Flora Japonica

Botanists, horticulturalists, and ordinary plant lovers have been fascinated by Japanese indigenous plants for more than two centuries now, dating back to early discoveries by Western botanists visiting Japan who collected specimens that influenced horticulture and breeding throughout Europe. The excitement generated by Japanese plants in the West led botanical painters in Japan to take note, and thus began a long tradition of depicting their native flora.

Flora Japonica honors that legacy with a stunning celebration of modern Japanese botanical art. It features over eighty specially commissioned paintings of Japanese wild plants from thirty six of Japan’s best contemporary botanical artists. Each painting is accompanied by information about its natural history, as well as a botanical description. An introduction explores the history of Japanese botanical illustration, paying particular attention to the work of the influential botanist and illustrator Tomitaro Makino.

The result is a book suited for any plant lover—a beautifully produced and scientifically up to date celebration of Japan’s incomparable flora.
 

Masumi Yamanaka is a botanical artist currently based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and coauthor ofTreasured Trees. Hideaki Ohba is a professor in the Department of Botany at the University Museum, University of Tokyo, and the author ofEndangered Plants of Japan: A Florelegium. Martyn Rix is a horticulturalist and the author of many books, includingThe Golden Age of Botanical Art, coauthor of Treasured Trees, and editor ofCurtis’s Botanical Magazine, published by Kew.