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Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 5 (1910) include pine, cypress and oak.
Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 1 (1906) include beech, spruce and yew.
Trained as a gardener in his native Scotland, William Aiton (1731–93) had worked in the Chelsea Physic Garden prior to coming to Kew in 1759. He met Joseph Banks in 1764, and the pair worked together to develop the scientific and horticultural status of the gardens. Aiton had become superintendent of the entire Kew estate by 1783. This important three-volume work, first published in 1789, took as its starting point the plant catalogue begun in 1773. In its compilation, Aiton was greatly assisted with the identification and scientific description of species, according to the Linnaean system, by the botanists Daniel Solander and Jonas Dryander (the latter contributed most of the third volume). Aiton added dates of introduction and horticultural information. An important historical resource, it covers some 5,600 species and features a selection of engravings. Listing the printed works consulted, Volume 1 provides plant descriptions from Monandria to Heptandria.
A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 6, Part 1 (1892) contains entries from Pachyrhizus angulatus (a large climbing herb) to rye (not indigenous to India).
Trained as a gardener in his native Scotland, William Aiton (1731–93) had worked in the Chelsea Physic Garden prior to coming to Kew in 1759. He met Joseph Banks in 1764, and the pair worked together to develop the scientific and horticultural status of the gardens. Aiton had become superintendent of the entire Kew estate by 1783. This important three-volume work, first published in 1789, took as its starting point the plant catalogue begun in 1773. In its compilation, Aiton was greatly assisted with the identification and scientific description of species, according to the Linnaean system, by the botanists Daniel Solander and Jonas Dryander (the latter contributed most of the third volume). Aiton added dates of introduction and horticultural information. An important historical resource, it covers some 5,600 species and features a selection of engravings. Volume 3 covers Diadelphia to Cryptogamia, and includes addenda and indexes of generic and English names.
A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 6, Part 3 (1893) contains entries from silk to tea, two of India's most important economic products.
A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 6, Part 4 (1893) contains entries from Tectona grandis (the common teak tree) to Zygophillum simplex (a flowering plant found in Sindh and the Punjab). The index to the entire work is included as an appendix.
Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 7 (1913) include lime, box, willow, poplar and elm. The work's index appeared separately in 1913 but is now incorporated in this volume.
Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 4 (1909) include fir, chestnut, ash and birch.
Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 6 (1912) include spruce, juniper, laburnum, cherry, mulberry and gum trees.
A member, and later president, of the Académie des Sciences, French botanist and doctor René Louiche Desfontaines (1750–1833) spent the years 1783–5 on an expedition to North Africa. During his time in Tunisia and Algeria, he collected over a thousand plant specimens: more than three hundred genera were new to European naturalists at this time. Having succeeded Le Monnier in the chair of botany at the Jardin du Roi in 1786, Desfontaines helped found the Institut de France following the Revolution and published his two-volume Flora atlantica in Latin in 1798–9. A lavishly illustrated second edition appeared in four volumes in 1800. Combining its two volumes of plates into one, this reissue will give modern researchers an insight into the promulgation of pioneering plant science. Volume 2 contains classes 14 to 24 in the Linnaean system of plant taxonomy, from Didynamia to Cryptogamia.
A member, and later president, of the Académie des Sciences, French botanist and doctor René Louiche Desfontaines (1750–1833) spent the years 1783–5 on an expedition to North Africa. During his time in Tunisia and Algeria, he collected over a thousand plant specimens: more than three hundred genera were new to European naturalists at this time. Having succeeded Le Monnier in the chair of botany at the Jardin du Roi in 1786, Desfontaines helped found the Institut de France following the Revolution and published his two-volume Flora atlantica in Latin in 1798–9. A lavishly illustrated second edition appeared in four volumes in 1800. Combining its two volumes of plates into one, this reissue will give modern researchers an insight into the promulgation of pioneering plant science. Volume 3 brings together all 261 line engravings from the volumes that accompanied the botanical catalogue.
Although without formal scientific training, Henry John Elwes (1846–1922) devoted his life to natural history. He had studied birds, butterflies and moths, but later turned his attention to collecting and growing plants. Embarking on his most ambitious project in 1903, he recruited the Irish dendrologist Augustine Henry (1857–1930) to collaborate with him on this well-illustrated work. Privately printed in seven volumes between 1906 and 1913, it covers the varieties, distribution, history and cultivation of tree species in the British Isles. The strictly botanical parts were written by Henry, while Elwes drew on his extensive knowledge of native and non-native species to give details of where remarkable examples could be found. Each volume contains photographic plates as well as drawings of leaves and buds to aid identification. The species covered in Volume 2 (1907) include horse chestnut, buckeye, hemlock, walnut and larch.
A keen collector and sketcher of plant specimens from an early age, the author, educator and clergyman Charles Alexander Johns (1811–74) gained recognition for his popular books on British plants, trees, birds and countryside walks. The Forest Trees of Britain (1847–9), one of several works originally published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, is also reissued in this series. First published by the Society in 1851, Johns' best-known work is this two-volume botanical guide to common British flowering plants. Following the Linnaean system of classification, Johns describes the various plant families, providing the common and Latin names for each species. The work is especially noteworthy for its delicate and meticulous line drawings, based on watercolours by the botanical artist Emily Stackhouse and the author's sisters Julia and Emily. Volume 1 includes an introduction to the Linnaean system and the botanical terms used in the text.
A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 2 (1889) contains entries from cabbage (introduced to India by Europeans) to Cyperus (a genus of grass-like flowering plants).
A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 4 (1890) contains entries from Gossypium (the cotton genus) to Linociera intermedia (a species of small tree, used for timber).
A Scottish doctor and botanist, George Watt (1851–1930) had studied the flora of India for more than a decade before he took on the task of compiling this monumental work. Assisted by numerous contributors, he set about organising vast amounts of information on India's commercial plants and produce, including scientific and vernacular names, properties, domestic and medical uses, trade statistics, and published sources. Watt hoped that the dictionary, 'though not a strictly scientific publication', would be found 'sufficiently accurate in its scientific details for all practical and commercial purposes'. First published in six volumes between 1889 and 1893, with an index volume completed in 1896, the whole work is now reissued in nine separate parts. Volume 6, Part 2 (1893) contains entries from Sabadilla (an imported plant, the seeds of which produce a neurotoxin) to silica (used in the production of glass).
A member, and later president, of the Académie des Sciences, French botanist and doctor René Louiche Desfontaines (1750–1833) spent the years 1783–5 on an expedition to North Africa. During his time in Tunisia and Algeria, he collected over a thousand plant specimens: more than three hundred genera were new to European naturalists at this time. Having succeeded Le Monnier in the chair of botany at the Jardin du Roi in 1786, Desfontaines helped found the Institut de France following the Revolution and published his two-volume Flora atlantica in Latin in 1798–9. A lavishly illustrated second edition appeared in four volumes in 1800. Combining its two volumes of plates into one, this reissue will give modern researchers an insight into the promulgation of pioneering plant science. Volume 1 contains the first thirteen classes of plants in the Linnaean system of taxonomy, from Monandria to Polyandria.
Trained as a gardener in his native Scotland, William Aiton (1731–93) had worked in the Chelsea Physic Garden prior to coming to Kew in 1759. He met Joseph Banks in 1764, and the pair worked together to develop the scientific and horticultural status of the gardens. Aiton had become superintendent of the entire Kew estate by 1783. This important three-volume work, first published in 1789, took as its starting point the plant catalogue begun in 1773. In its compilation, Aiton was greatly assisted with the identification and scientific description of species, according to the Linnaean system, by the botanists Daniel Solander and Jonas Dryander (the latter contributed most of the third volume). Aiton added dates of introduction and horticultural information. An important historical resource, it covers some 5,600 species and features a selection of engravings. Volume 2 continues to catalogue the plants, covering Octandria to Monadelphia.