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The Orchid Outlaw: On a Mission to Save Britain's Rarest Flowers
Ten years ago, Ben Jacob turned outlaw to save our rarest flowers. This is his story.
Obsessed by orchids since childhood, Ben spent his twenties travelling to far-flung jungles to see them in the wild. Returning to the UK, he was entranced to discover our fifty-one native species and their exotic stories: the Bee whose flower looks (and smells) so much like one that even bees are fooled, the Ghost which exists without direct sunlight, and the Autumn Lady’s-tresses that helped Darwin work out his theory of evolution.
But Britain’s orchids are in desperate trouble. Decimated by changes in land use and climate, inadequately protected by environmental and planning laws, many are on the brink of extinction. Determined to act before it was too late, Ben started sneaking into building sites in the dead of night to rescue threatened plants. Then he turned his kitchen into a laboratory, his fridge into storage for hundreds of baby plants and his back yard into an orchid refuge. The next challenge was finding them safer new homes . . .
At once a memoir, a natural history, and an inspiring call to action, reintroducing us to Britain’s most endangered flowers, The Orchid Outlaw shows us how we can all save the world, one plant at a time.
Obsessed by orchids since childhood, Ben spent his twenties travelling to far-flung jungles to see them in the wild. Returning to the UK, he was entranced to discover our fifty-one native species and their exotic stories: the Bee whose flower looks (and smells) so much like one that even bees are fooled, the Ghost which exists without direct sunlight, and the Autumn Lady’s-tresses that helped Darwin work out his theory of evolution.
But Britain’s orchids are in desperate trouble. Decimated by changes in land use and climate, inadequately protected by environmental and planning laws, many are on the brink of extinction. Determined to act before it was too late, Ben started sneaking into building sites in the dead of night to rescue threatened plants. Then he turned his kitchen into a laboratory, his fridge into storage for hundreds of baby plants and his back yard into an orchid refuge. The next challenge was finding them safer new homes . . .
At once a memoir, a natural history, and an inspiring call to action, reintroducing us to Britain’s most endangered flowers, The Orchid Outlaw shows us how we can all save the world, one plant at a time.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published May 11, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 11, 2023
Ben Jacobs starts his book with some very scary (and dangerous, and life-threatening) orchid encounters in tropical places. Having had time to reflect, while laid up for months safely in the parental home, he discovers there are orchids in his father’s garden. British orchids. Safe in his parent’s garden. Nobody likely to build houses on them, drain their habitat, trample or pick them. Which, when he starts looking further into the story of British native orchids, is exactly what is happening to most of them, and a fairly good reason why they are in terminal decline, and not even recognised as threatened by the conservation labels (which are hopelessly out of date). More than that, while some people are monitoring them, in the name of conservation, nobody is succeeding in reversing the decline.
By now you are probably working out that Ben Jacobs is covering a lot of ground in this book. Law, science, and simple botany, plus habitat niceties, policy of local government officers and other groundkeepers… and did I say simple botany? Orchids are anything but simple. They are the most amazing, most complicated flowering plants you can imagine, and it turns out they even have their own mycorrhizal fungi they like to cohabit with (like trees).
Plus history. The history of natural philosophers’ and alchemists’ interest in orchids goes back to mediaeval times. Written about and drawn for centuries, with wild imaginings of what they do and can do if used for medicinal purposes. Fact and fiction rolled into one, until a few learned people, including Darwin, put some sense into it all. And they are still being classified and reclassified as botanists study them in more detail. I wish, as does Ben Jacobs, some of them would put more effort into restoring them in the field. More protection from housing estates would go down well, too. Although there are some gains. The undisturbed spoil tip from the Channel Tunnel, now a nature reserve, is a chalk hill with ideal conditions for some of our rarest species (butterflies too).
This is a fascinating book, with a huge amount of information, and lots of references plus further reading. It’s properly put together and on the whole made for good reading. But it does tend to leap about a bit, and I think the editor could have done a better job to help Jacobs make it flow. Despite that, I gave it four stars on Goodreads, which means that the content far outweighs its faults.
By now you are probably working out that Ben Jacobs is covering a lot of ground in this book. Law, science, and simple botany, plus habitat niceties, policy of local government officers and other groundkeepers… and did I say simple botany? Orchids are anything but simple. They are the most amazing, most complicated flowering plants you can imagine, and it turns out they even have their own mycorrhizal fungi they like to cohabit with (like trees).
Plus history. The history of natural philosophers’ and alchemists’ interest in orchids goes back to mediaeval times. Written about and drawn for centuries, with wild imaginings of what they do and can do if used for medicinal purposes. Fact and fiction rolled into one, until a few learned people, including Darwin, put some sense into it all. And they are still being classified and reclassified as botanists study them in more detail. I wish, as does Ben Jacobs, some of them would put more effort into restoring them in the field. More protection from housing estates would go down well, too. Although there are some gains. The undisturbed spoil tip from the Channel Tunnel, now a nature reserve, is a chalk hill with ideal conditions for some of our rarest species (butterflies too).
This is a fascinating book, with a huge amount of information, and lots of references plus further reading. It’s properly put together and on the whole made for good reading. But it does tend to leap about a bit, and I think the editor could have done a better job to help Jacobs make it flow. Despite that, I gave it four stars on Goodreads, which means that the content far outweighs its faults.
May 8, 2023
The Orchid Outlaw was a fascinating and inspiring story of Ben Jacobs' mission to do as much as he can to save the UK’s rare and precious orchids from extinction. This story was an enthralling combination of nature writing and a chronicle of Ben’s adventures to protect orchids. The book is a treasure trove of information on the history, science and ecology of orchids, with their often unique and sometimes bizarre life cycles. The science is enthralling and the narrative is informal, the book from beginning to end was a wonderful read. I am so pleased to have found this book it is a treasure.
The story follows Ben from his experiences searching for orchids in the tropics, through trauma and incident to him then returning to the UK, to be inspired by a chance encounter finding a Bee orchid on his parents’ lawn. Finding the Bee orchid is Ben's damascene moment, where he casts off his former view of UK orchids as being a prosaic imitation of their exotic cousins, and embarks on a journey to find and record each one of the 51 UK orchid species. On his journey, Ben is dejected by the plight of orchids in Britain and decides to do something to redress the balance, especially when the so called establishment protections are inadequate and poorly monitored. From then on Ben is a crusader on a mission, to save threatened plants on new development sites, often in breach of the law; his efforts have some success and some failures, but overall this is a story of hope that shows what one motivated individual can achieve. Ben is an inspiration to us all, to act and question the inept protections the government has in force to protect the UK’s natural environment.
Keep up the good work, Ben, you are an inspiration.
The story follows Ben from his experiences searching for orchids in the tropics, through trauma and incident to him then returning to the UK, to be inspired by a chance encounter finding a Bee orchid on his parents’ lawn. Finding the Bee orchid is Ben's damascene moment, where he casts off his former view of UK orchids as being a prosaic imitation of their exotic cousins, and embarks on a journey to find and record each one of the 51 UK orchid species. On his journey, Ben is dejected by the plight of orchids in Britain and decides to do something to redress the balance, especially when the so called establishment protections are inadequate and poorly monitored. From then on Ben is a crusader on a mission, to save threatened plants on new development sites, often in breach of the law; his efforts have some success and some failures, but overall this is a story of hope that shows what one motivated individual can achieve. Ben is an inspiration to us all, to act and question the inept protections the government has in force to protect the UK’s natural environment.
Keep up the good work, Ben, you are an inspiration.
January 17, 2024
My university's department library has bought this book and I found it to be quite fascinating. When hiking in the Wye valley, I've also found some old varieties of orchids on the roadside and was fascinated. What Ben Jacob does though can be fittingly described by the title. He is the "Orchid Outlaw", he is rescuing orchids. A fascinating read for me even though the biology tidbits weren't for me as I'm notoriously bad at remembering names for flowers.
June 11, 2023
My edition sadly has no photos, but as it's an ARC there might be photos in the finished book. Author Ben Jacobs first studied literature, and this is reflected in the lyrical, awe-struck descriptions he paints of the flowers he studies and rescues. His decade-long struggle to find and save orchids in danger of destruction by developers - legal if other planning conditions are satisfied - speaks to the fact that the activist is not the person who signs petitions, but the person who does the physical work.
Ben started by photographing rainforest orchids, but a shakedown and beating by cops in a hot country sent him home to where, recovering from his injuries, he cracked his neck, and was confined to England. Where he discovered the beauty, unexpectedness and plight of Britain's rare orchids, even the so-called common ones being diminished in habitat.
Intensive and mechanised agriculture and forestry started the decline, especially after WW2, then the rapid construction of housing, roads, businesses and industrial premises destroyed orchids which once grew in profusion. Even where the ground was not disturbed, pollution, pesticide, draining and tree removal had killed the flowers and their pollinators.
Ben started illegally visiting soon-to-be destroyed fields and rescuing orchid plants, and who can blame him? He replanted them where he thought they stood good odds of survival, but also where he thought ordinary people would encounter them. Sometimes this brought joy. Other times, Ben despaired as the Council mowed down or poisoned all life. In my Irish neighbourhood the Council has spent two years ripping up established hawthorn hedgerows - as Ben describes - and has planted a token bed of wildflowers in one spot, which the second year of course was just thistles and docks, as the wildflowers were mainly annuals.
The history and science of orchids are interspersed with Ben's efforts to understand, pollinate and germinate the flowers. He tells us that orchid seeds have no stores of food, and instead rely on helpful fungi in the soil for nutrients; they may thus be parasitising tree roots or enjoying the breakdown of a rotten log. Even with handfuls of seeds to disperse, he still despairs, because climate change is eliminating orchid habitat and pollinators faster than he can find and replant.
Who is at fault here? The developers do not get surveys during the period of flowering, and do not wait for a few years to see if a few odd plants will appear. The Councils do not take precautions to protect even known patches of orchids, declaring that a new nature patch can be provided - without, of course, the slow-worms, hundred-years old orchids and moths, bees and butterflies that pollinate specific species. The politicians do nothing and pressure groups do not get listened to despite promises to "build back better." And the general public does not know what orchids look like, inhabiting cities as they do.
The person at fault is not the orchid outlaw, who risks jail or fines every time he (and now his wife) disturbs a plant that the council couldn't care less about, produces seed and guerilla plants it; as he works to save Britain's natural heritage so his child can grow up to enjoy what remains. Thank you, Ben Jacob.
I read an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.
Ben started by photographing rainforest orchids, but a shakedown and beating by cops in a hot country sent him home to where, recovering from his injuries, he cracked his neck, and was confined to England. Where he discovered the beauty, unexpectedness and plight of Britain's rare orchids, even the so-called common ones being diminished in habitat.
Intensive and mechanised agriculture and forestry started the decline, especially after WW2, then the rapid construction of housing, roads, businesses and industrial premises destroyed orchids which once grew in profusion. Even where the ground was not disturbed, pollution, pesticide, draining and tree removal had killed the flowers and their pollinators.
Ben started illegally visiting soon-to-be destroyed fields and rescuing orchid plants, and who can blame him? He replanted them where he thought they stood good odds of survival, but also where he thought ordinary people would encounter them. Sometimes this brought joy. Other times, Ben despaired as the Council mowed down or poisoned all life. In my Irish neighbourhood the Council has spent two years ripping up established hawthorn hedgerows - as Ben describes - and has planted a token bed of wildflowers in one spot, which the second year of course was just thistles and docks, as the wildflowers were mainly annuals.
The history and science of orchids are interspersed with Ben's efforts to understand, pollinate and germinate the flowers. He tells us that orchid seeds have no stores of food, and instead rely on helpful fungi in the soil for nutrients; they may thus be parasitising tree roots or enjoying the breakdown of a rotten log. Even with handfuls of seeds to disperse, he still despairs, because climate change is eliminating orchid habitat and pollinators faster than he can find and replant.
Who is at fault here? The developers do not get surveys during the period of flowering, and do not wait for a few years to see if a few odd plants will appear. The Councils do not take precautions to protect even known patches of orchids, declaring that a new nature patch can be provided - without, of course, the slow-worms, hundred-years old orchids and moths, bees and butterflies that pollinate specific species. The politicians do nothing and pressure groups do not get listened to despite promises to "build back better." And the general public does not know what orchids look like, inhabiting cities as they do.
The person at fault is not the orchid outlaw, who risks jail or fines every time he (and now his wife) disturbs a plant that the council couldn't care less about, produces seed and guerilla plants it; as he works to save Britain's natural heritage so his child can grow up to enjoy what remains. Thank you, Ben Jacob.
I read an e-ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.
May 1, 2024
The Orchid Outlaw is a fascinating non-fiction read, or at least I thought so. My husband disagreed and actively groaned when I started running over my new found orchid and ecological knowledge with the third person over the weekend. This really has a little bit of everything; botany, historical detail, political detail and criminal detail alongside a well written memoir. It spends a lot of time showcasing Ben Jacob's unusual life story that started with kidnapping orchids about to be killed by construction, saunters through his attempts to pollinate and grow orchids in his kitchen and lands on his efforts to re-populate orchids in Britain.
I learned a huge amount. From botany knowledge; did you know it's incredibly difficult to grow orchids from seed? Why? Because almost all of them rely on fungi to get enough energy to start growing; some orchids will take a variety of fungi, others are more fussy and only use one but figuring out which one that is is a whole different kettle of fish. To historical knowledge; orchid collecting goes way back in the mists of time, from use in medicinal tinctures and cures to the Orchid Fever that swept through the world in Victorian Britain. Or environmental issues; how global warming is drastically impacting the orchid growth and even without us humans putting concrete over their homes, they would be in danger.
Or the legal elements; of the 51 orchids in Britain, several are protected by conservation labels, so you technically cannot disturb them. I say technically, because if there's an economic reason, then that's out the window. So Ben Jacob is committing a crime every time he takes an orchid, but that new set of flats that wiped out a bunch of already rare flowers? That's fine and dandy, mate. There's all this fuss about monitoring and protecting the rare species, but the conservation labels are out of date, nobody gets tried for ecological crimes and the people doing the most damage are the ones who aren't breaking the law anyway, apparently.
It's a unique and interesting book and one that really offers some food for thought. Ben Jacob is doing his best, but he is just one man and his wife. He can't be everywhere and orchids die off faster every year to construction, climate change, pesticides or just cutting the grass and not removing the dead grass from around them, changing the soil composition enough to kill them. Yes, there's a university I'm looking at for that particularly pointed example. I was fascinated, horrified and upset in equal measure.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.
I learned a huge amount. From botany knowledge; did you know it's incredibly difficult to grow orchids from seed? Why? Because almost all of them rely on fungi to get enough energy to start growing; some orchids will take a variety of fungi, others are more fussy and only use one but figuring out which one that is is a whole different kettle of fish. To historical knowledge; orchid collecting goes way back in the mists of time, from use in medicinal tinctures and cures to the Orchid Fever that swept through the world in Victorian Britain. Or environmental issues; how global warming is drastically impacting the orchid growth and even without us humans putting concrete over their homes, they would be in danger.
Or the legal elements; of the 51 orchids in Britain, several are protected by conservation labels, so you technically cannot disturb them. I say technically, because if there's an economic reason, then that's out the window. So Ben Jacob is committing a crime every time he takes an orchid, but that new set of flats that wiped out a bunch of already rare flowers? That's fine and dandy, mate. There's all this fuss about monitoring and protecting the rare species, but the conservation labels are out of date, nobody gets tried for ecological crimes and the people doing the most damage are the ones who aren't breaking the law anyway, apparently.
It's a unique and interesting book and one that really offers some food for thought. Ben Jacob is doing his best, but he is just one man and his wife. He can't be everywhere and orchids die off faster every year to construction, climate change, pesticides or just cutting the grass and not removing the dead grass from around them, changing the soil composition enough to kill them. Yes, there's a university I'm looking at for that particularly pointed example. I was fascinated, horrified and upset in equal measure.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my free review copy of this title.
July 5, 2023
Ben Jacob travelled the world searching for orchids until forced home by a frightening experience in South America. Whilst recuperating in the UK, Ben found some Bee Orchids and this prompted him to take a deeper interest in British orchids.
Ben discovered that orchids have been around in Britain for centuries, being mentioned in many historical accounts from botanists. Sadly, orchids are now in decline and many threatened with extinction - indeed, native species have died out in several areas of the UK. This has to do with several factors, including building developments and intensive agriculture.
Planning and environmental laws in the UK offer inadequate protection to wild plants like orchids and their habitats are rapidly diminishing. Ben decided that he had a moral obligation to do something and so embarked on a mission to save as many threatened orchids as possible. This involved travelling to building sites and digging up orchids to take home, usually during the night or early morning.
Ben then turned his kitchen into a laboratory and used his fridge as storage as he strove not only to preserve but to propagate orchids and re-introduce them to their natural habitats. Not an easy job, and he didn't always get it right to begin with but gradually he found methods that worked and was able to see results over time.
This was a fascinating and inspiring read. So many people have strong views about the erosion of natural habitats and native plants, but few do what Ben has done and take action to reverse the trend.
I found the science of orchids fascinating as well. They don't pollinate as other plants do and even different orchids pollinate differently, depending on the microclimate that they are best suited to.
Ben also includes a list towards the end detailing essential information on each native orchid, and there is a detailed bibliography.
Having read this book, I now want to go out and look for orchids in my local area and beyond.
I received a free digital ARC of this book via John Murray Press, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ben discovered that orchids have been around in Britain for centuries, being mentioned in many historical accounts from botanists. Sadly, orchids are now in decline and many threatened with extinction - indeed, native species have died out in several areas of the UK. This has to do with several factors, including building developments and intensive agriculture.
Planning and environmental laws in the UK offer inadequate protection to wild plants like orchids and their habitats are rapidly diminishing. Ben decided that he had a moral obligation to do something and so embarked on a mission to save as many threatened orchids as possible. This involved travelling to building sites and digging up orchids to take home, usually during the night or early morning.
Ben then turned his kitchen into a laboratory and used his fridge as storage as he strove not only to preserve but to propagate orchids and re-introduce them to their natural habitats. Not an easy job, and he didn't always get it right to begin with but gradually he found methods that worked and was able to see results over time.
This was a fascinating and inspiring read. So many people have strong views about the erosion of natural habitats and native plants, but few do what Ben has done and take action to reverse the trend.
I found the science of orchids fascinating as well. They don't pollinate as other plants do and even different orchids pollinate differently, depending on the microclimate that they are best suited to.
Ben also includes a list towards the end detailing essential information on each native orchid, and there is a detailed bibliography.
Having read this book, I now want to go out and look for orchids in my local area and beyond.
I received a free digital ARC of this book via John Murray Press, and am voluntarily leaving a review.
September 18, 2023
A love song to our native orchids and one man’s pilgrimage to save them
Ben Jacobs is a brave and principled man. The pains he goes to learn learn about save, cultivate and rewild British orchids dispossessed by insensitive developments and land management processes show how deep and far reaching his commitment to these beautiful and amazing plants goes.
He questions whether our legal system actually protects environments and species as intended. He concludes that the laws are not being applied or enforced and that more radical action is needed, even if it means becoming an outlaw, to follow his conscience and save orchids for future generations.
While the stories of his journey are interesting in their own right I found Ben’s discussion around the laws protecting our land, how they’re abused and the impact of climate change on these plants affected me most. His words left me thinking long and hard about our power as individuals to change things for the better.
Thank you Ben, Sylvia and Nate for standing up, being advocates for and sharing your love of these beautiful plants and our gorgeous countryside.
I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.
Ben Jacobs is a brave and principled man. The pains he goes to learn learn about save, cultivate and rewild British orchids dispossessed by insensitive developments and land management processes show how deep and far reaching his commitment to these beautiful and amazing plants goes.
He questions whether our legal system actually protects environments and species as intended. He concludes that the laws are not being applied or enforced and that more radical action is needed, even if it means becoming an outlaw, to follow his conscience and save orchids for future generations.
While the stories of his journey are interesting in their own right I found Ben’s discussion around the laws protecting our land, how they’re abused and the impact of climate change on these plants affected me most. His words left me thinking long and hard about our power as individuals to change things for the better.
Thank you Ben, Sylvia and Nate for standing up, being advocates for and sharing your love of these beautiful plants and our gorgeous countryside.
I was given this book from the author via netgalley only for the pleasure of reading and leaving an honest review should I choose to.
April 20, 2023
As someone else who unexpectedly fell in love with our native orchids thanks to finding Bee orchids in my lawn, I knew I’d enjoy this book. I was wrong though, I LOVED it. Some bits had me chuckling away - the description of that first propagation attempt, which seemed like a how-not-to do biology lab work. Some had me irate - the utterly not fit for purpose redevelopment laws and their non-enforcement. Some had me tearing up - the sadness permeating from all those ‘missing’ orchid colonies. Yet, I think most of all, reading this has made me hope - there are people like Ben, risking so much for, devoting so much time, passion and sheer bloody mindedness to make even the smallest dent in the face of such extreme biodiversity loss. We just need more of them. But The Orchid Outlaw makes a pretty compelling call to arms.
With thanks to the publisher for a complementary advance copy in exchange for an honest review
With thanks to the publisher for a complementary advance copy in exchange for an honest review
May 11, 2023
So many varieties of orchids growing in our British climate - who knew!!! I always believed they only grew in hot and exotic climes. This book, of one man’s passion for them and his mission to save and preserve them from extinction, is just fascinating. I laughed at his description of becoming ‘Master of Cows’ and his feared scrape with the boys in blue and cried along with him and his family at the wanton destruction of these beautiful plants, on an almost daily basis.
This book is informative and totally enjoyable. This man and his family deserve an Award for what they do. You will never view orchids in the same way again. Thank you for the privilege of reading this book.
This book is informative and totally enjoyable. This man and his family deserve an Award for what they do. You will never view orchids in the same way again. Thank you for the privilege of reading this book.
December 17, 2025
a very well-researched book, it's certainly raised my awareness of native orchids in the British Isles. really enjoyed the scientific explanations of how this fascinating species germinates and reaches maturity. also the insight into the specifics of inefficient legislation that's in place to protect Britain's wild life was interesting. There was lots of good information and Ben Jacob is a witty and entertaining writer that held my attention until the last few chapters when it seemed to lose momentum. I suppose his idealism left me unconvinced, as humankind's continuing behaviour suggests we absolutely cannot fix our tumbling ecology.
May 22, 2023
Ben is on a mission to save Britains xx orchids and it becomes a crusade with his adventures throughout the country to save the species at times on the wrong side of the law. Full of interesting facts about these plants this takes you on a journey of awakening
May 28, 2023
I rooted for Ben since he started his mission and loved what he did and how he talks about the different orchids.
Fascinating, informative.
A book tha should be read by a lot of people
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
Fascinating, informative.
A book tha should be read by a lot of people
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
February 26, 2024
I was keen to read this book after hearing the author give an interview on the radio.
The book tells of Ben's personal efforts to help save some of the UKs endangered orchid population.
Fascinating read even though some of the more biological bits weren't for me!
The book tells of Ben's personal efforts to help save some of the UKs endangered orchid population.
Fascinating read even though some of the more biological bits weren't for me!
June 6, 2024
An interesting view of one man's campaign to try and save Britain's native orchids.
Includes some black and photos and a list at the back of the wild orchids.
Includes some black and photos and a list at the back of the wild orchids.
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