In Pursuit of Plants: Experiences of Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Plant Collectors Book

In Surinam plant hunter F.W. Hostmann allowed vampire bats to suck his toes; Thomas Drummond was attacked by a bear in the North American woods; George Forrest narrowly escaped rampaging lamas in western China; and, in Fiji, Berthold Seemann recorded which plants cannibals used as an accompaniment to human flesh.

These and other incidents are recorded in this compilation of fascinating first-hand accounts of the experiences of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century collectors in their pursuit of plants from around the world. Extracted from journals and letters, the accounts are a mix of adventure, of sometimes grim but always captivating and occasionally humorous images of a lost world, and of stories of the practical problems associated with plant collecting.

Notes about the collectors and commentary on the plants they gathered are included, as too are appendices detailing development of the Wardian Case for the shipment of live plants and the role of herbaria in the discovery and naming of plants.

Illustrated with a selection of nineteenth-century botanical art and modern photographs, In Pursuit of Plants will appeal to professional and amateur botanists, gardeners, and anyone interested in natural history and travel.