jahren. It is a profound tale of passion, perseverance, and the unyielding pursuit of knowledge. From a young age, Jahren was fascinated by science, often playing in her father's laboratory, which laid the groundwork for her illustrious career. The book meticulously details...

A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand by Andrew Crowe is an essential resource for anyone interested in the natural bounty of New Zealand's flora. This comprehensive and accessible guide offers detailed information on over 190 species of trees, shrubs, herbs, ferns, mushrooms, lichens, and seaweeds that are native to New Zealand and can be used...

Perhaps the world’s most distinctive tree, ginkgo has remained stubbornly unchanged for more than two hundred million years. A living link to the age of dinosaurs, it survived the great ice ages as a relic in China, but it earned its reprieve when people first found it useful about a thousand years ago. Today ginkgo is beloved for the elegance...

This exquisite survey presents a breathtaking sequence of full-page images—from landscape paintings and botanical drawings to ancient frescos, vintage book illustrations, and contemporary photographs—revealing the tree as a source of inspiration throughout history. Spanning continents and cultures, Tree reflects the diversity of its subject, depicting giant sequoias, cherry blossoms, palms, poplars, ginkgoes, and other species found across Earth's forest biomes,...

Growing plants and (if we are lucky enough) creating gardens is deeply rewarding, but has also been proven to be vital for our health. Gardening helps improve our mood, relax us, take us away from our everyday problems, and promote positive emotions. It reduces anxiety and stress, can delay the onset of dementia, promotes joy, as well as improves physical...

Filled with delights, day by day, season by season, with space to record your experiences, thoughts, notes, and reminders, this beautifully illustrated journal brims with inspirational images from the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Remarkable Plants: Five-Year Journal allows you to begin your journaling journey at any time, simply turning to the next available section for each day...

Wild Alchemy draws on the ancient practices of alchemy, astrology, and plant lore to create a modern-day guide to the restoration of mind, body, and soul. To be an alchemist is to be an apprentice to the wild. Here is an invitation to reclaim our true selves as one with nature. Plants are our kin and ancestors, and these masters...

Words from the Hedge is a passionate evocation of the history, beauty, and importance of our hedgerows, written by a craftsman who has been laying hedges for almost three decades and has the scars to prove it. Hedges are as old as civilisation and as emblematic of the British countryside as chalk streams, hay meadows, and oak trees. Yet, unlike...

An insightful, personal, and timely exploration into the wonderful world of seeds. In What We Sow, Jennifer Jewell brings readers on an insightful, year-long journey exploring the outsize impact of one of nature's smallest manifestations—the simple seed. She examines our skewed notions of where "organic" seeds are grown and sourced, reveals how giant multinational agribusiness has refined and patented the...

Wattles of Victoria and Tasmania by Alan Gibb, Arthur Court, Neville Walsh, and Daniel J. Murphy explores some of the most vibrant plants in the southern Australian bush. With their iconic yellow blooms particularly visible in late winter and spring, wattles (Acacia) are a striking feature of the landscape. As the largest genus of flowering plant in Australia, wattles are...

Trees of Eastern North America covers 825 species, making it the most comprehensive, best illustrated, and easiest-to-use field guide of its kind. This book presents all the native and naturalized trees of the eastern United States and Canada, reaching as far west as the Great Plains. It includes species unique to tropical and subtropical Florida and northernmost Canada. The guide...

Discover the wonders at the centre of our planet's ecosystem. In ten short and accessible essays, science and nature writer Carolyn Fry takes us on an awe-inspiring journey of the Earth's lungs. From what makes a plant a tree and the incredible impact of forests, to how trees are under attack and what we can do to save them, this...

Be inspired by nature and play the card game suited for all. Team up the component parts of a tree - from the leaf, flower, and fruit plus the tree itself to form a tree family! Discover eleven of the most beautiful flowering, fruiting trees with Ryuto Miyake's stunning, detailed illustrations and text about each tree written by the Head...

A celebratory compendium of nature's weirdest and most wonderful fungi, with gorgeously illustrated profiles of notable mushrooms and information on foraging, understanding, and appreciating these magnificent living things. For amateur mycologists and experienced foragers alike, this delightful guide acts as a welcome to the wonderful world of mushrooms. From the most common and recognizable varieties frequently found in your supermarket...

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...

A richly illustrated guide to lichens and their biology. Existing at the margins of life, lichens are the result of symbiotic relationships between fungi and photosynthesising partners in the form of algae or cyanobacteria. Comprising more than twenty thousand species, lichens are pioneers in diverse ecosystems, colonising virtually any surface and growing at almost any altitude. Found in rainforests, polar...

The Hedgerow Apothecary Forager's Card Deck by Christine Iverson unveils the fascinating properties of 52 common wild plants. Discover where to find these plants and how to harness their powers with this beautiful and informative deck. Foraging is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with nature and partake in a rich tradition of herbalists and their remedies. This deck features clear,...

Since the beginning of humanity's existence, plants have provided us with everything we need for our survival—they sustain us with air to breathe, food to eat, materials to make clothes and shelter with, and medicine to treat and prevent disease. Their beauty can also enhance our mood and provide spiritual and emotional nourishment. Western science has 'discovered' and named innumerable...

Quietly elegant flowers dressed in simple white and green, snowdrops look too fragile to cope with wintry weather. They are, however, very resilient and are treasured by gardeners for their ability to flower early in the horticultural year. In Snowdrop, Gail Harland explores how they have been used by non-gardeners too, as symbols of purity and of hope and consolation....

Has a group of plants ever inspired such love in some, and such hatred in others, as rhododendrons? Their propensity towards sexual infidelity makes them popular with horticultural breeders, and early plant collectors faced mortal peril to bring stunning new species back to life. They can clothe whole hillsides or gardens with colour. But there is a darker side to...

Discover the secrets and beauty of the world’s rarest trees in this fantastic book filled with more than 300 colour photographs. Did you know that the resin of the dragon tree was so prized that it was used and traded as medicine by the Roman Empire? Or that the Bornean ironwood is one of the only timbers dense enough to...

Now in paperback, an enduring survey of the venerable trees. Since the pine tree is able to sprout after forest fires, on mountainsides, and in semi-desert climes, it is no surprise that the ever-resilient tree signifies longevity, wisdom, and immortality. From the pine cone staffs carried by the worshippers of Bacchus in the classical world to their role in the...

Approximately eight percent of all the Earth's flowering species are orchids. Known for their beautiful flowers, delicate forms, and sweet fragrances, orchids are unlike any other flower. Orchids have been contemplated by philosophers, celebrated by artists, and cultivated or even eaten by millions. They occupy our thoughts, stories, greenhouses, supermarkets, and homes. Orchid surveys all of this and more as...

Mistletoes are fascinating, diverse, colourful, and ecologically important plants, found in most parts of Western Australia. Mistletoes of Western Australia is a guide to their identification, ecology, conservation, biogeography, and evolution, including how they cope with fire. The book explores the relevance of mistletoes to the biodiversity of the communities in which they live, providing information on their hosts and...

Mistletoes are an enigmatic group of plants. Lacking roots and depending on other plants for their livelihood, they have inspired a range of beliefs throughout the world. Some people regard them as being endowed with magical properties, others as destructive weeds that devalue native habitats, and still others as beautiful native plants that support wildlife. This second edition of Mistletoes...

Plants of the Victorian High Country allows walkers with little botanical knowledge to identify plants they are likely to encounter along the popular tracks of Victoria's High Country. This Second Edition has been revised and expanded to describe 133 plants from the montane, sub-alpine and alpine zones, categorising them into five easily distinguished groups: herbs, daisy herbs, low woody shrubs,...

This comprehensive guide describes the 582 species of wild orchids that occur in NSW and the ACT. This region covers the richest area for wild orchids in Australia and includes over 500 species of seasonal ground orchids and 62 species of evergreen tree and rock orchids. Orchids found in this region include the tallest, heaviest, smallest flowered, most numerous flowered,...

Forage is a beautifully illustrated celebration of edible plants that can be found throughout the world. Anybody can enjoy the increasingly popular back-to-nature activity of foraging. In some countries, these plants are now forgotten as food, but in others, they are still celebrated for their value as nutritious, delicious ingredients. Cooking with wild plants is increasingly being adopted by mainstream...

The only comprehensive photographic guide to the ferns, clubmosses, quillworts and horsetails of Britain. This is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated and user-friendly photographic identification guide to the fifty-seven ferns and seventeen other pteridophytes that occur in Britain. It is the perfect companion for botanists, naturalists, professional ecologists and anyone else with an interest in this fascinating group of non-flowering vascular...

Designed to fit into the backpack of bushwalkers, students, botanists, field ecologists, and foresters, Eucalypts of the Sydney Region describes the most common eucalypt species found in the Sydney region (from Newcastle to Nowra and west beyond Katoomba). Each species description comes with a distribution map, line drawings of buds and fruit, a coloured photograph of the bark, and a...

Charles Darwin is best known for his work on the evolution of animals, but a large part of his contribution to the natural sciences is in fact focused on plants. His observations are crucial to our modern understanding of everything from the amazing pollination process of orchids to the way that vines climb. Darwin and the Art of Botany collects...

Bamboo has an unparalleled history; it is very old, and at the same time very new. Bamboo extends far beyond the boundaries of most plants. It is distributed widely throughout the world and is utilised by hundreds of millions of people in a great number of ways. Through its myriad uses as food, clothing, paper, and shelter, bamboo has met...

Discover fascinating facts about fungi, from how fairy rings are formed to notes on scientific collecting and preserving. This indispensable field guide by one of the foremost experts on Australian fungi, Tony Young, describes more than 170 species, making it one of the most comprehensive general guides to the nation's fungi. Beautifully illustrated by Kay Smith, it includes species from...

When did the British Government become the world's largest drugs pusher? What tree is frequently used to treat cancer? Which everyday condiment is the most widely traded spice on the planet? Plants are an indispensable part of our everyday life. From the coffee bush and grass for cattle which give us milk for our cappuccinos to the rubber tree which...

Virginia Woolf's novel famously begins: 'Mrs Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.' Of course she would: why would anyone surrender the best part of the day to someone else? Flowers grace our lives at moments of celebration and despair. 'We eat, drink, sing, dance, and flirt with them,' writes Kakuzo Okakura. Flowers brighten our homes, our parties, and...

In the gloom of the forest floor, fallen branches are sheathed with fungal stripes of yellow and purple. But beneath the colourful surface, the fallen litter is alive with the clandestine workings of fungi. What can we learn from the lives of fungi? Underground Lovers brings us to our knees, magnifier in hand, to find out. Fungi offer a way...

Your garden's little helpers: the role of microbes in growing great plants. Microscopic organisms are as important to plant growth as water and light. Microbe Science for Gardeners highlights the essential role of microbes in plant biosystems and soil health, provides practical how-to gardening advice for enhancing plant microbiomes, and debunks common gardening myths. This accessible guide goes beyond soil...

A FINALIST FOR THE 2025 ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING An astonishing story brilliantly told . . . It is as moving as it is gripping to read' Jonathan Dimbleby, author of Endgame 1944 A richly researched and meticulously observed account of a little-explored corner of 20th-century history Guardian A fantastically well-researched history of science and sacrifice saturated in drama...

I scanned the forest floor around me. I couldn't yet see fungi, but I could smell them. Lowering my nose to the ground, I inhaled a distinctive fungal funk. I rolled over some bark and there they were! Gossamer threads of mycelia wended their way through the layers, weaving them together. Soon these furtive fungi would fashion their mycelia into...

This comprehensive guide describes the 447 species of wild orchids that occur in Victoria, Australia. This region is one of the richest in the world for its diversity of temperate terrestrial orchids. Orchid diversity in Victoria spans some of the smallest to some of the largest orchids in Australia. It ranges from the minute Mallacoota Midge Orchid, with flowers just...

Plants and plant-derived products make up the bulk of what we eat and drink every day, and people often wonder where their favourite food or drink comes from. This scientifically accurate photographic guide provides quick and informative answers. Food Plants of the World is a comprehensive overview of the plants that provide us with food, beverages, spices, and flavours. It...

Walking through ancient Welsh forests, Yeomans reflects on our relationship to the woods. When and how did humans lose their connection with nature—and how do we find it again? In Return to My Trees, Matthew Yeomans seeks to answer these questions as he walks more than 300 miles through the ancient and modern forests of Wales. Weaving history and folklore...

A wide-ranging scientific and cultural history of weeds that reveals just how interesting and useful these seemingly annoying plants can be. We spray them, pluck them, and bury them under mulch; and we curse their resilience when they spring back into place. To most of us, weeds are a nuisance, not worth the dirt they are growing in. But the...

Gija goowoolem doo minybernem Gija trees and grasses is both a work of art and an extraordinary ethnobotanical achievement. At its heart are 72 stunning paintings by award-winning artist Birrmarriya Shirley Purdie which feature the significant flora found in Gija Country in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia. The paintings are accompanied by Birrmarriya's descriptions of each plant's traditional...

Frolic in a fungal forest, repose upon a toadstool, honour the amanita, whisper to the chanterelle, power up your foraging game, and bask in buttery morel righteousness. Tease your tastebuds and expand your consciousness as you colour these lush landscapes and mindscapes in search of delight, inspiration, and that distinctive red-and-white fly agaric, the Waldo of the mushroom world. Mushroom...

Have you ever wondered how to grow your own rainforest trees? Is there a beautiful tree that you have always wanted to collect and propagate the seed from? Are you in the business of ecological restoration, rainforest propagation or environmental education? This long-awaited guide to rainforest seed propagation unlocks the secrets to growing 300 rainforest species. Providing specific information on...

A practical herbal guide and a book of plant magick ‘Alexis teaches us that everything is woven together, from the herb and plant allies to the psyches of those calling on them, to the community at large moving around and through them, to the land that nourishes and grows them. This book is a wonderful treatise.’ Arin Murphy-Hiscock, bestselling author...