Review
"A highly readable and interesting account of the endangered flowers of a shrinking environment."
-INDIANA AUDUBON QUARTERLY (August 2000)
"The quality and clarity of the plates, the printing, and the binding in this edition are superb; the informative style of writing interspersed with humor and anecdotal accounts keeps readers interested. ...an excellent book for all levels of readers and a must for academic libraries with extensive conservation and botanical collections."
-K.T. Settlemyer, Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, in CHOICE (July/August 2000)
"This is one of the most enjoyable books I have read and it is yet another valuable contribution by one of our best natural history writers. This book is tremendously valuable for professional conservationists, field botanists and anyone who likes a jolly good read about plants."
-ANNALS OF BOTANY (2000)
"This valuable book will appeal to plant enthusiasts at all levels of expertise."
-BIRDS (Spring 2000)
"ALL lovers of wildflowers will be thrilled by this remarkable book."
--COUNTRY LIFE (November 1999)
"'Blooming marvelous' was how one reviewer greeted Peter Marren's latest book,
Britain's Rare Flowers. It is a popular and readable account, with characteristically elegant and witting writing on the fact, anecdote and folklore of some of Britain's rarest plants. Perhaps most interesting it tells the story of the people behind the plants, whether discoverers, collectors or plant savers, and includes many of the best tales of British field botany. Good writing about plant conservation is rare: here is a model of how to take field botany and plant rescue to a wider audience."
--PLANT TALK (October 1999)
"This book will inspire as much as it informs. Marren has written a classic which makes him out as one of our best and most accessible writers on natural history. This book should be read by anyone involved in plant conservation and, indeed, by all those interested in natural history."
--BRITISH WILDLIFE (October 1999)
"The genius of
Britain's Rare Flowers lies in the way Peter Marren interweaves state-of-the-art science with the drama of the hunt. This book is a landmark in the global green movement. ...Read this book: it's that rarity, a real
tour de force."
--NEW SCIENTIST (September 1999)
"Marren's richly informative narrative flows smoothly, combining hard fact with entertaining anecdotal detail - a mix that reflects his thoroughness of research and depth of subject knowledge. The book is an intriguing read as a celebration of around 500 flower and fern species."
--ENGLISH NATURE MAGAZINE (September 1999)
"...absorbing, readable and most informative, with a wealth of new detail."
--WILD FLOWER MAGAZINE (1999)
"This is an absorbing and reflective large book that should become a classic of its type."
--HIGHLAND NEWS
"Peter Marren has given us a celebration of rare flowers. ...This book will surely send many botanists back to the field with renewed enthusiasm."
-HABITAT
From the Back Cover
Britain's rare flowers and ferns are in the spotlight as never before. Many are the subject of recovery plans designed to prevent them becoming any rarer and, if possible, to build up their numbers. A growing number are protected by law. And species like Starfruit, Plymouth Pear and Lady's Slipper have become well known outside the botanical world as emblems of endangered wildlife.
Despite all this attention, there is still no easily accessible account of the conservation of rare native flowers and of why they are rare in the first place. This book sets out to redress this gap with a personal study of rare plants and their world.
Peter Marren describes their discovery and the special places that are rich in such plants. He looks at species which have died out completely, others which became naturalised long ago and the surprising (and, in some cases, spectacular) discovery of new native plants in recent years. Conservation projects past and present are examined, and comments made on whether or not they have been successful. Marren also reviews their place in our own world, through the eyes of field botanists, writers, artists and even cooks.
It is all too easy, but to some extent misleading, to portray rare flowers and ferns as victims of a careless, materialistic society. Many have indeed become casualties of intensive farming or development, but on closer inspection it is the ability of our flora to
survive which is most impressive. Several plants have come back from the dead during the past half-century, and many have evolved strategies that enable them to tide over unfavourable periods. A narrow focus on conservation does less than full justice to these remarkable plants.
In that belief, Plantlife and English Nature have sponsored the writing of this book, which, we believe, makes a valuable contribution to the literature of natural history as well as to the wider appreciation of the British flora.
