I could spend paragraphs explaining how significant the recent publication of Plants of the World; An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Vascular Plants is to the history of the literature of botany; how it’s “the first book to systematically explore every vascular plant family on earth,” and how it’s “organized in a modern phylogenetic order [with] detailed entries for each family [including] descriptions, distribution, evolutionary relationships, and fascinating information on economic uses of plants and etymology of their names.”
However even if I did, all my words wouldn’t even amount to a pale shadow of the superb interview recently published by Matt Candeias in his In Defense of Plants podcast episode 146 with of the book’s authors Maarten Christenhusz, Mark Chase, and Michael Fay.
Take forty-five minutes and thirty-two seconds to listen to it. You’ll not only learn what an amazing book this is and why it’s so significant, but you’ll also have the opportunity to enjoy a delightful conversation by four people who are both learned in and enthusiastic about their subject. You may even come to learn that In Defense of Plants is a podcast that should be added to your regular playlist (as I have long since already done).
