Flower Hunters

by John Gribbin, Mary Gribbin

The 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Plants, Biography, Natural History, Nature

352 pages, Hardcover

First published March 27, 2008

About the author

John R. Gribbin is a British science writer, an astrophysicist, and a visiting fellow in astronomy at the University of Sussex. His writings include quantum physics, human evolution, climate change, global warming, the origins of the universe, and biographies of famous scientists. He also writes science fiction.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this might be a romp through history following prominent botanists on their adventures around the globe. And it did have that... pieced together from journals and historical records. It included the hardships at sea, the interactions with native peoples, the various illnesses that befell these explorers. It was fun to see friends and patrons named that made me say "Ah, so that's where that genus/species comes from." Yet for a book on botanists, I would have liked to read more about the taxa that drove these scientists to such distances and dangers to expand their collections-- even a few journal quotations describing particularly exciting specimens. I felt there were a lot of unimportant details dragging along in the text. The book does contain interesting tidbits, such as the development of methods to transport live plants across the ocean and the introduction of tea plants, sequoia, and quinine-producing Cinchona to Europe and India. I enjoyed the story of Marianne North, a pioneering woman on a quest to paint plants from every continent/island group in their natural habitats. In all, a decent read, but too many people, not enough plants.

[Mr_wormwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lives of the 19th C botanists, like David Douglas, Robert Fortune and Richard Spruce as like true earnest Victorians they are marked by their saintly character. The long suffering and deprivations they endured, not for money which they were paid a pittance, but all in the name of knowledge and Science has a definite ascetic element to it.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's OK.

To be honest I feel that the Gribbins write too widely to be very knowledgeable about any particular subject and my suspicions are somewhat confirmed when I read something that I know is wrong:

Thomas Lobb also found the vast and strange pitcher plant which reeks of rotten fish - this was definitely a curiosity and not a money spinner

Nepenthes patently do not smell of rotten fish and quite definitely were money spinners, if only fashionable for 20 years or so (Kew had a dedicated Nepenthes House).

If they can get something that is so easily verified wrong, what else is incorrect?

Anyway, there are some nice portraits in here, though some of it is a bit repetitive as they overlap and I thought that there could be a little more detail on the people they were collecting for (The Hookers, Paxton, the Veitches and their wealthy customers etc). I suspect they left Wallace out because he was contemporary with so many of the other characters but I would have thought he was interesting enough to at least have a brief chapter about.

[Vicki Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowing how much I love gardening, my dear friend gifted me this book. Makes me recall a story about my mom: I was planting yet another oak leaf hydrangea when my mother remarked: “Why would you want to plant those? They grow wild in Alabama.” I said, “Mom, every plant grows wild somewhere.” She thought a second and replied: “I reckon you’re right.” So, this is the story of the many individuals who ventured all over the globe to obtain specimens of every living plant. I will never look at my plants the same. Noting the “native to” information I can visualize the sacrifices of those who propelled the science of botany and enabled me to spend hours marveling over the gorgeous specimens at my local nursery. Hello, my beautiful Lady Banks Rose. Thank you, husband Joseph Banks, British naturalist and 1 of 12 pioneers featured in this book, for your tireless devotion to the library of the natural world. If I’m ever back in London, my first stop will be the Royal Botanical Garden at Kew. If you love flowers, you’ll want this book to keep. And yes, it makes a cherished gift for a fellow flower lover.

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not a remarkable read, this is the story of 11 remarkable men and 1 remarkable woman and their quests. The quests without fail involved danger, hardship and privation. For some there was a great deal more privation than for others, but there was plenty to go around and the quest was never easy. Some of them were scientifically oriented, some wanted plants to sell to the public. Others were sponsored one way or another by the British govt and had political overtones. Some were wealthy and wanted a ramble, adventure in their very souls. What was this universal quest? Find new plants for the English garden, and ultimately all gardens. You might look at your azalea with more respect.

[Strangeone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I found this to be an informative, if occasionally dry, read. It gives a decent overview of the history of the study of botany. However, I personally found that it focused too heavily on the biographical details of the titular "hunters," and not enough on the plants for which these intrepid souls risked life and limb. I learned all about the eleven individuals — their family backgrounds, their educations, how each entered into a life of plant-hunting — when I wanted to know all about the plants.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating collection about the history of botany and plant collection. I learnt a lot about people whose names and stories I was vaguely familiar with (Douglas of the Douglas Fir for example)and about the trials and tribulations that these individuals went through for science/curiosity and often, very small amounts of money!

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for a book about the historic adventures of botanists, but there was very little botany or natural history in this book. I'd skip it.

[Brenda Greene · Rating 2 out of 5]

The focus of each of the chapters about early British botanists is more a brief over view of their networks and travels than their life or the flowers they discovered. The writing is quaintly old fashioned with statements like "we haven't enough room to describe more" or "as we will see later". There are two sets of coloured images showing people, plants and illustrations mentioned in the text. There are some interesting wee anecdotes however it failed to hold my attention. Some facts were plainly wrong. For example seaweed IS mostly water and does NOT mostly contain carbon dioxide. Maybe it was the lack of over arching theme, the style or lack of insight into why people were or are inspired or to hunt flowers. The impression I gained was that you need money, time, influential contacts, no children and an obsessive nature. DNF.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on eleven swashbuckling adventurers all in search of profitable plants. Yes, it is very Euro-centric, but it's still a fun read. I especially enjoyed learning about Marianne North who began her adventures in the tropics at age 40 to paint exotic plants. She usually traveled alone and worked in the field for at least 10 years with annual trips back to England to socialize. Yes, she was gentry, but she also funded her own gallery to show her paintings, survived in the wild, and was generally bored by other women in society. Definitely a great role model for other middle aged women to pursue their dreams no matter how fanciful they seem.

[Sara Van Dyck · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was new to me in this book was to learn how great was the fascination with and drive to acquire new plants during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and not just by the “flower hunters” themselves. The expeditions were driven by commercial and sometimes medicinal prospects. Wealthy landowners used displays of rare or dramatic plants as a status symbol for their conservatories, with orchids particularly in demand. However, I agree with other reviewers that there is too much biographical and historical detail and not enough about the plants.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written book for those who are interested in the history of plants in the US

[Luca Morandi]

Lo abbandono, non è quello che cercavo, cercavo storie di piante ma questo libro si focalizza solo sul personaggio del "cacciatore".

[Giorgio Volpi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avvincente, a volte un pó pesante ma ricchissimo di storie curiose e inaspettate

[Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

As other reviewers have noted, more about the people than the plants and environments. Unnecessarily, we are fed good doses of proper British colonialist muscle flexing in Hooker's chapter.

This book is harsh on non-Brits, consciously or otherwise. It suffers in parts from a very British tone that combines stiff-upper-lip with poorly disguised superiority complex. Linnaeus is mocked for at least one-third of his chapter; why? do they believe John Ray didn't get his due? The only good thoughts about Carl Thunberg -- one of Linnaeus's students, one of the great early plant explorers around the world, and who gets only a small part of a small chapter here -- seem to come from an unpublished manuscript of Catharina Blomberg's. The authors otherwise mock him wherever they can, calling him an insufferable know-it-all and Baron Munchausen. Again, why? No Brit gets this treatment, presumably because no British plant explorer had character defects, one would guess from this chauvinistic book. Daniel Solander, another Linnaeus student who accompanied Banks on Cook's first voyage, gets hardly a mention but comes off alright because he chose to work in London and to thereby abandon Linnaeus and (yes they use the word) "backward" Sweden.

It was nice to read about Marianne North, the woman whose work fills her eponymous Gallery at Kew, and about Richard Spruce and his love for nonvascular plants.

The authors have written other worthwhile books but I can't count this among them. I’m not giving a lower rating because they do provide adequate biographies for some people for whom widely available contemporary biographies are lacking.

[Deborah Wheeler]

Quite hard going in places but some lovely colour pictures had hoped there would be more about Alfred Wallace as we used to live where his house was and we had some weird and wonderful plants in the garden - sadly he was the 12th man so only occasional references to him and I didn't find out much more than I already knew

[Flora · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far this is excellent. I completed the first few stories and learned a great deal about Linnaeus (very compulsive), John Ray (unrecognized pioneer of systemics) and Jos. Banks (rich man's son made most of his fortune). Can't wait for the rest of the botanical adventures...

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the topic fascinating and the research very well done, however, the writing and the presentation are prone to induce sleep and yes, quite dry.

[Cheri]

In depth with interesting tidbits, but it's also rather dull for me right now. And ILL wants it back. So, maybe another time. 10/03/11

i'm on page 59.

[Wuenschel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a little boring, but I feel like I should finish it.