The Golden Age of Plant Hunters

There have been plenty of golden ages—science, television, and radio, to name a few—but did you know that 1770 to 1860 was considered the golden age of botanical exploration? This era saw an explosion of global plant exchange, due in part to European exploration and colonization. British horticultural writer Kenneth Lemmon provides an overview of several plant-hunting expeditions, beginning with the voyage of botanist Joseph Banks to Australia. Banks's journey with Captain Cook on the ship Endeavor led to the discovery of the east coast of Australia, and ultimately, to the botanizing of Australia’s native plants. This voyage ushered in a new age of plant discovery, one which continues in the present day in remote areas of the Amazon and China. The book also includes a fascinating account of the voyage of the Bounty. While the ship is most famous for the mutiny that took place in 1789, it was also the first naval ship to be commissioned to act as a floating conservatory, transporting breadfruit trees to Tahiti. Kew Botanist David Nelson was the plant collector on this voyage. Cast adrift with Captain Bligh and other loyalists after the mutiny, Nelson survived the long journey to Timor, but died soon after arriving.