Flower HuntersThe 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. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
John Ray 16271705 | 7 |
1 Carl Linnaeus 17071778 | 29 |
2 Joseph Banks 17431820 | 67 |
3 Francis Masson 17411805 and Carl Peter Thunberg 17421828 | 104 |
4 David Douglas 17991834 | 128 |
5 William Lobb 18091864 and Thomas Lobb 18171894 | 163 |
6 Robert Fortune 18121880 | 189 |
7 Marianne North 18301890 | 215 |
8 Richard Spruce 18171893 | 238 |
9 Joseph Dalton Hooker 18171911 | 269 |
Notes | 300 |
312 | |
317 | |
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adventure Antarctic arrived back to England Banks’s became botanical explorers botanist Britain British brother Cape Carl China Chinese Cinchona collecting collector Cook Cook’s Darwin David Douglas died Douglas’s Dutch East Endeavour expedition father fever flowers Fort Vancouver Fortune Francis Masson friends honour Horticultural Society India island James Veitch John Joseph Banks Joseph Hooker journey land later letter Linnaeus Linnaeus’s living London Marianne North Markham married Masson miles months mountains native never nursery orchids paint passed plants Ray’s region returned to England Rhododendron Richard Spruce river Robert Fortune Royal Botanic Gardens Royal Society sailed scientific seeds sent back ship Sikkim Solander soon South America species specimens spent Spruce stayed success suffered Thomas Lobb Thunberg took tree trip Uppsala Vancouver Veitch nurseries voyage William Hooker William Lobb Willughby wrote