plant collectors

Describes the life and times of John Laroche, a plant smuggler and orchid thief, and the eccentric world of Florida's obsessed collectors of rare plants.

Chronicles the 1994 crime story of John Laroche, a plant dealer who teamed up with three Seminole Indians to steal rare orchids from a southern Florida swamp with the intention of having the orchids cloned to sell to collectors; examines the ramifications of the case, which concerned a wide variety of groups, including environmentalists, Native Americans, and orchid enthusiasts.

Tigers, drowning, fever, and murder: in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, explorers and scientists risked their lives searching for new and unusual plants.

John Tradescant the Younger, gardener to King Charles I, finds his loyalties questioned as England descends into civil war and his family is put in danger because of John's ties to the King.

Presents information for increasing the use of native plants and wildflowers in America's future landscaping.