Kew Pocketbooks: Japanese Plants

A gift-size guide to the plants of Japan, gorgeously illustrated by works from the Library, Art and Archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

This sparkling pocketbook from Kew offers a window into the diverse and beautiful plant life of Japan, from familiar flowers like chrysanthemums and camellias to famed trees including maples and cherry blossoms. Forty paintings of the country’s plants are gorgeously reproduced from Kew’s Library, Art and Archives, one of the most extensive botanical libraries in the world, illustrating Japan’s variety of plant life as well as the diversity of Kew’s collection. An introductory chapter by Kew horticulture expert Tony Hall provides an overview of the Japanese archipelago’s flora, along with Kew illustrations curator Lynn Parker who gives an insight into the artwork by Japanese artists and of Japanese plants, held at Kew. Detailed captions accompany each painting, making this gift book an ideal keepsake for any botanically minded Japanophile.