Florapedia: A Brief Compendium of Floral Lore

by Carol Gracie, Amy Jean Porter (Illustrations)

A delightful illustrated treasury of botanical facts and fancy

Florapedia is an eclectic A-Z compendium of botanical lore. With more than 100 enticing entries--on topics ranging from achlorophyllous plants that use a fungus as an intermediary to obtain nutrients from other plants to zygomorphic flowers that admit only the most select pollinators--this collection is a captivating journey into the realm of botany.

Writing in her incomparably engaging style, Carol Gracie discusses remarkable plants from around the globe, botanical art and artists, early botanical explorers, ethnobotanical uses of plants, botanical classification and terminology, the role of plants in history, and more. She shares illuminating facts about van Gogh's sunflowers and reveals how a hallucinogenic weed left its enduring mark on the early history of the Jamestown colony. Gracie describes the travels of John and William Bartram--father and son botanists and explorers who roamed widely in early America in search of plants--and delves into the miniature ecosystems entangled in Spanish moss. The book's convenient size allows for it to be tucked into a pocket or bag, making it the perfect companion on your own travels.

With charming drawings by Amy Jean Porter, Florapedia is the ideal gift book for the plant enthusiast in your life and a rare pleasure for anyone interested in botanical art, history, medicine, or exploration.
Features a real cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design

Genres: Nonfiction, Plants, Science, Nature, Environment

200 pages, Hardcover

Published April 6, 2021

Reviews

[Tracy Lawler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and learned a ton. Most of my plant knowledge is based on Minnesota natives or the non-natives I control in native restorations so I was worried this would be too much about cultivars and ornamentals, but it was about the history of those ornamentals and their native origins and important people surrounding plants throughout history as well, those who have 'discovered' plants or centered their art around plants. It really had so much interesting information, I highly recommend.

[Mariah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting but also challenging book to read due to the technical terms used but they were all explained to some extent (sometimes repeatedly) throughout the book. There were wonderful few illustrations but I can’t help but be greedy and wish there had been more as I often had to stop and look up a flower/tree/bush/plant because I wanted to know. This book had a focus on plants around the world but many were focused on the NE United States, which isn’t bad (I think that’s where they were from) but I don’t remember reading of any in the western states except for a few cacti which I found a bummer, the central and western states have cool plants too!… but I did enjoy reading this book, I learned new things and was reminded of things that I had known before but had mainly forgotten.

[Page]

I believe this is a book that should not have been released in audio. Why bother if the "gorgeous pictures" are so vital to the text. Some of the fun facts were in fact fun. Some simply had no context due to the lack of gorgeous pictures. I did learn that my herbal guide from long ago was only partly correct about the violets. The violets we see are useful. It's the little green ones that come later that do nothing but hang there. Well, not exactly. They are useful if the pretty ones fail at their job. Which may explain why my herb bed is now nothing but violets. Not rated because I don't think that would be fair based on only having the audio version.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gorgeous book and I love the details including historical and cultural history of many of the flowers we love so much. Fun illustrations and I love the size of the book; I keep it with my Bible on my nightstand.

[Mavrisza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned a lot of new stuff! Very fun and cool. Wish it had more plant illustrations and it had a lot of plant terminology I didn't understand but a quick Google search and I was fine.
Currently reading the other book on mushrooms!!

[cailin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Botany was always my least favourite unit in science, this book didn't change that.

[Margaret M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!! Never boring and so easy to understand. Inspired me to read more about the science of flowers and pollination. 🌻

[Tia Seymanski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to follow & very informative!