A beautifully written and illustrated account of the threatened plant species that inhabit the British Isles.
Britain and Ireland are home to around 300 species of rare flowering plants, and many more rare ferns, mosses, liverworts and freshwater algae. These are species at the cutting edge of biodiversity: fascinating, often beautiful, and in decline. Yet as some teeter on the brink, more rare species are still being discovered.
In Rare Plants, prize-winning author Peter Marren describes the allure of Britain and Ireland’s vanishing wild flora, from the simple joy of plant hunting to the wonder and (sometimes) weirdness of the plants themselves, as well as their important place in our landscape and culture. He also explores the condition of rarity in the context of our changing world and climate: why do plants become rare, what threats do they face, and what opportunities do we have to protect them before it is too late? The book concludes with an overview of different conservation techniques. Using test cases such as Lady’s Slipper Orchid and Starved Wood-sedge, Peter asks: at what point does careful management becomes gardening? And how far are we are justified in intervening in the life of a wild species?
Illustrated with around 300 colour images by some of Britain's best plant photographers, as well as boxed texts telling the fascinating stories of several key species, this is above all a celebration of rare plants and why they matter.
By:
Peter Marren
Imprint: Bloomsbury Wildlife
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 246mm,
Width: 172mm,
Spine: 26mm
Weight: 1.240kg
ISBN: 9781399407328
ISBN 10: 1399407325
Series: British Wildlife Collection
Pages: 400
Publication Date: 04 March 2025
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Preface 1. Modes of rarity 2. Discovery: how rare plants were found 3. The continuing story: new flowers 4. Origins: natives, archaeophytes and neophytes 5. Made in Britain: our endemic flora 6. Micro-rarities: how a few can make a lot 7. Across the divide: the world of hybrids 8. The end game: lost flowers 9. The other world: bryophytes, stoneworts, seaweeds and desmids 10. Plants and people: subjects, symbols and icons 11. The condition of rarity: problems, opportunities and imaginings 12. Lost slippers and other floral icons: challenges, champions and chickenwire 13. The conservation labyrinth: legislation, argument and action Appendix 1. Protected plants in the United Kingdom Appendix 2. Protected plants in Ireland References and further reading Illustration credits Acknowledgements Index
Peter Marren is a natural-history writer and conservationist. He is a wildlife polymath whose writings extend from newspaper journalism, obituaries, book reviews and opinion pieces to humour and news summaries for the likes of Whitaker’s Almanack. He was a regular contributor to British Wildlife magazine for 33 years and is the author of more than 20 books, including Bugs Britannica, Chasing the Ghost, After They’re Gone, and Mushrooms – the first title in the British Wildlife Collection series.
Reviews for Rare Plants
A delight. Our rare wildflowers have their supreme champion in Peter Marren, our finest natural history writer and connoisseur of the threatened and the sought-after. In this beguiling and beautifully illustrated book, which should be on the shelves of all naturalists, he explores and explains the whys and wherefores of botanical rarity in all its guises. -- Brett Westwood
