Perching on tropical trees, partnering with fungi to reproduce, or deceiving birds and amorous insects to promote pollination, orchids fascinate. In the exquisitely illustrated Extraordinary Orchids, award-winning botanist and writer Sandra Knapp tells the stories behind some of the bizarre lifestyles and interactions that scientists have uncovered among many species of the orchid family. Orchids deserve such a visual celebration: parts of the orchid flower have shapes unlike any other flowering plant, and the sheer number of species means they have a seemingly endless ability to create ever more fantastical forms. In fact, many orchid common names refer to the shape-shifting forms of their flowers--the "man-orchids" or "monkey-orchids" are so called because of their resemblance to the primate form. Orchids lend themselves to depiction, and botanical artworks of them abound. Who could resist painting or drawing such odd shapes? Illustrated with stunning artwork, much from the archives of the Natural History Museum in London and never before published, Extraordinary Orchids includes depictions from celebrated botanical artists such as Ferdinand and Franz Bauer, Arthur Harry Church, and Sydney Parkinson, revealing the weird and wonderful lives of this most diverse of plant families.

Extraordinary Orchids

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Knapp, Sandra

Gardening & Landscape Design

University of Chicago Press

A vividly illustrated meeting with thirty plants and their inspiring namesakes\nShakespeare famously asserted that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” and that’s as true for common garden roses as it is for the Megacorax, a genus of evening primroses. Though it may not sound like it, the Megacorax was actually christened in honor of famed American botanist Peter Raven, its name a play on the Latin words for “great raven.”\nIn this lush and lively book, celebrated botanist Sandra Knapp explores the people whose names have been immortalized in plant genera, presenting little-known stories about both the featured plants and their eponyms alongside photographs and botanical drawings from the collections of London’s Natural History Museum. Readers will see familiar plants in a new light after learning the tales of heroism, inspiration, and notoriety that led to their naming. Take, for example, nineteenth-century American botanist Alice Eastwood, after whom the yellow aster—Eastwoodia elegans—is named. Eastwood was a pioneering plant collector who also singlehandedly saved irreplaceable specimens from the California Academy of Sciences during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Or more recently, the fern genus Gaga, named for the pop star and actress Lady Gaga, whose verdant heart-shaped ensemble at the 2010 Grammy Awards bore a striking resemblance to a giant fern gametophyte. Knapp’s subjects range from Charles Darwin’s grandfather, Erasmus Darwin (Darwinia), and legendary French botanist Pierre Magnol—who lends his name to the magnolia tree—to US founding figures like George Washington (Washingtonia) and Benjamin Franklin (Franklinia). Including granular details on the taxonomy and habitats for thirty plants alongside its vibrant illustrations, this book is sure to entertain and enlighten any plant fan.

In the Name of Plants: From Attenborough to Washington, the People behind Plant Names

High above the galleries of the Natural History Museum in London is a series of ceiling panels illustrated with plants from every corner of the globe. Richly coloured and gilded, they speak of a pioneering era of botany and horticulture. This compact, lavishly illustrated book describes the story of their creation, the inspiration behind them and the plants depicted, and provides a panel-by-panel guide to this glorious expression of Victorian art and science.

The Gilded Canopy - Botanical Ceiling Panels of the Natural History Museum

Arts & Photography

Press, Bob

History & Criticism

The Natural History Museum

A fascinating account of naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace's 1848 expedition to the Amazon Alfred Russel Wallace spent almost two years traveling up the Rio Negro, a region few Europeans had explored, collecting natural history specimens. A fire onboard the ship during the return journey to England destroyed all of his collections, but among the possessions rescued was a collection of sketches of fish, later presented to the Natural History Museum. This book describes the naturalist in the making, the tragic loss of Wallace's collections, and how this affected his future. His research ultimately led him (in parallel with Darwin) to one of the biggest and most controversial ideas of the 19th century—evolution by natural selection—and his understanding of this process certainly began in the Amazon. Wallace's Amazonian adventure is recounted using his own words where possible, and illustrated throughout with his delicate pencil drawings. The story is interwoven with the author's current experience of tropical field work and is told in a lively, informal style.

Alfred Russel Wallace in the Amazon: Footsteps in the Forest

History

World

Natural History Museum, London

A lavish, enchanting voyage of discovery through the history of some of our key garden plants, telling a story not only of science but also of adventure and human achievement
Using exquisite botanical paintings from the Library of the Natural History Museum as its starting point, Flora examines the fascinating history of 20 plants including such favorites as cacti, daffodils, irises, magnolias, poppies, roses, tulips, and waterlilies. Sandra Knapp's text weaves scientific, historic, cultural, and artistic threads into a rich fabric of plant lore and tells the remarkable stories of the adventurous botanist explorers who braved disease, slave traders, war, jungles, and assorted dangers to collect plants now commonly grown in our gardens. With the aid of striking illustrations, Flora considers the compelling link between botanical art and the exploration of plant form and function, thus allowing us to appreciate and enjoy them all the more. The Library of the Natural History Museum is a repository for one of the most exciting and comprehensive collections of natural history literature and artworks to be found anywhere in the world. It holds more than half a million artworks, comprising one of Britain's biggest art collections and representing all the great natural history artists. Flora was previously titled Plant Discoveries.

Flora: The Art of Plant Exploration

Science & Math

Biological Sciences

Flora An Artistic Voyage Through the World of Plants

Flora: An Artistic Voyage Through the World of Plants 2016

GARDNERS VI BOOKS AMS006

Systematic Botany Monographs: Taxonomy of Wild Tomatoes and Their Relatives (Solanum Sect. Lycopersicoides, Sect. Juglandifolia, Sect. Lycopersicon; Solanaceae)

Peralta, Iris E.

Spooner, David M.

Amer Society of Plant Taxonomists

The history of plants and flowers. 
 Botanical paintings and fascinating essays are combined in Plant Discoveries to examine the fascinating history of plants and flowers. Over 20 plant families are profiled including cacti, daffodils, iris, magnolia, poppies, roses, tulips, conifers, hibiscus, palms and waterlilies. 
 Throughout history, plants have dramatically affected the lives of individuals and society as a whole. Holland's infamous tulip craze is now legend. The 17th century spice trade was so profitable that stevedores who unloaded nutmeg from the boats were obliged to wear coveralls without pockets since only a few nutmegs were worth a fortune. 
 The natural history of the plants themselves is an engrossing topic. The book suggests that plants take a more active role in their survival than commonly assumed. It discusses how plants have adopted remarkable strategies for survival in a variety of harsh habitats. One such plant is the dead horse arum -- a putrid-smelling plant that adapted to compete with dead birds to attract pollinating carrion flies. 
 Plants that gardeners now take for granted once could only be found in remote and hostile regions. Plant Discoveries tells the fascinating story of the adventurous botanist explorers who braved disease, slave traders, war, jungles and other dangers to collect plants now commonly grown in our own backyards. 
 These pages are graced with hundreds of stunning color illustrations selected from the vast collection of botanical paintings archived at the Natural History Museum, London. Plant Discoveries is an exciting voyage of discovery and a must-have volume for lovers of art, botany, and adventure.

Plant Discoveries: A Botanist's Voyage Through Plant Exploration

Firefly Books

Nick Knight: Flora

The young British photographer Nick Knight discovered the beauty of dried plants on a stroll through the herbarium, the "library of pressed flowers," at the Natural History Museum in London. These flowers were a source of such fascination to the photographer that in 1997 he devoted his second large photo album to them. The charm of their fragile corporeality, their filigree transparency, and their subtle colors delighted Nick Knight for more than three and a half years--the time it took him to select from over six million plants in the herbarium. Sandra Knapp, curator of Central American plants at the Natural History Museum has written short explanatory texts on the individual plants commenting on their biological characteristics as well as on their historical and cultural importance. A classic of plant photography, Nick Knight: Flora is now available again in an unchanged edition.

Photography & Video

Schirmer/Mosel

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Books by Knapp, Sandra