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"The greatest pleasure of naturalists (understated by certain utilitarians) is to discover new species, to point to new islands on the map of nature, and to populate continents that seem to be deserts" -- Richard Spruce, 1851 This splendid book traces the journeys of more than 80 pioneering botanists who explored the unknown world and collected thousands of unusual plants. Many were celebrated at home in Europe and England. Others were working in obscurity to fulfill their own desires and obsessions. But every one of these explorers made important finds, collecting and preserving unique and valuable plants and often establishing them in cultivation back in their home lands. Each spread in the book describes the journey and the naturalist, with a map tracing the routes taken, on the left.