Rare Plants

A fascinating exploration of the rare plants of Britain and Ireland: their biology, ecology and place in our culture, and how we can protect and conserve them.

A beautifully written and illustrated account of the threatened plant species that inhabit the British Isles.

Britain and Ireland are home to around 300 species of rare flowering plants, and many more rare ferns, mosses, liverworts and freshwater algae. These are species at the cutting edge of biodiversity: fascinating, often beautiful, and in decline. Yet as some teeter on the brink, more rare species are still being discovered.

In Rare Plants, prize-winning author Peter Marren describes the allure of Britain and Ireland’s vanishing wild flora, from the simple joy of plant hunting to the wonder and (sometimes) weirdness of the plants themselves, as well as their important place in our landscape and culture. He also explores the condition of rarity in the context of our changing world and climate: why do plants become rare, what threats do they face, and what opportunities do we have to protect them before it is too late? The book concludes with an overview of different conservation techniques. Using test cases such as Lady’s Slipper Orchid and Starved Wood-sedge, Peter asks: at what point does careful management becomes gardening? And how far are we are justified in intervening in the life of a wild species?

Illustrated with around 300 colour images by some of Britain's best plant photographers, as well as boxed texts telling the fascinating stories of several key species, this is above all a celebration of rare plants and why they matter.