A fascinating look at the myths, folklore and botany behind over 70 British wildflowers. From hedgerows to meadows, wildflowers can be found throughout our green and pleasant land. In this book, journalist and garden writer Rosamond Richardson traces the history and myths behind each flower to discover the fascinating ways in which the plants were used. Discover which flower used as a medieval lie-detector to test the innocence of suspected criminals, or stuffed in the shoes of Roman centurions to prevent damage to their feet as they marched. From periwinkles, beloved of Chaucer, and the oxlips and ‘nodding violet’ growing in the forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the book celebrates the important role wildflowers have played in literature, as well as their uses in food and medicine, and the history, myths and tales behind each species. The nineteenth-century poet John Clare wrote, ‘I love wildflowers (none are weeds with me)'. This book is a celebration of the bountiful history behind Britain’s beloved wildflowers and is perfect for anyone with an interest in gardening, history or the natural world.

Margaret Erskine Wilson, late President of Kendal Natural History Society, was a keen amateur botanist and water-colourist. In 1999, she donated to the Society 150 sheets of water-colour paintings representing a thousand British and Irish plants in flower and in fruit, painted in situ over many years and in various places. At the time she donated the paintings to Kendal Natural History Society, she wrote: Begun in 1943/4 for a friend who said, 'I might learn the names of flowers if you drew them for me, in the months they're in flower'! The result is this beautiful, previously unpublished book of all her accurate and informative illustrations, painted over a period of 45 years. Over a thousand British and Irish flowers are represented in this book and it still today serves Margaret Erskine Wilson's original purpose -- it is an easy way to learn the names of our delicate and beautiful wild flowers.

Covers over 250 of the commonest flowers found in Britain and Europe. Each species is illustrated and described in detail in the text. The flowers are organized by colour, and the book is supplied in a durable pack wallet.

The first ever fully-illustrated, fully-mapped guide to the British and Irish flora. Its restriction to the British Isles alone allows far more detail and more local information, and identification which is made easier with the inclusion of extensive maps. Includes specific details about plants appearing in certain areas and coloured maps designed to make location and identification easy, this book also includes details of local specialities for the Isles of Scilly. Also featured is an illustrated survey of recently disappeared British and Irish plants, some of which may return. With over 2000 detailed colour paintings and more than 800 maps, this is the most extensively illustrated wild flower guide to Britain and Ireland yet. Coloured, boxed keys to plants in complex or difficult groups are provided to assist ID. The Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland features information about grasses, which are often omitted in other, shorter books, along with sedges, rushes, horsetails and clubmosses. Ferns, though not strictly speaking flowering plants, are also included too.

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