Plant Discoveries: A Botanist's Voyage Through Plant Exploration Hardcover – September 6, 2003

My favorite book, and I read it voraciously! If you are a gardener or a Junior Botanist this is a must-read.

Readers will first notice the extraordinary color reproductions paintings and watercolors of all sorts of plants; each opening of the book will reveal one or two. [There are no photographs.] These are plants that have been used as ornamentals, mostly flowering plants, but also cacti, conifers, and palms. These are drawn from, mostly, the 1700's and 1800's, but other epochs are scattered among them. They are or were in the collection of the Natural History Museum in London. Biographies of the artists are included.But the text is equally interesting, or more so. The author, a staff member at the Museum, seems to have equal grip on her all her domains: the sciences of botany & plant ecology along with history and folklore. Unlike so many of those who write about plants in the USA, she is very aware of the transportation of plants from one part of the world to the other, and its consequences. This and other aspects make the book a great pleasure for those like myself who love plants but have a hard time sticking with literature that focuses upon the types only in their essence as garden cultivars.

I believe Ms Knapp has found a subject she truly loves, and has put her love into words to accompany the beautiful illustrations. As regards the illustrations: art and science do compliment one another and this is proof. Although some illustrations are obviously more accurately rendered than others, they all contribute in some way (some more than others) to our knowledge of the kingdom of Plants, but also in some way to our knowledge of ourselves. I think it must have been so in the days of the explorers who collected and put pen to paper to create these rich troves of information. You may decide that you love plants too, after reading Ms Knapps very frank and captivatingly direct prose.

This is a wonderful book. The pictures are beautiful and so is the writing. The text consists of literary-scientific essays about groups of plants familiar even to a botanical neophyte like myself. Gracefully written and fascinating, the essays alone would make an excellent book. They and the pictures together make for a truly extraordinary volume. I enjoyed this book enormously. It's a treat for both the eyes and the intellect.