Kew Pocketbooks: Chinese Plants

This unique series of pocketbooks from Kew offers a snapshot into the diverse and beautiful world of plants and fungi. Each book lavishly showcases choice examples from different groups or collections. This book uncovers the broad variety of China’s plants, from the everyday staples of rice and tea to the sacred significance of lotus and peony flowers. For millennia, plants have played an important role in Chinese culture, with rich histories and symbolic weight. Even a humble houseplant like the lucky ‘money plant’, with round leaves resembling coins, is attached to multiple legends and utilised in Feng Shui to attract prosperity and abundance. An introductory chapter by Kew expert Alex Summers provides an overview of this plant group, and extended captions accompany each painting. A must-have gift item printed on uncoated paper and with a cloth and foil luxury finish.