For centuries, some of the most brilliant minds in Europe searched for the rules of nature's game. In a world full of plagues and poisons, many medicines were made from plant extracts and there was a practical need to differentiate between one plant and another. Alongside this was an overwhelming desire to make sense of the natural world. Scholars, aided by the artists who painted the first pictures of plants, set out looking, writing and classifying, but 2,000 years was to pass before any rules became clear. Anna Pavord takes us on an exhilarating and fascinating journey through botanical history, travelling from Athens in the third century BC, through Constantinople and Venice, Padua and Pisa to the present day.
Accompanying this fascinating story are stunning illustrations of flowers and trees that give The Naming of Names a genuine sense of the history of its subject. Yet again, Anna Pavord has given us a wonderfully evocative yet authoritative investigation into a remarkable science, as well as a fascinating insight into the minds of the people who were to name every flower they could find.