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Chasing the Ghost: My Search for all the Wild Flowers of Britain
Join renowned naturalist Peter Marren on an exciting quest to see every species of wild plant native to Britain.
The mysterious Ghost Orchid blooms in near darkness among rotting leaves on the forest floor. It blends into the background to the point of invisibility, yet glows, pale and ghostly. The ultimate grail of flower hunters, it has been spotted only once in the past twenty-five years. Its few flowers have a deathly pallor and are said to smell of over-ripe bananas.
Peter Marren has been a devoted flower finder all his life. While the Ghost Orchid offers the toughest challenge of any wild plant, there were fifty more British species Peter had yet to see, having ticked off the first 1,400 rummaging in hedges, slipping down gullies and peering in peat bogs. But he set himself the goal of finding the remaining fifty in a single summer. As it turned out, the wettest summer in years.
This expert and emotional journey takes Peter the length and the breadth of the British Isles, from the dripping ancient woods of the New Forest to the storm-lashed cliffs of Sutherland. He paddles in lakes, clambers up cliffs in mist and rain, and walks several hundred miles, but does he manage to find them all?
Partly about plants, partly autobiography, Chasing the Ghost is also a reminder that to engage with wild flowers, all we need to do is look around us and enjoy what we see.
The mysterious Ghost Orchid blooms in near darkness among rotting leaves on the forest floor. It blends into the background to the point of invisibility, yet glows, pale and ghostly. The ultimate grail of flower hunters, it has been spotted only once in the past twenty-five years. Its few flowers have a deathly pallor and are said to smell of over-ripe bananas.
Peter Marren has been a devoted flower finder all his life. While the Ghost Orchid offers the toughest challenge of any wild plant, there were fifty more British species Peter had yet to see, having ticked off the first 1,400 rummaging in hedges, slipping down gullies and peering in peat bogs. But he set himself the goal of finding the remaining fifty in a single summer. As it turned out, the wettest summer in years.
This expert and emotional journey takes Peter the length and the breadth of the British Isles, from the dripping ancient woods of the New Forest to the storm-lashed cliffs of Sutherland. He paddles in lakes, clambers up cliffs in mist and rain, and walks several hundred miles, but does he manage to find them all?
Partly about plants, partly autobiography, Chasing the Ghost is also a reminder that to engage with wild flowers, all we need to do is look around us and enjoy what we see.
320 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 2, 2019
Midlife affects all sort of people differently, some buy a motorbike or a swish two-seater sports car. Other have more adventurous plans, travel to exotic or remote places, or decide to throw themselves out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane and skydive. Peter Marren wanted to do something to mark his 50th, but considerable less onerous and dangerous. He did enjoy spending time rooting about in ditches and hedges, walking through woodlands, and occasional falling over in the search for all the plants of the UK.
So far he had found 1,400 of them, but there were still an elusive 50 that he was yet to clap eyes on, including the almost mythical Ghost Orchid, a plant so rare that it hadn’t been seen in the wild since 2010. This journey would take him backwards and forwards across the British Isles from Sussex to Cornwall, Norfolk to the Inner Hebrides, searching for ultra-rare plants that are wonderfully named, such as the Slender Naiad, Creeping Spearwort, Leafless Hawk’s Beard and the Few-Flowered Fumitory. On a lot of his trips, he is joined by friends and experts to assist in the search or to provide that detailed knowledge of the exact location where these plants are.
His enthusiasm for his small green subjects is compelling. He does mention a couple of personal matters in the book, as seems to be the habit these days. However, this is a very well written book one man’s search for some of our rarest plants, but more importantly, it is also a reminder that all of our natural world is under threat, not just the headline species. Thought it was interesting that the Plantlife, who is the organisation who carries out similar work to the RSPB but for plants, have a fraction of the membership of that organisation. Seems like they need our support as much as the others. It is a timely reminder to look all around you when out and about, not just at the thing that you went to see. If you like this then I’d recommend The Orchid Hunter by Leif Bersweden and Orchid Summer by Jon Dunn.
So far he had found 1,400 of them, but there were still an elusive 50 that he was yet to clap eyes on, including the almost mythical Ghost Orchid, a plant so rare that it hadn’t been seen in the wild since 2010. This journey would take him backwards and forwards across the British Isles from Sussex to Cornwall, Norfolk to the Inner Hebrides, searching for ultra-rare plants that are wonderfully named, such as the Slender Naiad, Creeping Spearwort, Leafless Hawk’s Beard and the Few-Flowered Fumitory. On a lot of his trips, he is joined by friends and experts to assist in the search or to provide that detailed knowledge of the exact location where these plants are.
His enthusiasm for his small green subjects is compelling. He does mention a couple of personal matters in the book, as seems to be the habit these days. However, this is a very well written book one man’s search for some of our rarest plants, but more importantly, it is also a reminder that all of our natural world is under threat, not just the headline species. Thought it was interesting that the Plantlife, who is the organisation who carries out similar work to the RSPB but for plants, have a fraction of the membership of that organisation. Seems like they need our support as much as the others. It is a timely reminder to look all around you when out and about, not just at the thing that you went to see. If you like this then I’d recommend The Orchid Hunter by Leif Bersweden and Orchid Summer by Jon Dunn.
September 16, 2018
An enjoyable story of an impossible quest. Most of the 50 plants in question are the sort that the vast majority of us, even wild flower enthusiasts, would neither recognise or probably even notice, but Marren’s story almost has the pace of a thriller. It certainly fed my interest that the first plant he searched for and found was on Stanner Rocks, 2 miles from my house!
My one quibble is that, for some unstated reason, possibly an editing error, the mini chapters (one per search) move away from date order for a while in the middle of the book.
My one quibble is that, for some unstated reason, possibly an editing error, the mini chapters (one per search) move away from date order for a while in the middle of the book.
April 3, 2022
This book was easy to read but I didn't quite get the point of it. Perhaps I shouldn't feel a book needs a point, but I do. Most of the book comprises short accounts (a few pages) of the author's search for a particular species in his list of 50 UK species he hasn't yet seen in flower. Each account is told in an engaging-enough way, but I don't really need or want to know the details of any struggles he had getting to the site or what he was talking to his friends about as he searched.
What I was made more aware of is 1) how many species there are in the UK which have very restricted ranges, 2) how vulnerable these species are to being wiped out by chance events, 3) how difficult it is to protect them given our poor understanding of their requirements, and 4) there are people dedicated to identification of quite obscure and difficult plants, and they have a valuable but underappreciated role in society. Most of us wouldn't recognise these plants as anything special, and wouldn't realise if they disappeared, but I think it's important that someone does.
The book also raised several questions in my mind: 1) what is the value of the species which are so rare that they are no longer, or never have, played a significant ecological role in this country, especially when they are common in other countries?, 2) what is the value of species which are seemingly defined on a technicality (see whitebeam chapter)?, 3) should we focus more on trying to maintain species abundance and range to maintain functioning ecosystems, rather than being obsessed with whether a species is or is not extinct, especially when 'extinct' means in the UK, not universally. These questions were not addressed in this book because that was not its aim. I don't know what my answers would be, but the main benefit I got from reading this book was being made to think about these issues.
What I was made more aware of is 1) how many species there are in the UK which have very restricted ranges, 2) how vulnerable these species are to being wiped out by chance events, 3) how difficult it is to protect them given our poor understanding of their requirements, and 4) there are people dedicated to identification of quite obscure and difficult plants, and they have a valuable but underappreciated role in society. Most of us wouldn't recognise these plants as anything special, and wouldn't realise if they disappeared, but I think it's important that someone does.
The book also raised several questions in my mind: 1) what is the value of the species which are so rare that they are no longer, or never have, played a significant ecological role in this country, especially when they are common in other countries?, 2) what is the value of species which are seemingly defined on a technicality (see whitebeam chapter)?, 3) should we focus more on trying to maintain species abundance and range to maintain functioning ecosystems, rather than being obsessed with whether a species is or is not extinct, especially when 'extinct' means in the UK, not universally. These questions were not addressed in this book because that was not its aim. I don't know what my answers would be, but the main benefit I got from reading this book was being made to think about these issues.
March 25, 2019
This is the collected record of the author's summer long quest to see his 'top 50' British wild plant species and takes him through the many and various terrain of the UK during the wettest summer for some years. Marren relates his experiences in a warm, engaging manner with some fine descriptive narrative of the plants and environments in which they are found (or not!). He has a vast knowledge of botany but defers to many others along the way for advice and company.
I enjoyed the wonderment and celebration of the sightings of what are often unassuming flowers of these rarities; Marren's pleasure in this and in the natural world around him is infectious. The reasons for the scarcity of many of the plants on his list are discussed and this adds some thought provoking moments too. My only criticism is the lack of colour plates. I did enjoy googling the 50 for images and more information and I imagine photo plates would add cost to the overall book.
I enjoyed the wonderment and celebration of the sightings of what are often unassuming flowers of these rarities; Marren's pleasure in this and in the natural world around him is infectious. The reasons for the scarcity of many of the plants on his list are discussed and this adds some thought provoking moments too. My only criticism is the lack of colour plates. I did enjoy googling the 50 for images and more information and I imagine photo plates would add cost to the overall book.
August 14, 2020
I loved this book, it is my specialist subject of interest so I really identified with Peter Marren’s drive to discover all of these plants. It was easy to read and he wrote with such interest and passion for his subject, I loved the short chapters as I could easily take on several at once. His explanation of botanical terminology really helped it be an accessible memoir of his journey. I was so inspired by his dedication to the journey and loved the interludes that make it more autobiographical.
July 24, 2020
I climb the Munros as my ticklist, Peter wants to see rare wildflowers. The book is a lovely tale of his journey to see the 50 rarest in the UK. It’s mindful and you’ll learn as much about the plants as the joy of stopping to look below your feet.
June 26, 2023
An incredibly engaging and entertaining book, which was a nice reminder that people do definitely care about wild flowers and their conservation. Worth a read for anyone with even a mild interest in botany, although I wish it better explained more terminology
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews