Weird Plants

We all have passions that make us light up. For some it’s seeing our kids’ smiles when we pick them up after work. For others it’s trekking through the jungle to find a deserted beach with a calm ocean, or the feeling of success from a long bike ride, or the way the brain responds and uplifts us when hearing just the right music. Author Thorogood’s passion is exotic plants. And for those who enjoyed the wonder of the foliage and scenery from the movie Avatar, or who like exploring forests, jungles, and unusual landscapes, or who simply appreciate our planet and recognize it’s in danger of losing its unique, unusual plant and animal species, this one’s for you. This will appeal to all ages, from kids to adults, especially the “weirdness” of the plants.Thorogood includes a map showing where all the plants he describes are located around the globe. In most cases he paints them, too. However, he’s organized them by their more interesting categories, starting off with the “vampire” plants like hydnora, the one on the cover. It attaches itself to euphorbias (types of flowering plants), and its feces-like odor attracts pollinating dung beetles. It’s not a sweet daisy or soft lilac; it’s kind of scary looking with a red “mouth”. Many of these vampire-type plants feed from the roots of trees. Thorogood also covers “killers”, such as the well-known Venus fly-trap and various pitcher plants, many of which contain liquid with digestive enzymes that help drown or break down their insect prey. Other categories include fraudsters, jailers, accomplices, survivors and hitchhikers. These plants have evolved to survive by diverse means and strategies. Many lure pollinating insects into their depths with no easy exit due to downward-pointing spines or hairs, coercing the insects into dispersing the pollen they arrive with and collecting the new plant’s pollen before they leave. One plant has an uncanny resemblance to human lips, another looks like a small duck, and yet another resembles a monkey face. While Thorogood includes occasional photos for comparison, he excels in his drawings of the unusual plants with rich colors that emphasize their uniqueness.The author notes that many plants are still mysterious, but he can still show the relationships between plants and the interdependence between some plants and insects and, in some cases, small animals. It’s not dry reading; each page shows one or more pictures (all colorful, sometimes lurid) with a brief description. It’s a quick and fascinating read.

pages are nice hardcover is nice. cool book

This is a fun book with bright, full colored pictures.The book talks about where the plants are found, why they are unusual, and what advantage that gives the plants.The book itself is well constructed and durable.The pictures are worth the price of the book alone, and the narrative just adds to the value.

This book amounts to a few paintings of "unusual" plants with very little information. Typically one paragraph per species saying why it is a strange plant, but no relevant info regarding cultivation or anything else that an actual plant grower could use. A mediocre art book at best.

Chris Thorogood's plant paintings are very good, but not excellent. So I soon found myself searching the internet for real photos of all the interesting and weird plants mentioned in this book. If the watercolours would be an ADDITION to the numerous phantastic photos out there I'd recommend the book. As present it is annoying and sad because this booklet could be a real treasure. So, please, try again.

This a lavishly produced book and all the illustrations are by the author Chris who is a great artist.The book is simple worth buying for the paintings which are superb.The book is primarily meant for children but even adults will learn something from it.

Un livre avec de belles photos et illustrations. Des plantes que l'on a pas l'habitude de voir, vraiment intéressant.

Lovely hardback book - interesting to my tween but adults will enjoy the illustrations and facts about plants too. Totally worthy of being visible on the living room shelf and not stuffed away in a child's bedroom. Unusual book, considering the volume of titles on such subjects. Would make a great gift for someone interested in this area! Thoroughly recommend!

for those of us who are into weird and wonderful plants this is a great book with lots of info on various plants