United States
£ GBP
Kew's famous Palm House is not only the most important surviving glass and iron structure in the world, but also home to Kew's spectacular tropical plant collections. This beautiful book gives a vivid account of the history of the building, and provides a survey of the rich variety of trees and plants it contains, amongst which are many endangered rainforest species.
Part 1 Greenery among the iron: the Palm House and its collections - the birth of the Palm House, the growth of the Victorian plant collections, the workday world of the Palm House, the structure of the rainforest and the Palm House plant collections, palms, cycads and pandans, tropical climbers; yields of the rainforest - fruits, crops, medicines, flowers of the rainforest. Part 2 Restoration and renovation: iron glasshouses - the historical background, the restoration of the 1950s; the 1980s restoration - surveys and reports, design and specifications for refurbishment, the Marine Display, the restoration of the Palm House 1985-1988, plants on the move.
