Overview

It's often imagined that rarity is special. We seek out uncommon plants or birds to tick them off our lists, but most of us overlook the extraordinary splendour of the species we encounter daily in the natural world. It's these species - the most successful plants - that are truly interesting. In this new book, Ken Thompson sets out to chart Britain's fifty-two most common wild plants and to explain the secrets of their success. What are their key characteristics? How do they thrive in different habitats? Where did they come from? What do their popular names - speedwell, buttercup, dog rose - mean? Common or Garden - stunningly illustrated by the artist Sarah Abbot - will open our eyes afresh to the everyday natural world.

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9781800811447

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Being common is actually 'a rare and rather exceptional quality' ... We should value these familiar plants, Thompson writes, because they are the ones we have learnt to use as medicines, in cookery and incorporate into folklore. This charming books zips along at a breakneck pace, much enhanced by Sarah Abbott's jaunty illustrations * Daily Mail *

Author Information

Dr Ken Thompson was for twenty years a lecturer in the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield. He writes regularly on gardening for the Daily Telegraph. He is the author of Where Do Camels Belong? The Story and Science of Invasive Species.

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