This illustrated book is about a remarkable collection of botanical drawings belonging to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. The watercolors were commissioned by Alexander Gibson, an East India Company surgeon, and depict plants grown in the botanic gardens under his control in the Bombay Presidency. They are the work of an unknown Portuguese-Indian artist and were made between 1847 and 1850. The main section of the book includes colour reproductions of the 170 drawings arranged in order of the Bombay Flora, which Gibson co-authored with Nicholas Dalzell. Half the species depicted are native to western India, the other half are exotics from as far afield as Argentina and Australia. The color plates are preceded by substantial chapters on Gibson's life and work and a history of Dapuri and the other botanic gardens under his charge. An illustrated introduction tells of the author's travels in search of information about Gibson, his gardens and the drawings.

The Cleghorn Collection reproduces more than 200 of the drawings from the Cleghorn Collection in colour, for the first time. These include drawings from nature, copies based on European prints, and Nature Prints made from herbarium specimens. They are the work of several South Indian artists and of pupils of the pioneering Madras School of Art.

This 3-volume work forms the second in a series of monographs by Henry Noltie documenting the more important collections of Indian botanical drawings in the Library of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Book 1, The Life and Work of Robert Wight, provides the definitive biography of Wight. Book 2, Botanical Drawings by Rungia & Govindoo: the Wight Collection. Book 3, Journeys in Search of Robert Wight, describes the author's travels as he carried out the research that underpins his work.