Visuth Phoktavi, based in Bangkok, collects rare and difficult plants. His self-imposed rule is to choose rather for the ugly species than for the beautiful. “If it is beautiful, it will no longer be rare.” Read the interview…
“I am still looking for a certain Magnolia species that doesn’t exist in Thailand, but I know that it grows in Indonesia,” says Lookfad Panan, collector and breeder of fragrant plants. Read the interview…
From oceanographer to orchid conservator. Patana Thavipoke prefers research in a laboratory on millions of seedlings to the laborious care for fish. His mission: saving endemic orchids from extinction. Read the interview…
After a trip to Peru his love for the flora of Borneo rapidly faded away. Now the Taiwanese plant searcher Charlot Teng is more eager to explore the secrets of the jungles of Latin America.
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“I am interested in a bamboo if it is unknown or rare, or if it grows in a strange way.” Dieter Ohrnberger has some 300 species of this woody grass in his bambusetum in Northern Thailand.
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At the age of twelve, Nopchai Chansilpa started experimenting with water lily and lotus. Fifty years later he is a distinguished breeder, whose new varieties have earned scores of international awards. Read the interview…
As a young man, penniless but craving for plants, Surath Vanno scraped together samples from nature or friends. Now, at 75, he has one of the finest collections of shade plants in Thailand. Read the interview…
In a jungle-like resort along the river Kwai Noi, Chalermchart Soorangura grows 350 species of palm trees. “I like to see the development of a plant, how it changes from seedling to maturity.” Read the interview…
Dr. Songpol Somsri is awarded for being an innovative durian breeder. Through his hybrids, this giant fruit has reached a wider audience. His newest endeavour is to breed a thornless variety. Read the interview…
Annop Ongsakul, here with a giant swamp taro, has found the tiniest known aroid, which now carries his name. “We are strange people, walking on terrible trails, bitten by mosquitoes and sucked by leeches.” Read the interview…
Michael Ferrero recorded the palm trees of Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Cuba and Venezuela. Now he wants to explore Kalimantan. “It is going to be a race against time.” Read the interview…
Outstanding books
An attractive field guide to palms and rattans, occurring from Afghanistan to Vietnam. Clear pictures, distribution maps and succinct descriptions facilitate easy identification. Botanist Andrew Henderson also wrote a book on the palms of Vietnam.
Patra Sangdanuch, renowned fern lover and writer, has published many books on ornamental plants, but only in Thai. Now her latest book, on staghorns, has an English translation. Filled to the brim with great pictures. Available in hard copy and e-book. Follow the author on Facebook: Patrabooks.
In lively prose, Andrea Wulf portrays Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). His explorations into rainforests, volcanoes, plains and oceans influenced many scientific fields and inspired people like Simon Bolívar, Charles Darwin and Henry David Thoreau.
In his memoirs, the Malaysian botanist Francis Ng shares his knowledge of tropical trees in a casual tone. But above all his book is a tribute to the renowned plant searchers of the previous century.