This beautifully illustrated mini field guide is packed with information on the most common herbs from around the world. Many of these plants grow wild in Britain and other parts of Europe, and can also be cultivated in gardens. The guide additionally includes exotic but commonly used species such as Vanilla, Cloves, Cinnamon and Star-anise. More than 180 herbs are included, all of which are illustrated with superb full-colour artworks that show details of the flowers and leaves, roots and bark where applicable, and growth habit of each plant. A concise written account covering culinary, medicinal and other uses, size, description, habitat and distribution appears on the same page. The easy-to-follow layouts and superb artworks aid quick and accurate identification, making this book an indispensable reference in the field as well as at home. It is compact enough to fit in the pocket, yet packed with essential information. To protect it against the elements in the field, the book is wrapped in a durable plastic wallet. Also included is a fold-out insert with at-a-glance illustrations showing herbs grouped by colour. Renowned natural history artists Christine Hart-Davis, Bridgette James and David Sutton painted the illustrations.

Trees are one of humanity's most constant and most varied companions. From India's sacred banyan tree to the fragrant cedar of Lebanon, they offer us sanctuary and inspiration - not to mention the raw materials for everything from aspirin to maple syrup. In Around the World in 80 Trees, expert Jonathan Drori uses plant science to illuminate how trees play a role in every part of human life, from the romantic to the regrettable. Stops on the trip include the lime trees of Berlin's Unter den Linden boulevard, which intoxicate amorous Germans and hungry bees alike, the swankiest streets in nineteenth-century London, which were paved with Australian eucalyptus wood, and the redwood forests of California, where the secret to the trees' soaring heights can be found in the properties of the tiniest drops of water. Each of these strange and true tales - populated by self-mummifying monks, tree-climbing goats and ever-so-slightly radioactive nuts - is illustrated by Lucille Clerc, taking the reader on a journey that is as informative as it is beautiful.

South Africa has a rich flora of around 19 000 different wildflower species. For those who wish to know more about South Africa's wildflowers this very richness poses its own problems. Most flower guides cover little more than small stretches of the country and the others include too few species to be of much use. Photo Guide to the Wildflowers of South Africa aims to overcome these deficiencies. Carefully conceived to cover those wildflowers that are most likely to attract attention, this countrywide guide includes nearly 900 of the most common and conspicuous wildflowers that occur in South Africa and the neighbouring countries of Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia. The English edition has been fully updated to reflect recent taxonomic changes. This book is now also for the first time available in Afrikaans. An easy-to-use format divides the country into three main wildflower regions, Grassland and Savannah, Fynbos and Namaqualand, grouping the species into each region. Each of the almost 900 species is illustrated and described, with information on its common and scientific names, habitat, distribution map, flowering times and local uses. An ingenious quick guide helps the reader to narrow down the options at a glance. Similar species are placed together to aid comparison and the concise text highlights their differences. Authored and illustrated by professionals with wide experience in producing guidebooks, Photo Guide to the Wildflowers of South Africa is the key to unlocking South Africa's wildflower heritage.

Includes a foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales and an introduction by Jane Goodall Richard St. Barbe Baker was an inspirational visionary and pioneering environmentalist who is credited with saving and planting billions of trees. He saved lives, too, through his ceaseless global campaign to raise the alarm about deforestation and desertification and by finding effective, culturally sensitive ways for people to contribute to a more peaceful and greener world. He was also an Edwardian eccentric whose obsession with trees caused him to neglect his family; the devout son of an evangelical preacher who became a New Age hero; an unapologetic colonial officer fired for defending indigenous Africans; a forester who rarely had a steady income; a failed entrepreneur and inventor; a proud soldier and peace activist; a brilliant writer, speaker, and raconteur who made wild claims about the effectiveness of his conservation efforts. His encounters with historical figures like FDR, Nehru, and George Bernard Shaw are eye-popping, as were his accomplishments.

Twenty years ago Chelsea Green published the first trade edition of The Man Who Planted Trees, a timeless eco-fable about what one person can do to restore the earth. The hero of the story, Elzeard Bouffier, spent his life planting one hundred acorns a day in a desolate, barren section of Provence in the south of France. The result was a total transformation of the landscape-from one devoid of life, with miserable, contentious inhabitants, to one filled with the scent of flowers, the songs of birds, and fresh, flowing water.

Since our first publication, the book has sold over a quarter of a million copies and inspired countless numbers of people around the world to take action and plant trees. On National Arbor Day, April 29, 2005, Chelsea Green released a special twentieth anniversary edition with a new foreword by Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and founder of the African Green Belt Movement.

This new title in the Crossbill Guides covers the well-known region of Dordogne in southwestern France. Like all other Crossbill Guides, this title poses and answers two key questions: what makes this area so special and how you can experience this uniqueness for yourself. This book describes the flora and fauna, landscape and traditional land use of this region plus 21 detailed routes and around 50 sites with specific suggestions on where and how to find the birds, wildlife and flora. The Dordogne area in south-west France has a remarkable range of wild landscapes. The beautiful rivers include tidal sections, marshes, cliffs and upland tributary streams set amongst limestone-dominated hills. Elsewhere diverse woodlands, hay meadows, caves, heathlands, arable plateaux plus ancient vineyards and villages also offer visitors great wildlife experiences in what has been called 'the cradle of mankind'.

Exploring the rich diversity of London through a series of urban forest trails, this new, expanded edition of London is a Forest uncovers the fascinating stories and secrets the city holds. Through seven carefully devised paths, author Paul Wood explores the urban forest's geography, its past and future, and looks at the remarkable variety of life supported in this unique metropolitan ecosystem. For curious Londoners and anyone who's fascinated by nature, a wealth of arboreal details, history, myth and anecdotes are revealed along the way. Complementing the trails, Wood looks in more detail at the fascinating stories of some of the iconic, and some of the less obvious species that define the urban forest. In London, 9 million people are crammed into just 600 square miles alongside 8.5 million trees. According to one UN definition, this makes the city a forest. The Forestry Commission agree, describing London as the world's largest urban forest. And a particularly diverse and historic urban forest at that.

Even in the brick and concrete heart of our cities, nature finds a way. Birds and mammals, insects, plants and trees - they all manage to thrive in the urban jungle, and Bob Gilbert is their champion and their chronicler. He explores the hidden wildlife of the inner city and its edgelands, finding unexpected beauty in the cracks and crannies, and uncovering the deep and essential relationship that exists between people and nature when they are bound together in such close proximity. Beginning from Poplar, the East End area in which he lives, Bob explores, in particular, our relationship with the trees that have helped shape London; from the original wildwood through to the street trees of today. He draws from history and natural history, poetry and painting, myth and magic, and a great deal of walking, observing and listening.

Addressing a generation of pot smokers living at a time when over half of America has legalized medical marijuana, this paperback edition of the successful Green delivers the planet's best bud photography in an accessible package and irresistible price point. Organized alphabetically, each of the 150 strains features a gorgeous bud shot plus a breezy description of the bud and its essential stats (lineage, flavor, high, and medicinal uses). Updated with more popular strains as well as new live plant and microscopic bud photography, this edition of Green will be the go-to strain guide for recreational and medicinal users alike.

Share the wonder of the natural world with family and friends using these stunning illustrated notecards from How to Be a Wildflower author and illustrator Katie Daisy.

Soil Nematodes of Grasslands in Northern China presents research on China's temperate grasslands, providing the findings and results of a large field survey along a transect across the northern temperate grassland. It examines nematode distribution patterns along the transect from trophic group and family, to genus level, also evaluating their relationship with climatic conditions, plant biomass and soil parameters. The book then presents detailed taxonomy information of nematodes to genus or species level, providing keen insights into nematode diversity along the grassland transect in north China. Final sections review the advances and perspectives for the research of soil ecology on soil nematodes in China, including recent major discoveries of soil microbial diversity and eco-function during this field survey. This work will help researchers predict the impact of global change drivers on below ground soil biota and better understand the functioning and services they provide in terrestrial ecosystems.

A Compelling and Surprising Page-turner The history of the ubiquitous pine tree is wrapped up with the history of early America-and in the hands of a gifted storyteller becomes a compelling read, almost an adventure story.

Sasol First Field Guide to Aloes of Southern Africa provides fascinating insight into the aloes of the region.

Full-colour photographs , distribution maps and easy-to-read text will help the budding naturalist to identify the more common aloes found in southern African gardens and landscapes, discover where they occur, and learn about their unique features.

Sacred Nature Oracle is a stunning photographic deck that allows you to awaken to a place of sacred sanctuary and become one with nature, opening yourself to the powerful healing energy of traditional plant wisdom. Awaken to a place of sacred sanctuary and become one with nature, opening yourself to the powerful healing energy of traditional plant wisdom. Nurture your body, mind, and soul through a lavishly photographed oracle deck to help you discover how medicinal plants can provide deep guidance, inspiration, and wellness. Sacred Nature Oracle represents sixty-two plants commonly found in the Pacific Northwest and Mexico and is perfect for oracle card novices as well as seasoned botanical aficionados and everyone in between. Enter into a world of natural magic, embrace the beauty that surrounds you, and experience these incredible plants through new eyes. Each oracle card displays an elegant, sepia-toned photograph of a different plant spirit or messenger, modeled by men, women, and children communing with a different plant, which can guide users to calm themselves and find healing within. Sacred Nature reminds us that humans are interconnected with nature, with life all around us, and if we choose to listen and be open to it, we can receive valuable healing wisdom from our Mother Earth.

Add to this the thousands of farms that have grown back to woods since the Civil War, and you have the most forested state, by percentage, in the United States. But the “uninterrupted forest� that Henry David Thoreau first saw in the 1840s was never exactly that. Loggers had cut it severely, European settlers had gnawed into it, and, much earlier, native people had left their mark. This book takes you deep into the past to understand the present, allowing you to hear the stories of the people and events that have shaped the woods and made them what they are today.

The overnight appearance of mushrooms in a meadow or on a suburban lawn is a marvelous sight. It is one of many awe-inspiring, magical processes that have evolved among the fungi, yet this group remains the least studied and most poorly understood kingdom of organisms. In Mushroom, Nicholas Money offers a vibrant introduction to the world of mushrooms, investigating the science behind these organisms as well as their enduring cultural and imaginative appeal. Beginning with the basics of mushroom biology, Money leads us through a history of mushroom research, painting portraits of the colorful characters involved in their study--among them, Beatrix Potter, the celebrated author and creator of Peter Rabbit, and Captain Charles McIlvaine, a Civil War veteran who engaged in a dangerous quest to determine the edibility of every mushroom in North America. Money also discusses the uses of mushrooms today, exploring their importance as food and medicine, their use as recreational drugs, and as the cause of horrific poisonings. A cultural, natural, and scientific history in one, Mushroom is a must-read for mycophiles, mushroom gatherers, and nature lovers alike.

First published in 2006. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

“Unlike the standard nature guides that explain how to recognize common animals, Nature stresses the web of interrelationships that link the regional flora and fauna. This affectionate examination of some of North America’s most spectacular surviving old-growth forests will delight backpackers and armchair naturalists.� —Los Angeles Times Book Review Everything you ever wanted to know about the flora and fauna of Southeast Alaska is contained in the third edition of this lively field guide to the natural world, from bears to banana slugs, mountains to murrelets. The authors, who are both Alaskan residents and biologists, combine scientific research with personal experiences to make a definitive field guide for residents of or visitors to Southeast Alaska. The unique features of the book include: In-depth information about how wildlife coexists with the environment Detailed discussions of mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates, fungi, and plants Detailed map of wilderness areas in Southeast Alaska More than 200 black-and-white illustrations A bibliography, list of common and scientific names, and an index New to this edition: More than 100 new illustrations, many never before published, as well as new maps and photos Major expansion of sections on geology, old-growth forests, marine mammals, and amphibians Fifty-two new sidebars—written in the first person to give the text a more personal touch­—that describe recent findings or experiences. Sweeping updates and elaborations to chapter narratives—often thanks to technology unknown in 1992. In-depth guide to Southeast Alaska’s flora and fauna; more than an identification manual, Nature explores how the species and habitats encountered in the woods and waters of Southeast Alaska fit into the bigger picture.