Plant: Exploring the Botanical World

This wondrous work about art, biology, and nature is international in scope, presenting notable images from prehistoric times to the present. Artworks are juxtaposed to allow the viewer to compare and contrast the images placed on opposite pages. A photograph of a spring crocus in UV light is opposite an epi-illumination (light shone through a microscope) of a tribulus bud; a radiographe des fleurs faces a California tree poppy rendered in glass. Other images include engravings, lithographs, oil paintings, watercolors, sculpture, fabric cyanotypes, X-rays, color-enhanced scanning electron micrographs (SEM), traditional pen-and-ink sketches, and more. The artists represented range from Georgia O'Keeffe and Beatrix Potter to Charles Darwin and John Ruskin, among others. Under each image is a fascinating brief synopsis about the artist, their process, technique, and/or other notable or historical details about the object or plant displayed. This book concludes with a time line relating to the items included, a plant taxonomy and glossary, and selected biographical sketches.