There was a time when botany was an adventure, and this splendid book traces the journeys of more than 80 pioneering botanists who explored the unknown world and collected thousands of unusual plants. Each spread describes the naturalist and the journey, with a map and stunning close-up images of the plants collected, complete with notes, seeds, pollen, and identifying documents, often in the botanist's own hand. Collected here are the tales of the Orchid Wars, Dr. Livingstone's travels, and how Robert Fortune went to China as an industrial spy for the East India Company to steal the secrets of growing tea.