Chasing Plants: Journeys with a Botanist Through Rainforests, Swamps, and Mountains

A New Scientist Best Book of the Year

From an acclaimed botanist and artist, a thrilling and beautifully illustrated expedition around the globe in search of the world's most extraordinary plants.

After making a strange discovery on a childhood trip to Ikea--a stand of sap-sucking, leafless broomrapes, stealing nutrients from their neighbors' roots--Chris Thorogood dreamed of becoming a botanist and would stop at nothing to feed his growing addiction to plants. In his hair-raising adventures across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Thorogood treads a death-defying path over cliffs, up erupting volcanoes, through typhoons, and out into the very heart of the world's vast, green wilderness. Along the way, he encounters pitcher plants, irises, and orchids more heart-piercingly beautiful than could ever be imagined.

But with Thorogood as our guide in Chasing Plants, we not only imagine: we see. An internationally acclaimed botanical illustrator, Thorogood conjures his adventures spent seed-collecting and conserving plants around the world back to life in his electric paintings, which feature throughout the book. They bring plants out of the shadows, challenging us to see their intrigue and their character, and helping us to understand why plant species must be protected. To join Thorogood in his wild adventures is to be cast under his green spell: readers will never think of plants the same way again.

ISBN-13: 9780226823539

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Publication Date: 09-12-2022

Pages: 288

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.40(d)

Chris Thorogood is Deputy Director and Head of Science of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum. His research focuses on the evolution, conservation, and biomimetic applications of plants. Thorogood is a wildlife artist, botanical illustrator, and an international best-selling author of specialist field guides and popular books.

Table of Contents

Preface
The World: key locations visited
Before We Go
1. On a Trip to IKEA
2. Vampire Hunting
3. Dragon Slaying
4. Through Holy Land
5. On Sacred Slopes
6. Across Kingdoms
7. To Pitcher Plant Paradise
Acknowledgements
Notes
Index of plants
Index of places Show More