Around the World in 80 Plants

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Helping to paint the picture of not just what each plant looks like, but how it is used, where it sits in the landscape and how it interacts with wildlife, are Lucille Clerc's beautiful illustrations. They are generous, with every plant having at least on page and often more, showing the shoots, the variations, the way humans and animals use them, the flowers, everything about it you can imagine. Everybody who has the slightest interest in plants - and people - and wonders why we need to conserve botanical biodiversity should read this book - Nigel Chaffey, Botany. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

As well as incredible facts about each plant, the author provides details of related human history, from the quirky to the abhorrent. Anyway, the author of this book seems just as enthusiastic about plants as I am and is very much involved in trying to save as many as possible despite current challenges such as habitat loss. She has worked with international fashion houses, museums and Historic Royal Palaces and The Palace of Versailles.Applied externally, it has shown promise for treating burns, but eating just a handful of black liquorice a day for a fortnight can interfere with some of the body’s hormone systems and cause high blood pressure, heart arrhythmia and muscle weakness.

You will learn so much and walks in the countryside will never quite be the same - who knew nettles were males and female and so important for wildlife?While the pictures in this are utterly beautiful, and the facts are fun, the organization of this book felt scattered and unfocused, and plants were often listed for one country when they were native to another part of the world which irritated the pedantic side of me.