The Botanical Treasury: Celebrating 40 of the World’s Most Fascinating Plants Through Historical Art and Manuscripts

For centuries, an eclectic group of plants have captivated the world and propelled explorers to extraordinary lengths to collect them. Now, The Botanical Treasury brings together centuries of botanical adventures and discoveries in one sumptuous collection.

This treasury features a full-color exploration of our most important and interesting plants; facsimiles of rarely seen letters, maps, and journals from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and forty beautifully reproduced, frameable prints. Together they offer a fascinating look at the world of plant hunting and the cultivation of our knowledge about the plant world.

Every one of the featured plants is extraordinary in some way, be it for its appearance, biology, medicinal properties, or importance to economics, politics, or the arts. Equally extraordinary are the stories associated with the discovery of these plants, revealing the lengths to which collectors and growers would go to find them. The entries build a history of botany and paint a larger picture of the age of exploration.

The Botanical Treasury is a rare treat. Looking through its pages and relishing its prints allows us to fully understand why we are so driven to learn all we can about the natural world. It is an exceptional gift that will wow gardeners, and anyone else fascinated by the greenery that sustains and inspires us.

Christopher Mills is head of library, art and archives collections at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Previously he was head of collections at the Natural History Museum in London.