Flower Hunters by Mary Gribbin

Flower Hunters by Mary Gribbin

The flower hunters were intrepid explorers - remarkable, eccentric men and women who scoured the world in search of extraordinary plants from the middle of the seventeenth to the end of the nineteenth century, and helped establish the new science of botany. For these adventurers, the search for new, undiscovered plant specimens was something worth risking - and often losing - their lives for. From the Douglas-fir and the monkey puzzle tree, to exotic orchids and azaleas, many of the plants that are now so familiar to us were found in distant regions of the globe, often in wild and unexplored country, in impenetrable jungle, and in the face of hunger, disease, and hostile locals. It was specimens like these, smuggled home by the flower hunters, that helped build the great botanical collections, and lay the foundations for the revolution in our understanding of the natural world that was to follow. Here, the adventures of eleven such explorers are brought to life, describing not only their extraordinary daring and dedication, but also the lasting impact of their discoveries both on science, and on the landscapes and gardens that we see today.

A lovely version..This volume is filled with useful, well-organised information...Evelyn's work is a treat. Christian Review The assiduous Gribbins have uncovered much splendid detail in this bouquet of 11 floral explorers. Christopher Hirst The Independent

John Gribbin is one of today's greatest writers of popular science and the author of bestselling books, including In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, Stardust, Science: A History and Deep Simplicity. He is famous to his many fans for making complex ideas simple, and says that his aim in his writing - much of it done with his wife, Mary Gribbin - is to share with his readers his sense of wonder at the strangeness of the universe. John Gribbin trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780199561827
ISBN 10	0199561826
Titel	Flower Hunters
Autor	Mary Gribbin
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Paperback
Verlag	Oxford University Press
Erscheinungsjahr	2009-03-26
Seitenanzahl	352
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar