The Trees of Paradise
Exquisite illustrations of the tropical palm tree
On December 15, 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868), Professor of Botany at the University of Munich and Director of the Botanical Garden, was buried in a coffin covered with fresh palm fronds. The fern fronds alluded to his groundbreaking work, *Historia naturalis palmarum* : a three-volume work published between 1823 and 1853.
This encyclopedic treasure trove of 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations was based on Martius' expeditions through Brazil and Peru. From 1817 to 1820, he traveled over 2,250 km through the Amazon basin with the zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix to study the flora and fauna as well as the indigenous tribes.
This journey resulted in a unique catalog of all known palm species, including a modern classification of palms, descriptions of all Brazilian palms, and the very first maps of palm biogeography. Particularly unusual are Martius's cross-sectional diagrams, which brought the structure of these mighty trees closer to Central Europeans, a structure they would otherwise have found difficult to visualize so precisely. Equally remarkable are the colorful landscape photographs depicting various palms – often solitary and of elegant beauty.
This encyclopedic treasure trove of 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations was based on Martius' expeditions through Brazil and Peru. From 1817 to 1820, he traveled over 2,250 km through the Amazon basin with the zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix to study the flora and fauna as well as the indigenous tribes.
This journey resulted in a unique catalog of all known palm species, including a modern classification of palms, descriptions of all Brazilian palms, and the very first maps of palm biogeography. Particularly unusual are Martius's cross-sectional diagrams, which brought the structure of these mighty trees closer to Central Europeans, a structure they would otherwise have found difficult to visualize so precisely. Equally remarkable are the colorful landscape photographs depicting various palms – often solitary and of elegant beauty.
The author
H. Walter Lack is a professor at the Free University of Berlin and was director of the Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem until August 2014. He is one of the leading experts in the history of botany and has researched primarily the cultural and historical consequences of the global transfer of useful and ornamental plants. His books *A Garden of Eden*, * The Book of Palms* , and *Redouté: The Book of Flowers * are published by TASCHEN.
Hardcover: 15.6 x 21.7 cm, 1.13 kg, 512 pages
Edition: Multilingual (German, English, French)
The Trees of Paradise
Exquisite illustrations of the tropical palm tree
On December 15, 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868), Professor of Botany at the University of Munich and Director of the Botanical Garden, was buried in a coffin covered with fresh palm fronds. The fern fronds alluded to his groundbreaking work, *Historia naturalis palmarum* : a three-volume work published between 1823 and 1853.
This encyclopedic treasure trove of 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations was based on Martius' expeditions through Brazil and Peru. From 1817 to 1820, he traveled over 2,250 km through the Amazon basin with the zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix to study the flora and fauna as well as the indigenous tribes.
This journey resulted in a unique catalog of all known palm species, including a modern classification of palms, descriptions of all Brazilian palms, and the very first maps of palm biogeography. Particularly unusual are Martius's cross-sectional diagrams, which brought the structure of these mighty trees closer to Central Europeans, a structure they would otherwise have found difficult to visualize so precisely. Equally remarkable are the colorful landscape photographs depicting various palms – often solitary and of elegant beauty.
This encyclopedic treasure trove of 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations was based on Martius' expeditions through Brazil and Peru. From 1817 to 1820, he traveled over 2,250 km through the Amazon basin with the zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix to study the flora and fauna as well as the indigenous tribes.
This journey resulted in a unique catalog of all known palm species, including a modern classification of palms, descriptions of all Brazilian palms, and the very first maps of palm biogeography. Particularly unusual are Martius's cross-sectional diagrams, which brought the structure of these mighty trees closer to Central Europeans, a structure they would otherwise have found difficult to visualize so precisely. Equally remarkable are the colorful landscape photographs depicting various palms – often solitary and of elegant beauty.
The author
H. Walter Lack is a professor at the Free University of Berlin and was director of the Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem until August 2014. He is one of the leading experts in the history of botany and has researched primarily the cultural and historical consequences of the global transfer of useful and ornamental plants. His books *A Garden of Eden*, * The Book of Palms* , and *Redouté: The Book of Flowers * are published by TASCHEN.
Hardcover: 15.6 x 21.7 cm, 1.13 kg, 512 pages
Edition: Multilingual (German, English, French)
In the heart of Hamburg