"It’s easy to see how The Age of Seeds could be an award-winning book."

Should African Violets have a conservation tariff to help protect their natural habitats? A new book asks some serious questions about the plants with which we share our homes.

Author Keith Seifert is a charming guide as he introduces us to a fungal world many of us are largely unaware of.

Planting Clues should not only appeal to the general reader, but will also serve well as a textbook for an undergraduate course on forensic botany.

The Magic of Mushrooms: Fungi in folklore, superstition and traditional medicine, Sandra Lawrence, 2022. Welbeck, in partnership with RBG Kew. How much do you know about fungi? It doesn’t really matter how much you know because I bet you’ll know an awful lot more about this mysterious kingdom after reading The Magic of Mushrooms by […]

The Green Planet by Leisa Stewart–Sharpe and Kim Smith, 2022. Puffin Books (an imprint of the Penguin Random House group of companies). Not so long ago I appraised The Green Planet by Simon Barnes. Although I had positive things to say about that book; I had a major issue with the absence of any sources […]

Spices, Scents and Silk: Catalysts of world trade, James F Hancock, 2021. CABI. I first encountered James Hancock’s work at the World History Encyclopedia site (e.g. his articles on Origins of World Agriculture, and Dynamics of the Neolithic Revolution) whilst undertaking research for another project. I was impressed by both his subject matter – plants-and-people […]

Stunning images, like the TV programme, incredible facts, like the TV programme and the same referencing as the TV programme.

A Cultural History of Plants* by Annette Giesecke (Anthology Editor) and David Mabberley (Anthology Editor), 2022. Bloomsbury Publishing. I like books [actually, I love them!]. Almost as much as I’m interested in practically any- and everything to do with plants. I also like sharing my enthusiasm about matters botanical with others. Which is why I […]

Phytochemistry of Australia’s Tropical Rainforest: Medicinal potential of ancient plants by Cheryll J Williams, 2021. CSIRO Publishing/CABI. It is often remarked that Australia is one of the most venomous countries on the planet (e.g. Carly Williams; Jude Dinely). Which perception is usually down to the weird and wonderful animals that live upon that land (Meg […]

The Plant Hunter* by TL Mogford, 2022. Welbeck Fiction Limited. I don’t really read novels (Amanda Prahl). It’s not that I have anything against that particular literary form as such, I just don’t have the time. And why would I with so many non-fiction plant books to read and review? But, TL Mogford’s The Plant […]

A book that considers not only how plants have nourished the body, but also the soul.