These wonderful little "pedias" are both entrancing and informative, and Carol Gracie has done an exceptional job with this volume, writing with style and wry humour, making the prose flow at once precisely and delightfully.
Facts are presented in alphabetical fashion, in this case with "Achlorophyllous plants" as a first entry, and ending with "Zygomorphic". That's two fitting subjects for any botanist to bookend a work! One of the charming line drawings by Amy Jean Porter is above the text at the very beginning, delightfully illustrating the topic. This artwork continues throughout, adding a lovely dimension to the work. Line drawings done well illuminate a book beautifully, and Florapedia uses this artifice to great effect. One is quite convinced that the writer and the artist engaged in a dialogue, actual or telepathic, to produce an integrated presentation.
It always seems quite incredible to me how much information is compressed into one of the books in this series - volumes that will easily slip into your pocket or handbag. Yet one is never short changed, and even the most competent authority on any topic would concede that the coverage is excellent. The novice may gain a quite thorough understanding of a topic in relatively few words. A case in point is Saguaro (to name just one - I could direct you to numerous others). Many people, upon visiting the Sonoran Desert of Arizona marvel at the giant cacti, but other than admiration know little of them. In around 830 words you are equipped with "everything you need to know about a Saguaro!" Gracie has fun recounting an incident when a gun-toting destroyer of the giant cactus was killed when an unstable plant toppled onto the man, killing him. "Poetic justice," she says!
You probably have not made the acquaintance of Émile Gallé, essential knowledge before your next cocktail party, I am sure you will agree. And if you can initiate a discourse on John and William Bartram too, what an erudite man or woman you will be seen to be. Throw in a few bons mots about Marcgraviaceae and the world will be yours!
From the serious to the whimsical, from the scientific to the fanciful, this is a work to be thoroughly enjoyed, regardless of the level of your botanical expertise. And there is an excellent bibliography to direct you to further research.
You will not set this work down without the sense that you have just completed fine coverage of many topics - and you will want to pick it up again and again.
Florapedia - Princeton University Press
Author: Carol Gracie - Illustrator: Amy Jean Porter
Hardcover
Price: US$16.95, £9.99 - ISBN: 978091211404
Published: 6 April 2021
200 pages - 53 black-and-white illustrations
4.5 x 6.75 in., (11.25 x 16.875 cm)
