Cacciatori di piante

I thought this might be a romp through history following prominent botanists on their adventures around the globe. And it did have that... pieced together from journals and historical records. It included the hardships at sea, the interactions with native peoples, the various illnesses that befell t Leggi tutto

The lives of the 19th C botanists, like David Douglas, Robert Fortune and Richard Spruce as like true earnest Victorians they are marked by their saintly character. The long suffering and deprivations they endured, not for money which they were paid a pittance, but all in the name of knowledge and

Knowing how much I love gardening, my dear friend gifted me this book. Makes me recall a story about my mom: I was planting yet another oak leaf hydrangea when my mother remarked: “Why would you want to plant those? They grow wild in Alabama.” I said, “Mom, every plant grows wild somewhere.” She tho Leggi tutto

Overall, I found this to be an informative, if occasionally dry, read. It gives a decent overview of the history of the study of botany. However, I personally found that it focused too heavily on the biographical details of the titular "hunters," and not enough on the plants for which these intrepid Leggi tutto

I had high hopes for a book about the historic adventures of botanists, but there was very little botany or natural history in this book. I'd skip it.

The focus of each of the chapters about early British botanists is more a brief over view of their networks and travels than their life or the flowers they discovered. The writing is quaintly old fashioned with statements like "we haven't enough room to describe more" or "as we will see later". Ther Leggi tutto

Great book on eleven swashbuckling adventurers all in search of profitable plants. Yes, it is very Euro-centric, but it's still a fun read. I especially enjoyed learning about Marianne North who began her adventures in the tropics at age 40 to paint exotic plants. She usually traveled alone and work Leggi tutto