The Plant Hunters: Two Hundred Years of Adventure and Discovery Around the World

by Musgrave, Toby; Gardner, Chris; Musgrave, Will

• ISBN13: 9781841880013
• ISBN10: 1841880019
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-01
• Publisher: Sterling Pub

Summary

They traveled the wide world, searching for new flowers, shrubs, and other botanical wonders to bring back home -- and only because of the courage and passion of daring explorers can today's gardens boast of such a diverse array of plants. The nine plant hunters -- including Joseph Banks (1743-1820), Joseph Hooker (1817-1911), and George Forrest (1873-1922) -- featured in this handsomely illustrated and adventure-filled volume dedicated themselves to expanding our knowledge of botany and horticulture. From the shores of South America, New Zealand, and Australia to the top of the Himalayas, these men often risked their lives collecting tens of thousands of new species over a period of two centuries -- and every garden benefits from their legacy.

Table of Contents

Authors' Acknowledgements	7	(2)
Introduction	9	(4)
Endeavour and Expansion:	13	(26)
Sir Joseph Banks
To the Fairest Cape:	39	(16)
Francis Masson
A Walk on the Wild Side:	55	(24)
David Douglas
On Top of the World:	79	(26)
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker
Fortune Favours the Brave:	105	(26)
Robert Fortune
Brothers in the Nursery: The Lobbs and the Veitch Dynasty	131	(24)
Chinese Puzzle:	155	(22)
Ernest Wilson
A Forrest of Rhododendrons:	177	(22)
George Forrest
Kingdom of the Blue Poppy: Frank Kingdon-Ward	199	(19)
Bibliography	218	(2)
Illustration Acknowledgements	220	(1)
Index	221