Orchid Fever: A Horticultural Tale of Love, Lust, and LunacyA seductive journey into the obsessive, outrageous, and mesmerizing world of orchids. From the steaming jungles of Borneo to the hallowed hallways of Kew Gardens, from the clandestine orchid nurseries of Europe to the peat bogs of northern Minnesota, here are luscious, sexy flowers, orchid smugglers, fist-fighting botanists, moths with twelve-inch-long tongues, and government officials who raid orchid nurseries with attack dogs and automatic weapons. Strange tales of insect pollinator fidelity, the orchid ice cream makers of eastern Turkey, and man-crushing killer orchids weighing half a ton are blended with stories about a wide range of gentle people whose passion in life is the creation of scented, fragile flowers. Eric Hansen spent seven years exploring the far corners of the earth -- marveling at flowers of uncommon beauty, studying the history of the orchid trade, and grappling with the vicious, bizarre, and petty world of plant politics that sometimes makes it impossible to protect endangered species. Hansen brings to life the colorful flowers and the even more colorful people who are attracted to them, as he illuminates a funny, weird, and poignant world of horticultural passion and pathos. |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
asked bloom Borneo Bosha botanists Braem breeding called Chinese CITES permit collectors confiscated Coryanthes speciosa Cribb customs officers Cymbidium Cypripedium Cypripedium acaule Cypripedium reginae Dendrobium moniliforme dondurma dried Eleanor Eleanor Kerrigan exotic expert explained Fire Mountain flora flower fragrance German greenhouse grow Gunnar habitat Henry Azadehdel herbarium hobbyists hybrids illegal insect judges jungle Katong knew Kolopaking Lecoufle look orchid collection orchid conservation orchid fever orchid growers orchid habitats orchid hunters orchid ice cream orchid nursery orchid smuggler Orchid Society orchid species orchid specimens orchid trade orchid tubers orchid world Orchid Zone Paphiopedilum Paphiopedilum sanderianum Penan perfume plant material pollen Popow's pulque raid rare orchids Richard road Royal Botanic Gardens salep salvage sanderianum Sandro scent scientific Seidenfaden slipper orchid smell smuggling sort species of orchids story talk Teódulo Terry Timmy White tion Tokuda told Vliet wanted wild orchids wild-collected woman Xavier Yong