Florapedia - (Pedia Books) by Carol Gracie (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book is an engaging and informative compendium of flower facts. Similar in a nature to Lawrence Millman's Fungipedia, the book brings together a wide range of interesting facts and stories-ranging from the historical to the scientific to the whimsical. The book has roughly 100 entries, beginning with achlorophyllous flowers that feed on the roots of a host plant, and ending with zygomorphic flowers, that pose an interesting puzzle for pollinators. In the entries in-between, readers will explore with John and William Bartram, smell the rotting corpse flower, learn about the miniature ecosystems entangled in Spanish moss, and much more. Similar to Fungipedia, the book is intended for a general audience, but thanks to Gracie's depth and breadth of knowledge, and her artful prose, it will also appeal to seasoned flower enthusiasts. The entries are accompanied by approximately 50 line drawings from Amy Jean Porter"--

Book Synopsis

A delightful illustrated treasury of botanical facts and fancy

Florapedia is an eclectic A-Z compendium of botanical lore. With more than 100 enticing entries--on topics ranging from achlorophyllous plants that use a fungus as an intermediary to obtain nutrients from other plants to zygomorphic flowers that admit only the most select pollinators--this collection is a captivating journey into the realm of botany.

Writing in her incomparably engaging style, Carol Gracie discusses remarkable plants from around the globe, botanical art and artists, early botanical explorers, ethnobotanical uses of plants, botanical classification and terminology, the role of plants in history, and more. She shares illuminating facts about van Gogh's sunflowers and reveals how a hallucinogenic weed left its enduring mark on the early history of the Jamestown colony. Gracie describes the travels of John and William Bartram--father and son botanists and explorers who roamed widely in early America in search of plants--and delves into the miniature ecosystems entangled in Spanish moss. The book's convenient size allows for it to be tucked into a pocket or bag, making it the perfect companion on your own travels.

With charming drawings by Amy Jean Porter, Florapedia is the ideal gift book for the plant enthusiast in your life and a rare pleasure for anyone interested in botanical art, history, medicine, or exploration.

• Features a cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design

Review Quotes

"Florapedia is an aptly named gem of a book, with an A-Z of informative cover to cover interest, providing the reader with a new found knowledge and insight to a different perspective on the flora of our world."---Neville Davies, Gwent Wildlife Trust

"[An] enticing variety of facts."-- "Historic Gardens Review"

"A compendium that cannot fail to fascinate anyone with an interest in plants and flowers."---Patricia MacDuff, British Naturalists Association

"I really like [Gracie's] investigations of things we all have heard like floral idioms. . . . There are also charming discussions about plants that we know and others that we don't, from other parts of the world."-- "Lapwing Magazine"

"One of American Institute of Graphic Arts' Top 50 Books / 50 Covers of 2021"

"The perfect book for that impossible-to-satisfy gardening nerd in your life. . . . A perfectly general collection of bits and pieces, a compendium of botanical snippets, that will inform, amuse and entertain anybody with an interest in gardening, botany or nature in general."---Paddy Tobin, An Irish Gardener

About the Author

Carol Gracie was a naturalist, photographer, and lecturer with a special interest in plants and insects. Her books include Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast and Summer Wildflowers of the Northeast (both Princeton) and Wildflowers in the Field and Forest. Amy Jean Porter is an artist, illustrator, and naturalist. She is the illustrator of Fungipedia (Princeton) and The Artists' and Writers' Cookbook.