Böcker av Peter Marren

A beautifully written and illustrated account of the threatened plant species that inhabit the British Isles. Britain and Ireland are home to around 300 species of rare flowering plants, and many more rare ferns, mosses, liverworts and freshwater algae. These are species at the cutting edge of biodiversity: fascinating, often beautiful, and in decline. Yet as some teeter on the brink, more rare species are still being discovered. In Rare Plants, prize-winning author Peter Marren describes the allure of Britain and Ireland's vanishing wild flora, from the simple joy of plant hunting to the wonder and (sometimes) weirdness of the plants themselves, as well as their important place in our landscape and culture. He also explores the condition of rarity in the context of our changing world and climate: why do plants become rare, what threats do they face, and what opportunities do we have to protect them before it is too late? The book concludes with an overview of different conservation techniques, using test cases such as Lady's Slipper Orchid and Starved Wood-sedge, and asks at what point careful management becomes gardening, and how far we are justified in intervening in the life of a wild species. Illustrated with around 300 colour images by some of our best plant photographers, as well as boxed texts telling the fascinating stories of several key species, this is above all a celebration of rare plants and why they matter.

Join renowned naturalist Peter Marren on an exciting quest to see every species of wild plant native to Britain. While the Ghost Orchid offers the toughest challenge of any wild plant, there were fifty more British species Peter had yet to see, having ticked off the first 1,400 rummaging in hedges, slipping down gullies and peering in peat bogs.

Much more than just another field guide or a natural history of butterflies Rainbow Dust explores the ways in which butterflies delight and inspire us all, naturalists and non-naturalists alike.

Discussing the fascinating habits of the bug world, this title includes the eccentric behaviour of the bug obsessives themselves. It is suitable for naturalists and those who cares about the crawling, buzzing swarms at our feet.