Reviews
Click on the book covers for further title information
Wilson's China: a Century on, by Mark Flanagan and Tony Kirkham
September 2009
This fascinating travelogue, with plants as an added extra, is undoubtedly the horticultural read of the year.
- Val Bourne, Telegraph Gardening, November 14 2009
This is a most unusual garden book...combines the "official" world of plant collecting for Kew with the personal obsession of its authors.
- Tim Richardson, Telegraph Gardening, December 5 2009
A great winter read.
- Roy Lancaster, Gardens Illustrated, December 2009
The Art of Plant Evolution, by W. John Kress and Shirley Sherwood
August 2009
A garden that is as pretty as a picture
- Timesonline, August 30 2009
New Trees: recent introductions to cultivation, by John Grimshaw and Ross Bayton
May 2009
Shortlisted at the 2009 Garden Media Guild Awards in the Reference Book of the Year category
It is an admirable piece of work for the breadth and depth of its scholarship and for its readability...a treasure-house of information of tree and large shrub species.
- Ursula Buchan, The Daily Telegraph, 16 November 2009
A hugely important reference work on new tree introductions, their cultivation and conservation...huge amount of information, brought together in the most engaging of ways.
- Jim Gardiner, The Garden, November 2009
See also:
Chris Brickell, The Plantsman, September 2009
Pocket Guide to Rhododendron Species, by J.F.J. McQuire and M.L.A. Robinson
April 2009
This is a most interesting book, as it will be very useful both to the rhododendron expert as well as anyone who is just beginning to get "hooked" by the genus.
- Glen Jamieson, Journal American Rhododendron Society, Winter 2010
Genera Palmarum. Evolution and Classification of the palms. By John Dransfield, Natalie W. Uhl, Conny B. Asmussen, William J. Baker, Madeline Harley and Carl Lewis
July 2008
Winner of the 2009 Technical category CBHL (The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries) Annual Award for a Significant Work in Botanical or Horticultural Literature.
Anyone with an interest in palms, whether modern or fossil, should own this book. It is the most complete coverage of the family.
- David M. Jarzen, AASP - The Palynological Society Newsletter, Vol 42, No. 4, December 2009
Moore at Kew, by Anita Feldman and Suzanne Eustace
September 2007
Moore Paper - Robert Horne's Revive 50:50 Silk paper has been used in a catalogue showing work by sculptor Henry Moore, whose work is being exhibited at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew...printed by FSC-accredited BAS Printers, based in Romsey, Hampshire. It has used vegetable-based inks and claims 100% of the electricity used came from renewable sources.
- PrintWeek, 01 November 2007
Orchids of Madagascar, Second Edition, by Johan and Clare Hermans, David Du Puy, Phillip Cribb and Jean Bosser
October 2007
Immaculately researched...An indispensible reference book for botanists and specialists in the orchids of this beautiful country.
- Henry Oakeley, Orchid Society of Great Britain Journal, Vol 56 (4) 2007/8
Ophrys: the bee orchids of Europe, by Henrik Ærenlund Pedersen and Niels Faurholdt
July 2007
This well-produced book can also double as a field guide, being of pocket size and strongly bound in a flexible lightweight cover. I think that it is a timely reminder to European orchid enthusiasts that there are other views on species’ delimitation than those currently promulgated in the most popular field guides.
- Phillip Cribb, The Orchid Review, Vol 116 (1279) Jan/Feb 2008
This publication is a serious attempt by the authors to make a scientific examination of the genus Ophrys...invaluable for identifying Ophrys and is certainly an essential for an orchid library.
- Eileen Watson, Orchid Society of Great Britain Journal, Vol 56 (4) Dec 2007/Jan 2008
See also:
Edzard Bos, Orchideeën, Vol 43 (2) 2008 (in Dutch)
Kids' Kew: a children's guide, by Miranda MacQuitty
April 2007
Which plants did dinosaurs love to eat and which plants like to eat insects? Find out the answers in Kids’ Kew (Kew Publishing, £3.95) by science writer and biologist Miranda MacQuitty. Her new children’s guide-book (for seven to 11 year olds) unlocks the gates to Kew’s plant life, covering topics from Key Stage Two. A fold-out map of the garden and 60 special stickers are included.
- The Lady, 15 May 2007
It’s bright and busy, packed full of photographs, illustrations, a fold out map and information...Kids’ Kew also carries an important conservation message. It teaches children about projects that help save plants in the wild...here’s a way of being seen to be green.
- What's On in London, 5 April 2007
With this sparkling new guide book, the adventure doesn’t stop when the Gardens close for the night. Kids can take their book home as a reminder of a brilliant adventure and continue to use it to make their home more plant friendly and to help the environment.
- The Visitor, April 2007
The Genus Roscoea, by Jill Cowley
April 2007
I think this is an excellent book and if you like plants it is a book that you will want to add to your shelves for the illustrations alone...with the key to the species, the concise descriptions, illustrations and pictures you should be able to identify accurately any Roscoeas you may find…I rate it a must have book.
- Ian Young, The Scottish Rock Garden Club Bulb Log Diary, Bulb Log 22, 30 May 2007
Flowering Plant Families of the World, by V. H. Heywood, R. K. Brummitt, A. Culham and O. Seberg
February 2007
This informative, beautifully illustrated book is a pleasure to read and also acts as a timely reminder that plants not only enhance our environment but are the basis of our future and the survival of humankind.
- Matthew Biggs, Gardens Illustrated, June 2007
Welcome to the dazzling diorama of 21st-century plant classification and evolution...there are 506 families and lots of new bedfellows...this scholarly, elegant and, at times, demanding book should definitely whet your appetite for further change.
- Tim Entwisle, Gardening Australia, July 2007
This is far more than just a new edition. The text has been reworked and updated to include the latest knowledge of plant evolution, revealed by DNA. The authors have taken many of these discoveries into account in redefining the families recognised.
- Christopher Whitehouse, The Garden, August 2007
See also:
Field Guide to the Rattans of Africa, by Terry Sunderland
July 2007
…A most usable manual for the identification of the species of rattan that occur in Africa…of considerable use to both ethnobotanists and development agency workers. It is easy to use, abundantly illustrated and the keys for identification work well.
- Ghillean Prance, Plant Talk, December 2007
World Checklist and Bibliography of Campanulaceae, by Thomas G Lammers
July 2007
One can easily consider the checklist an encyclopedia of the Campanulaceae. The checklist includes every validly
published name at or below specific rank...names are easy to
follow and find. A useful work on an important worldwide family.
- Barney Lipscomb, Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Vol 1 (2) 2007
Zambian Plants: their vernacular names and uses, by Dennis G Fowler
September 2007
...Of interest in anyone who is involved in research on Zambian plants and their uses...a repository of knowledge about local and traditional uses and plants currently used in Zambia.
- Michael Heinrich, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Vol 116 (2) 2008
