Britain's Rare Flowers (A Volume in the Poyser Natural History Series) - Hardcover

Britain's rare flowers and ferns are in the spotlight as never before. Many are the subject of recovery plans designed to prevent them becoming any rarer and, if possible, to build up their numbers. A growing number are protected by law. And species like Starfruit, Plymouth Pear and Lady's Slipper have become well known outside the botanical world as emblems of endangered wildlife.
Despite all this attention, there is still no easily accessible account of the conservation of rare native flowers and of why they are rare in the first place. This book sets out to redress this gap with a personal study of rare plants and their world.
Peter Marren describes their discovery and the special places that are rich in such plants. He looks at species which have died out completely, others which became naturalised long ago and the surprising (and, in some cases, spectacular) discovery of new native plants in recent years. Conservation projects past and present are examined, and comments made on whether or not they have been successful. Marren also reviews their place in our own world, through the eyes of field botanists, writers, artists and even cooks.
It is all too easy, but to some extent misleading, to portray rare flowers and ferns as victims of a careless, materialistic society. Many have indeed become casualties of intensive farming or development, but on closer inspection it is the ability of our flora to survive which is most impressive. Several plants have come back from the dead during the past half-century, and many have evolved strategies that enable them to tide over unfavourable periods. A narrow focus on conservation does less than full justice to these remarkable plants.
In that belief, Plantlife and English Nature have sponsored the writing of this book, which, we believe, makes a valuable contribution to the literature of natural history as well as to the wider appreciation of the British flora.

Peter Marren was educated in the Midlands and at Exeter and London Universities, graduating in Botany and Nature Conservation. For 15 years, he served the Nature Conservancy Council in various capacities as the conservation officer in north-east Scotland and Oxfordshire, in its scientific team and as its in-house author and editor. He has been self-employed since 1992, consulting and writing books and articles on natural history. Among his ten books are England's National Nature Reserves, a runner-up for the Sir Peter Kent Prize in 1995, The New Naturalists and Postcards from the Country, the book of the acclaimed BBC series. He has written scientific papers on a number of rare native flowers and ferns. Peter is one of the remaining natural history all-rounders, writing on subjects as diverse as Scotland, moths, fungi, woodland history and nature reserve management, as well as providing a witty commentary on the conservation scene in his columns in British Wildlife and The Countryman. He lives in the country, in Wiltshire.