front cover of Robert Fortune
Robert Fortune
A Plant Hunter in the Orient
Alistair Watt
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2016
Scottish plant collector Robert Fortune became famous among botanists for working and traveling in China and Japan from 1843 to 1861, a time when China forbade Europeans from traveling beyond the confines of a few coastal treaty ports.

This is the first full biography of Fortune, and it uses substantial un-studied materials, detailing his travels, collections, and more, and featuring the first maps ever produced that track his collecting itineraries in China. Alistair Watt, a plant hunter himself, brings Fortune to life, showing us how he traveled in disguise in China, and clearing up some misconceptions about his role as a scout for a possible tea industry in the United States. The result is a rounded portrait of an extraordinary man, his times, and his lasting contribution to horticultural knowledge.
 
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front cover of The Genus Macaranga - a Prodromus
The Genus Macaranga - a Prodromus
Timothy C Whitmore
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2008
Macaranga is a genus in the family Euphorbiaceae, comprising trees, treelets and some lianas - many of which are conspicuous large-leafed pioneers of disturbed habitats. There are 257 species, of which 21 are newly described in this work. Although at its most diverse in South East Asia and New Guinea, the genus also occurs in Africa and Madagascar, continental Asia, the Pacific Islands, and Australia. The book allows for ready identification of all species via both regional keys and keys within informal species groups. Twenty-five species are illustrated.
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front cover of Baobab - Africa's Upside-Down Tree
Baobab - Africa's Upside-Down Tree
G E Wickens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 1982
An attempt to pull together what is known about that extraordinary tree, the African baobab (Adansonia digitat L. - Bombaceae). Illustrated with 5 half-tone plates, 3 maps and a diagnostic line drawing.
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front cover of Alpines, from Mountain to Garden
Alpines, from Mountain to Garden
Richard Wilford
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, 2010

Alpines, From mountain to garden is a refreshing new perspective on the many stunning plant species that make their home above the treeline. Where most guides to alpine plants have favored collecting and rare species, Richard Wilford offers a holistic approach that describes their discovery and introduction into cultivation and why these factors must be taken in to consideration when planting these mountain dwellers in your garden.

           

Organized geographically, Alpines, From mountain to garden covers the conditions—drainage, climate, light levels, temperature, and precipitation—and species native to each of nine regions, including the United States and Canada, South America, China, Europe, and Africa.  In all, over three hundred plants are described and prolifically illustrated. Additional chapters cover cultivation, conservation, and the impact of indiscriminate collecting on the many species that are now on the verge of extinction. With its wealth of insight into where alpine plants come from and how this affects their cultivation, this new book from Kew’s Botanical Magazine Monograph series is sure to be a hit with gardeners, collectors, travelers, and photographers alike.

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