A compact guide featuring nearly 400 wild owers of Kenya and northern Tanzania, grouped for ease of use according to colour. e book includes the most widespread and commonly encountered species as well as some unusual owers found in more remote areas. Plants range from hardy succulents to spectacular epiphytic orchids and shaggy mountain lobelias, each concisely presented with reference to key features and typical habitat. Additional notes indicate whether a given species has particular ecological, medicinal or cultural value. Sales points: Colour coded for easy navigation; concise, yet detailed text highlighting key ID features and habitat; vibrant, full-colour photographs; notes on the ecological and cultural significance of particular wild flowers; attractively priced.
This book by the Royal Horticultural Society's Director of Horticulture & previous Sainsbury Orchid Fellow at Kew is the first to cover the 265 orchids native to Kenya. It is the product not only of the author's peerless knowledge of orchids but of her ten years' residence in Kenya.
Review by Alexander McCall Smith: “The beauty of Botswana’s wild flowers is something that always strikes the visitor to that beguiling country. These plants, though, have all the subtlety and delicacy of dry-land vegetation. They are not always obvious and dramatic; they may be tucked away and visible only when one gets up close. Gwithie Kirby’s Wild Flowers of Southeast Botswana is a magnificent introduction to these beautiful plants. This is a book that anybody who visits Botswana will surely treasure.” Wild Flowers of Southeast Botswana features 332 of the most common wild flower species occurring in the region. The species have been grouped into nine sections based on the predominant colour of the flower, and a quick visual guide is provided for quickly locating them. Each species account features simple descriptions of the plant, its leaves, flowers and fruit, as well as attractive colour photographs, icons and simple leaf drawings. A nod to the cultural significance of each flower is provided via inclusion of Setswana common names, as well as a ‘Notes’ box, in which the traditional uses of the plants are provided.
"Beauty and the Beast: California Wildflowers and Climate Change" is a 12 x 12'' beautifully illustrated and designed 264 page coffee table book created by conservation photographers Rob Badger and Nita Winter.Illustrations: 190 stunning images of California's diverse wildflowers and their habitats, from high mountain passes in the Sierra Nevada mountains to below sea level in Death Valley National Park.Essays: Sixteen talented and diverse authors and scientists, most of whom are women, wrote 18 storytelling style essays (1,200 to 1,800 words) about nature, conservation, climate change or taking action. The two younger authors write about hope and action, and what people can do to help create positive change. The book has three sections: The Gift of Beauty, The Human Connection and Ensuring the Future.Because people are constantly hearing about all the negative things going on in the world, Nita and Rob believed there was a need for a different, softer approach to grab people's attention and center it on the climate-change story, and conservation and population issues. They engage their audiences by first inviting them to experience the splendor of the natural world through a universal symbol of beauty, the wildflower, and then educate and inspire them to take some of the simple actions they provide to create positive change and a healthier planet. Their goal is to spread conservation and climate change ideas far beyond native plant and nature lovers, and to plant the seeds to foster action."Beauty and the Beast" is a 27 year photographic journey into the public lands of California. Lands we all own, lands under constant threat of development or resource extraction, impacts of global warming, sea level rise and wildfires. This book is as much a treasure as the flowers and creatures which are featured within its pages. Nita and Rob extend a hand to you to come in and take a long, slow look around and see what they have seen, experienced and have learned. Book includes two comprehensive indexes and a glossary.Co-published by WinterBadger Press and the California Native Plant Society
When northern Kenyans find elephant bones, they lay down blossoms and branches as a mark of respect, honouring their crucial connection with the wildlife they live alongside. In our changing world, these values are vitally important. For decades, northern Kenya was one step away from a warzone, on the frontlines of climate change and habitat loss. People slept with their shoes on, fearing attack. Wildlife was decimated. Yet, facing the most extreme challenges, people united. What began as a last-ditch effort to save rhinos from extinction sparked a remarkable return of wildlife, with the once-struggling cattle ranch Lewa named a UN World Heritage Site for its outstanding value to humanity. This served as a catalyst for much broader action. Communities created a network of protected lands across an area larger than Switzerland. Through conservation, they built peace, driving social, environmental and political change. From tracking elephants through the bush to gun battles with bandits and treks through Al-Qaeda territory, Peter Martell tells the exciting story of a conservation movement that gives hope. At a time when humanity is reassessing its broken relationship with nature, these communities offer an inspirational blueprint, proving that environmental change does not have to divide, but can bring us together.
This wild flower identification guide was first published in 1981 and is still widely accepted as the best of its kind for its combination of meticulous illustrations and the use of keys to aid recognition. For this new edition the Latin names have been revised in accordance with the current classification system. It is now published as the ideal book for the serious student of British and north-west European wild plants, providing a bridge between picture identification guides and the non-illustrated academic floras.
