Woodland Flowers: Colourful past, uncertain future. The British Wildlife Collection No. 8

£32.00

Woodland Flowers: Colourful past, uncertain future. The British Wildlife Collection No. 8 Author: Format: Hardback First Published: Published By: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC View more from this series: British Wildlife Collection
string(3) "400"
Pages: 400 Illustrations and other contents: 250 colour photos Language: English ISBN: 9781472949073 Categories: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Tags: ,

Woodland Flowers: Colourful past, uncertain future (British Wildlife Collection)

More often than not, we don’t see the wood for the trees. Observing the plants of the forest floor – the flowers, ferns, sedges and grasses – can be a vital way of understanding the nature of British woodland. For centuries, woodland plants have been part of our lives in practical ways, as food and medicines, and as the inspirations for poetry, perfume and pub signs. They tell us stories about the history of woodland, its past management, and how that has changed – not always for the better. They can also be a visible sign of progress when we get conservation right.

Woodland Flowers is an insightful and original account on the subject by Keith Kirby, woodland ecologist, co-editor of Europe’s Changing Woods and Forests and co-author of the Woodland Survey Handbook. The book explores how woodland plants in Britain have come to be where they are, how they cope with living in the shade of their bigger relatives and tolerate the attentions of grazing herbivores. Woodland flora sit at the heart of a complex web of interactions between fungi and insects as well as animals. It also looks at the challenges woodland plants face with changing conditions throughout the seasons, and how they respond to threats in the form of storms, fires, droughts and floods. Along the way, the reader is introduced to the work of important botanists who have walked the woods in the past, collecting information on where plants occur and why.  Profiles of some of our most important and popular ground flora species provide extra detail and insight.

Beautifully illustrated, Woodland Flowers is a must for anyone who appreciates and wants to learn more about British woodland and its plants.

Weight1.4 kg
Author

Format

Publisher

Editor
Photographer
Illustrators

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.

An informative and enlightening book for those who love woodlands but seek a deeper understanding of the myriad plants that clothe the forest floor. * Gardens Illustrated * Woodland Flowers offers wonderful insight into these other-worldly habitats. * English Garden * Kirby’s extensive knowledge is presented in a volume that is both accessible and detailed, in a format that will appeal to both the ecologist and anyone who simply appreciates and wants to learn more about woodlands and its flora. * BBC Wildlife * Beautifully illustrated. Woodland Flowers is a must for anyone who appreciates and wants to learn more about British woodland and its plants. * Countryside * There is much to enjoy in Keith Kirby's writing style as his language is straightforward and accessible. -- Clive Chatters * British Wildlife * Thought provoking, personal and richly illustrated. -- Rob Fuller * BTO * I would highly recommend it for the Christmas list for any forester with an interest in woodland conservation. -- Tim Hall * Trees magazine, the Institute of Chartered Foresters * Very well-informed with up-to-date research, relieved by personal reminiscences, unexpected snippets, lively prose and informative accounts of individual species. -- George Peterken * Quarterly Journal of Forestry * A tour de force of woodland botany from a real woodland expert... Highly recommended. * Plantlife *

Author Biography

Keith Kirby is currently a visiting researcher at the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, where his main areas of work include analysis of long-term woodland changes and rewilding. Before that, he worked as a woodland ecologist with the government conservation agencies for many years, first with the Nature Conservancy Council and then its successor bodies, English Nature and Natural England. Keith was awarded the Royal Forestry Society Gold Medal for Distinguished Services to Forestry in 2011, and the CIEEM Medal for his outstanding, lifelong contribution to the advancement of ecology, forestry and woodland management in 2014. He has written widely for both refereed and more popular journals and the press, as well as co-editing the book Europe’s Changing Woods and Forests and co-authoring the Woodland Survey Handbook.