Chasing plants : journeys with a botanist through rainforests, swamps, and mountains
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages [271]-275) and indexes.

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, he treads a death-defying path over clifftops, up volcanoes, through typhoons, and into the heart of the world's vast green wilderness. Along the way, he encounters pitcher plants, irises, and orchids more heart-piercingly beautiful than you could ever imagine. Thorogood explains how "We share the biosphere with hundreds of thousands of plant species that existed long before us, and we have a duty of care to protect them, yet their plight often goes unnoticed. Perhaps we need to bring plants out of the shadows by portraying them differently: showing their intrigue, their character, something beyond a beautiful backdrop for animals to exist in; and challenging the perception of what botanists do and why they care so deeply." To follow his footsteps is to be under his spell--and you'll never think of plants the same way again"--,Provided by publisher.