flowers and plants

The list of favourite flowers has remained remarkably constant over the centuries. From late-sixteenth, early seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish flower-pieces we can see what were considered desirable at that time: the rose, iris, carnation and lily, old favourites redolent of the Middle Ages and religious symbolism; the snowdrop, violet and fritillary, `natural’ flowers of the meadow and woodland; and the tulip and hyacinth, fashionable bulbs that could command huge sums. A reader poll conducted a few years ago by the BBC found that the rose is the all-time favourite flower, followed by the lily, the primrose, the iris and the daffodil.

In Pick of the Bunch, Margaret Willes takes twelve of these enduringly popular flowers and looks at their social history, how they got their names, how they arrived in our gardens, how they were bought, acquired and displayed, and who were their devotees. She delves into their symbolic associations in classical and Christian traditions, and the complex language of flowers compiled by the Victorians. She also suggests where they can be seen in all their particular glory today, from the spring-time display of fritillaries in Magdalen College Meadows to the late summer fireworks of the Dahlia Walk at Biddulph Grange.

The authors of Illustrated Field Guide to the Flowers of Sri Lanka, Volume 2, Dr. Jacob de Vlas and his wife Johanna de Vlas-de Jong have been visiting Sri Lanka since 1977. In 2008, they published the Illustrated Field guide to the Flowers of Sri Lanka. That book contains over 1 000 plant species that can be spotted in easily accessible places all over the country. However, plants that grow in the northern and northeastern regions of Sri Lanka were not included, due to the fact that these areas were closed until 2009.Volume 2 contains 1 060 species of which 963 were not included in the first book and were photographed throughout the whole of Sri Lanka, including the northern and northeastern regions of the country. Most of them are common or less common, but the Sri Lankan photographers in particular were able to find quite a few very rare plants as well, including some that are new to the flora of Sri Lanka or indeed even to science.Approximately half of the pictures were taken by the authors, the others were contributed by Sri Lankan naturalists and photographers. By publishing Volume 2 the authors wish to contribute to the spread of knowledge of Sri Lankan plants among nature lovers, students and professionals, and indirectly to the conservation of the flora of Sri Lanka.