Conservation

The Glow-worm by John Tyler, 2026

The Glow-worm, the natural history of Lampyris noctiluca. By John Tyler, Published by Pelagic. ISBN 978-1-78427-644-7

At last a delightful book on the familiar Glow-worm that is increasingly less found out and about in villages and the countryside at large. The book has been written by professional entomologist and conservationist John Tyler who trained at Oxford. It is a very good book, thorough, comprehensive and an interesting read for anyone interested in the living world who cares about the slow, almost inevitable, demise of species like this.   We are treated to the ancestry of Glow-worms from those stuck in liquid amber some 100m years ago, to the what citizen scientists can find when they look around – he encourages us to list sightings on iRecord. There is a ‘Lesser Glow-worm’, less often seen, of these two firefly species in the UK (not Ireland) whereas there are 20 species in Italy. This species is ‘the most widespread firefly in Eurasia, perhaps the world’ and it has a huge range within 100km of the Arctic Circle as the most northerly firefly’.  The chapters on how the Glow-worm survives in the environment and how it feeds are fascinating. As the female is flightless colonisation is limited to the crawling larvae and the flying males. Isolation of populations is now a big issue in today’s world, where diminishing populations reduce the gene flow.  The author lists six reasons creating decline, habitat destruction, habitat change, habitat fragmentation, chemical pollution, light pollution and climate change. The best habitat that Glow-worms seem to prefer, says John Tyler are ‘patchworks of trees, shrubs and grassland’ managed too, perhaps by grazing or browsing by human initiative such as by horses, cattle or sheep, and in the ‘wild’ by rabbits. Management should be attained by trying to create a mosaic of scrub and coppice. Photographs are provided of typical habitats where Glow-worms are found, and these include old quarries, grassland and railway lines which he says ‘these linear habitats are good for dispersal.’ Not forgetting that they have a ‘fondness for waterside habitats.’ In my own experience I have found few Glow-worms and they have been along ancient lanes (yes adjacent to water) in my own garden and in a railway sidings  – all habitats influenced by man.  The details provided on how Glow-worms are so successful as predators and carnivores is perhaps not explained better in any other book but here. The cocktail of neurotoxins that these beetle larvae inject into their snail and slug prey works wonders and they are able to disable and devour snails that are 30 times heavier. Over 30 species of snail are attacked and eaten, so no shortage of prey, and they get into the snail’s shell using their extendable head and a pair of fierce jaws. Overall this is an excellent book that explains all that is known about this enigmatic species that has lit our enthusiasm for the natural world. The colour illustrations are helpful for identification of habitat, species and sexes and there is a comprehensive references and index.    John Feltwell.

 

 

 

Book reviews, Conservation

Insect Flight by John Brackenbury 2026

Insect Flight, An Insect-Eye View of Flight Behaviour in the Wild. By John H. Brackenbury. London, London, Pelagic Publishing. 168pp ISBN 9781784276263

 

The author is a retired zoologist from University of Cambridge and Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society, so he presents here many of his collected fruits of his photographic journey using high speed cameras. This is not the first of his books on capturing flight, he has published ‘Up Up and Away’, and ‘In the Blink of an Eye’, which also feature ‘flight cascades’ of an insect taking off, such as is found on the cover of this book. These sequential images or ‘reconstructed flight sequences’ used to be hard to create but increasingly modern cameras such as Nikons and Olympus do the job. Brackenbury does not have a section of cameras but from the range of images it looks like several types have been used.   His subjects are mostly drawn from European fauna, as he says he has photographed a ‘a mere fraction’ from the million of insect species worldwide. The book gives an insight into the very biodiverse world of insects, from somersaulting Alder flies and Caddisflies to grasshoppers leaping and airborne dragonflies. He describes the mechanics of leaping, jumping and flying, and this reminds me of Dame Miriam Rothschild’s leaping fleas taking off with the power of 140Gs and thirty times the power of a Saturn rocket blasting off; pity fleas were not covered. The way that butterflies fly is however covered in demonstrating the way in which the large wing area interestingly distorts through the air as it flies. The images capture what the naked eye cannot see, so this presentation of insects in flight is useful for a better understanding of their biodiverse and successful life on earth. The mechanics of upstroke and downstrokes in insects are described by way of diagrams of photographs, even showing the sequence of a bird taking off in one full sequence. There are seven chapters ranging from How Wings Work, Butterfly Flight and Male Flight Behaviour, as well as Mating flight. There is some interesting behavioural and ecological observations in these chapters. We also see how hibernating wasps carefully fold their wings perfectly so that they are undamaged when they come out of hibernation from wood piles or leaf litter months later.  Lepidopterists will enjoy the close-up ‘frozen moving‘ images of various white species, Painted Ladys, Peacocks and Red Admirals, all flying in their colourful meadows or grassland setting; many   shots enhanced with sunburst star filters against blue skies. Entomologists with a more wider interest will like the range of beetles, true-flies and crickets.  There are few books on the subject of insect flight, but Roger Camp’s (2003) book on Butterflies in Flight – which opens out as a concertinaed pull out a few metres long, comes to mind, but is different. The Brackenbury book fits nicely in the Pegasus series as an up to date introduction to the flightly world of insects that has made them so successful in the world. There is an general index and a QR code to the author’s YouTube channel.

Book reviews, Conservation

A Wildflower a Day by Dr John Feltwell, 2026

A Wildflower a Day,  by Dr John Feltwell, published by Wildlife Matters. Publication  October 2026. 200pp.  ISBN 978-0-907970-05-7  Available from   john@wildlifematters.com 

Over 200 colour photographs by the author

Biodiversity bursts from this new book, as it brings to life many of the familiar wildflowers that we see (or used to see) in waysides, woodlands, hedgerows and gardens: a plant for every day of the year, whether it is a wildflower, a tree or a fern. The various insects (such as bees and moths), birds and mammals which are co-evolved with our wildflowers are described.  Mostly native species have been chosen, but now, in Britain there are more non-natives than natives, many from the Mediterranean. You will not find the invasive buddleia mentioned, but true British natives that still have a lot to offer foragers.

The Romans may have started this dribble of introduced species (with seeds in their sandals) but it has gathered a pace in more recent times. The book is for all those who just like wildflowers. There are a few botanical terms used, such as words for historic arrivals (archaeophytes) or more recent ones (neophytes) and definitions area provided. The maestro for bringing ordinary everyday wildflowers to everyone’s home was the Rev. Keeble Martin who used Common Names and Latin Names, as has been followed here, but strictly following best regarded botanical literature  – namely from Dr. Clive Stace of the New Flora of the British Isles.

With botanical quotes from Vita Sackville-West and William Robinson, through to Christopher Lloyd, Rachel de Thame and Fergus Garrett the book resonates to the lost wildflowers of the countryside. Inspiration has, as always been taken from the Impressionists view of the hot, sun-kissed landscape depicted by Van Gogh through to the amazing Hockney. There has been a systematic slide to an impoverishment of the wildflowers through the loss of habitats and this is discussed in the long introduction as part of the all-too-familiar Anthropocene. Each wildflower that is experiencing a population decline is indicated with a red arrow facing downwards. Some are rare, protected and Red Listed.

All the lost cornfield wildflowers have been included, once common, now gone in many cases. The many flowers known to Shakespeare are described, so too the strewing herbs laid out in Tudor houses to deter pests. There are Cottage Garden wild plants of herbaceous borders included, as well as plants from which to make snuff.  Conservationists will be delighted that lots of the typical wildflowers that are  ‘Ancient Woodland Indicators’ in Britain, are all listed with the notation: AWI.

So, biodiversity underlies the whole of the book, where wildflowers support a huge range of wildlife especially foragers.

The book has a Glossary, an Index of Common names and Latin names, References and Further Information. There are over 200 colour photographs, all from the author.

Published by Wildlife Matters       200pp    £15    available from the author  john@wildlifematters.com + pp.

                       Typical entries

 

About the Author:

Dr. John Feltwell has many books published with well-known publishers and through his own publishing house: Wildlife Matters.

His expertise as a scientist cuts across many disciplines as he is a professional botanist, zoologist, and conservationist fascinated by environmental law

 

ends

Conservation

Planning for Nature by Simon Marsh 2026

Planning for Nature: fighting to Defend Special Places for Wildlife. By Simon Marsh. London, Pelagic Publishing. Paperback, ISBN 978-1-7827-664-5   240pp  £29.99

 

 The author is a Town Planner who used to be Head of Nature Protection at RSPB, so I, as an all-round ecologist, looked up Great Crested Newts (GCNs) in the Index only to find Great Crested Grebes (and nothing on Newts). However, the book is not entirely bird-centric. Some people regard planning issues revolve entirely around GCNs, and they often do. Bats are not indexed either, even though they regulate much of the planning system, like badgers too (not indexed).

 But a lot of the big conservation infrastructure battles have been about birds on SPAs, Ramsars, SSSIs and Ancient Woodlands as with nightingales (Lodge Hill, Kent). The little creatures that run the world are not missed out in this book and Buglife-the Invertebrate Conservation Trust are often quoted (they support the book to), and of course some small insects have disrupted and dismissed some developments, such as the Distinguished Jumping Spider (Swanscombe) or the Fonteca’s Seed Fly (Coul Links).

 What the author brings to the pages is his experience from two sides of the table, from defending nature, and arbitrating on major construction challenges. He does not represent developers who have different agendas. However, he balances the arguments perfectly by breaking down the main topics discussed into a sort of framework as if a legal Case Study: The scheme, the Ecological case, the Planning Process, the Decision, Lessons (learnt). This reviewer comes from a background as an independent ecologist, who sees LPAs, Developers, Natural England and Ecologists point of view. It is interesting to note how RSPB and Natural England can disagree amongst themselves, and that he reminds us that the birth of Natural England from English Nature was regarded as by some as somewhat watered down. Not a full emasculation.

On the birth of the NPPF (2010) it is fascinating to learn that he and three other experts were essentially put in a room to come up with some sort of guidance. They succeeded, and indeed it was only guidance for nine years until the publication of the Environment Act 2021 he says. Tens of thousands of planning application hang weekly in the balance on the nuances of wording of paragraphs, even single words, in the NPPF. Some developers dismiss the NPPF as non-statutory. All participants in the planning process are acutely involved with outcomes from reading the NPPF.

 The author has chosen as his test cases the ones that most people have heard of that fall into the following chapters: airports, seaports, rail, roads, housing, minerals and leisure, coastal planning, wind, tidal and nuclear. What is perhaps so useful for readers is his deep perception of planning issues, which are rapped up in chapters on policy, principles and how to get involved. He is an advocate of ‘good spatial planning’.  HS2 is dealt with thoroughly and he admits that he is selective in what stories he tells.

 

If someone else wrote this book from a different background (developer, landscape architect, ecologist), other cases could have been forensically broken down into how they lost or won, and the book could be a composite of say 600+ pages. I know of no other book that has attempted to this review of key cases, so it is valuable to read his methodical interpretation of events.

 As a Town Planner the author has sat through so many inquiries and read so many reports, and he is a stickler for policy. If a LPA has a policy, it should stick to it he maintains. His mantra is tied up in the RSPB’s (2013) 12-point Spatial Policy, quoted as an Appendix (the only Appendix).  The book is replete with many chapter references, which are excellent.  Incidentally, he is proud that when he was a Town Planner he masterminded the Queen Mother’s Stand at Aintree. He wants you to acknowledge that when you see it.  In the same vein (I would say) if an ecologist or landscape architect looked back on their work, the hedgerows put in, and woodlands created, and ponds created, can all be viewed by satellite as testament to their work, in their lifetime too, and from the comfort of an armchair!  Of the proposed Oxford-Cambridge expressway his often-cited comments are that people need to be engaged early on in the project. Many of these large projects are lumped into what he calls ‘The Big Idea’. He has a note for the energies of even nature conservation bodies trying to stop these Big Ideas, sometimes they are successful (Dibden Bay, M4 relief road, Seven Tidal Power) and sometimes not (HS2, Forth and Tay Windfarms). Green Belt is kicked into touch as ‘strictly a planning designation, not a landscape or environmental one’.  Where two new towns were planned, he cautioned that Milton Keynes took 50 years to build, so take care.

 I like his enthusiasm for all planning maps to incorporate all nature conservation areas, so that all developers know where is sensitive to nature of not. As he says ‘planners find it hard to deal with the concept of natural capital’. How right he is!  He cautions about collecting signatures, and even if you get a reading in Parliament, beware no action may result. Stick to policies. RSPB he reminds us can usually take on two case a year. Local enthusiasm for nature, such as bird boxes and hedgerow holes in fences, is what he refers to as the bottom of his ‘casework pyramid’ of dealing with planning applications, he says ‘these actions aren’t directly related to planning’.. though he goes on to say the builders Barratts have erected hundreds of swift boxes.  I am beginning to think he is rather more a planner than an ‘avid bird birdwatcher’ as he claims.  He may well have been a rare, perceptive planner in this regard.

 Overall, a great book and a first step to further disclosures from different disciplines. With a protected species, a mechanical digger and habitat destruction on the front cover, it is a balanced review of the current anthropogenic effects on nature by a birdwatcher. 

Book reviews, Conservation

Ancient Tree Explorer by Julian Hight, 2026

 

 The Ancient Tree Explorer: guide to Britain’s Heritage Trees and Forests.  By Julian Hight. Bath, Wild Things Publishing Ltd. 2026. £18.99 288pp.

 It took the author 20 years to visit and gather together this remarkable compilation of some of the most veritable trees in Britain. It is a stunning photographic book to over 300 trees all photographed in their ungainly and twisted twilight years throughout the kingdom (broken down into ten regions) –  where they have stood strong to the vagaries of man’s treatment to the original ancient forests, deer parks and hunting lodges that weather has thrown at them over the millenia. These trees are masters of survival in the face of everything. Hight has done an excellent job highlighting these astonishing vestiges of our countryside. This compilation is a first. A masterpiece.

The author Chairs the Wessex Ancient Tree forum and knows a thing or two about old Veteran and Ancient trees. Each of the stunning photos is supported by a local history he has through records, books, gravestones and historical accounts. There is often an interesting back story to each tree, given they have seen it all. The idea of the book being an ‘explorer; is that it can be used to go and visit these trees where possible. It has a special tough cover for use in the field. The author has indicated if Public Footpaths are present, together with map references. Most people will know a handful of these fantastic wizen trees, but it may come as a big surprise that there are so many of them lurking in country estates, relics of old woodlands and inhospitable coastal habitats; it is unlikely that most people are aware of so many of these fantastic trees, often living isolated lives – a magnificent exposeé of the tenacity of trees in the face of everything, even the Anthropocene. 

A lot of the old and gnarled trees are English Oak that have become the fabric of villages, and old yews of numerous churchyards. But there are many fabulous twisted Sweet Chestnut resplendent in old age and tall beeches. The more west you go the mosses and lichens decorate many an old tree, such as the diminutive oaks of the Dizzard or Wistman’s wood mysteriousness on Dartmoor. We learn of champion trees, our own Atlantic rainforest trees, the oldest or tallest trees in Britain, lapsed pollards, maiden trees, submerged forests, and trees where all sorts of goings-on have happened. They have seen it all before. And now it is your turn to share their quirkiness in old age. This book is special to all who love trees.

Book reviews, Conservation

‘Small Mustelids’… by Jenny MacPherson

Stoats, Weasels, Martens & Polecats: A Natural History of British & Irish Small Mustelids. Number 149 in The New Naturalist Library, by Jenny MacPherson. 2024. 375pp. ISBN  978-0-00-833493-2.  £65 Hardback with Dust Cover.

Written by the go-to expert on Pine Martens, Dr Jenny MacPherson gained her PhD at Royal Holloway College, London where she fell under the influence of leading mammalogist Pat Morris who encouraged her to write this book. She had earlier seen ‘the most beautiful animal’ she had ever seen in Scotland when badger-watching when a weasel appeared. That provided the original spark. (I too gained a PhD from Holloway, and was similarly encouraged by Pat, but in a different direction.)  This is a hefty tome which goes to extraordinary lengths to discuss everything every scientist seems to know about these small mustelids; some such as weasels and stoat have complete global distribution east to west across the whole of the northern hemisphere. Impressive conquerors. Only interrupted, and expanded, by their transport to New Zealand where they changed the balance of nature unintentionally. The book does not include details on the larger mustelid cousins Badger and Otter which are adequately dealt with in other books. Nor of the Wolverine, so these ferocious mustelid mammals remind me of the seriously blood-curdling ferocious Tasmanian Devil and the Quolls, which are carnivorous marsupials from down under. The northern hemisphere Wolverine is not described as this book is all about the smaller mustelids. And a great book it is though. Incidentally, the only Wolverine in Sussex is a pelt in Rudyard Kipling’s study; so at least Kipling was up to speed on one impressive mustelid, which maybe it tempered his writing. There is a lot in this book. It is arranged in thirteen chapters from all the information about the origin of weasels (including a ‘Meet the Weasels’ chapter) right through to mythology and mysteries to do with mustelids; mustelids  seem to have got everywhere in texts from cave paintings to the present. Fascinating details have been revealed. I am not sure one would not like to meet some mustelids face to face (well mammalogists excepted), as they always have business to attend to, as highly-honed killers. They have been killed relentlessly for their ermine and tails (a nice photographic chapter on mustelids in portraiture from Leonardo to the royal’s penchant for ermine) and they have been hung and tallied on gamekeepers gibbets to the verge of extinction. The winter whiteness in coat colour is well described and illustrated and the differences evolved in Ireland well explained. The book is to the very high standard expected of any NNL series, and is generously illustrated in colour and black and white, with scientific and general indexes and references. This is a worthy coveted tome which will be ferociously gobbled up by students, naturalists and general public who will want to know everything about this lively group of successful exciting mustelids which have carved out a perfect niche in nature.  Let them thrive. The book is a masterpiece.  John Feltwell

 

Conservation

David Attenborough’s 100th birthday

With DAVID ATTENBOROUGH’S  100th birthday in May local naturalist and scientist Dr John Feltwell recalls crossing paths with the great broadcaster.

The first time I was involved with Attenborough must have been in the mid 80s when I was a paid researcher to provide wildlife information about the Mediterranean; wildlife events and locations for shooting etc. as I know a certain amount about the western end of the Mediterranean.  Attenborough’s The First Eden, The Mediterranean World and Man was published in 1987.

In 1995 I wrote to Attenborough suggesting that I write his biography, and he replied that he was flattered and that ‘I intend to have a go at it myself sometime.’

That Autobiography never materialised. Instead, Attenborough published his ‘David Attenborough Life on Air Memoire of a Broadcaster (2002).  As I recall, the critics said that book did not offer information on his upbringing or early life.  Attenborough did list his earliest books, from Zoo Quest to Guiana (1956) to Paraguay (1959) and to Madagascar (1961). This was a time when collecting animals on expeditions for zoos moved towards the conservation of animals in their own habitat. And so, Attenborough’s career moved seamlessly into bringing wildlife into our homes. So successfully.

But he had been busy on another book, ‘The Private Life of Plants, A Natural History of Plant Behaviour (1995). In that, I provided a dozen photographs including the Frontispiece, as well as photos of dodder and close-ups of pin and thrum primroses, and a dramatic aerial shot of Bedgebury Arboretum with trees flattened following the 1987 hurricane.

There was a time when I met Attenborough by chance on the Tube when I was on my way to shoot the various tropical paintings by Marianne North, daughter of the Liberal MP for Hastings, but that is another story.

A paper cutting from The Times (Jan 4, 2002) said that Saba Douglas-Hamilton ‘has been chosen as the successor to David Attenborough as the nation’s foremost wildlife presenter’ but that has not happened, and she is now mostly promoting the conservation of elephants in Africa. More recently Chris Packham has been in the frame, but it unlikely that anyone will ever replace the great breadth and experience of Attenborough.

John Feltwell

 

Book reviews, Conservation

Future Rural – CPRE 2026

Future Rural, Imaging Tomorrow’s Countryside. Editor Adrian Cooper. 2026. Little Toller Books.  218pp. ISBN 978-1-915068-57-6.. This is an ‘uncorrected proof’ copy. From 28 April: Hardback. £25 

 The CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England) has become of age, at least now that it is a 100 years old. This is not a prospectus of their way ahead. Instead it has offered an indulgence to 33 ‘contributors’ to write about their feelings of the countryside and how it has moulded their expectations, with a few nostalgic photos. The photos show earliest days or impressionistic landscapes of remembered pasts; they generally do not add a lot to the text, as they are small and not always very good. This is an ‘Uncorrected Proof’ that I am reviewing here, so this might be sorted in later revisions. The CPRE have moved from use of the words ‘Council’ to ‘Campaign’ and from ‘Preservation’ to ‘Protection’ reflecting new beliefs. Preserving the countryside is clearly not a sound policy as the countryside is always changing and one would not want to preserve what has become stark and ugly and not biodiverse.  The CPRE’s campaigns remain the same, trying to check the gross loss of the countryside and the anthropmorphic effects on nature, including the decline of flora and fauna (anthropocene). CPRE like to oppose solar farms in favour of PVs on factory roofs, but they have warmed in recent years to embracing biodiverse solar farms. Michael Morpugo writes a Foreword from deepest rural England estolling the virtues of wide open landscapes, hedges, sheep and how children will grow up to ‘becoming the greatest protectors’ of the countryside. Of th 33 contributors, and those who work for CPRE are noted naturalists, such as Richard Mabey who provides a potted history of his life between his beloved Chilterns and North Norfolk coast, Isabella Tree with her special rewilding experiences at Knepp, to Guy Shrubsole, environmental campaigner and author of the Lost Rainforests of Britain and his revealing book on who owns what land.  There are quite a few academics and directors of nature reserves who have done their bit for nature conservation, or have written plenty of nature books. Clearly they are all sympathetic of ‘preservation’ whatever that really means (not preserving everything in aspic), Fiona Reynolds giving her experience with the National Trust, Cambridge University and private landowners. All have a different take on the way the land is managed and proportioned and how wildlife tries, or is enabled to fit in to an every reducing and constrained optimal habitat. Generally nature and wildlife come off badly with such competing aims of everybody. Of course commentary on sustainability and the effects of climate change have been discussed. However there is no summary of all views or chapter to demonstrate how the CPRE’s campaign has been going. There is no index which is a pity. The only colour for the future, or indeed, in the book, is the cover, which acknowledges our current countryside gay with yellow fields of Oilseed Rape, ploughed fields, walkers, joggers and sheep in fields, and, last but not least people working allotments, with raised beds to come face to face with the fruits of the land.  They show swifts screaming over the yellow fields as something to remember right now. Enjoy it while it lasts, when swifts are experiencing a 57% decline, and House Martins a 47% decline.  It all paints a jolly picture of life on the land in 2026 acknowledging  intensive agriculture alongside man. It is not getting better. That is the pessimistic view.  UK, we have a problem. CPRE do their best. Their mission.

 

 

 

 

 

Book reviews, Conservation

NUTS about the Rainforest…Brazil Nut… Lisboa & Prance, 2026

Nuts About The Rainforest, The Brazil Nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) its role in the ecology, ethnobotany, and economy of Amazonian Brazil with an emphasis on the indigenous peoples. By Pedro B.L. Lisboa and Ghillean T. Prance. Published by Redfern Natural History Productions Ltd. 2026.  484pp  with dustjacket.

 A huge amount of time, energy and decades of exploration in the Amazon rainforest has gone into this magnificent work, compiled by two authors. The first is Pedro Lisboa who was Director at the Goeldi Museum in Belem, and Professor Sir Iain Prance who was Director of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew 1988-1999. Both love trees; particularly this one. Between them they have published 43 books and about 700 scientific papers. For a while, Sir Iain seemed to be forever in Amazonia since he clocked up 39 expeditions and collected over 350 new species of plant; a rare and superlative record for field botany in the thick of it. He has 15 honorary doctorates.

But this tome is almost as heavy as the fruit of the tree that they have compiled, the Brazil Nut. So why this species?  The answer is because it is simply the ‘greatest symbol of sustainability and conservation in the Amazon Basin’. It certainly is distinctive and magnificent, an ‘eye-stopper’, towering over other vegetation, growing on a straight trunk and flowering amongst the canopy, 20-30 metres up. This is a killer nut, the size of a child’s head, that has claimed several lives and fractured skulls.

The nut is made of hard wood, and its evolutionary origin is fascinating, perhaps being so hard to avoid the ravaging skills of the megapods before man evolved, or simply to deter large herbivores, or both: a consequence of evolution.  The nut has a lid which detatches to allow the fruits to tumble out, and the whole fruit is a pyxidium, a device also shared by the delicate and humble Scarlet Pimpernel.

Cracking the nut in the wild has been achieved in a symbiotic relationship with the agouti  – the main disperser – which helps to spread the species. This rodent has such strong teeth it can gnaw its way to the softer centre of the nut. This is coevolution at it is best.  The nut it nutritious for indigenous peoples and explorers alike, for instance saving Humboldt men from starvation when they came up the Orinoco into Amazonia.

Pollination of the flowers is done by strong-bodied bees of five genera, able to fly up to 20km, thus increasing gene flow and ensuring good genetic variability. Germination takes a while; when Kew tried germinating the whole capsule it took up to six years to get a few seeds to germinate out of the pericarp. In the wild the hard nuts can lie around in the leaf litter for a few years before germination.

Knowledge of the Bazil nut came late to Europeans; the first mention being Carolus Clusius (1526-1609) who established it in Leiden, Netherlands. But this book digs very deep into its origins of the Brazil nut in the ordinary lives of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. There are 331 indigenous lands in the ‘Legal Amazonia’, of an increasing population (730K in 2022), and most collect Brazil nut as part of their diet, usage (i.e. matting) and for sale. The authors describe the nut productivity of indigenous peoples along all the main river basins. There is no other book that has meticulously catalogued the profit and loss accounts, and vagaries of the world trade in these nuts. The book thus presents historical, ecological, anthropomphic information and commercial data on the species. It is no wonder that Robin Hanbury-Tenison, Founder of Survival International, has endorsed the book.

The nut crop is so important that models have been worked up to show that of the indigenous people could produce 34,608 tons of Brazil nuts a year, as an reliable economic gain. This has been worked out as a means of proving that this reliance of one single food source may restrain the progressive loss of the rainforest by preserving and conserving rainforest. After the nut have been taken from the wooden capsule a modern usage of the capsules has been to make organic bioplastics.

Harvesting of nuts is done from existing rainforest trees, so the harvest is entirely sustainable. We learn than there are no plantations in the Amazon, that there are great swathes without the species, and that its origin is a little obscure, there are conundrums and enigmas and false declarations and there is a lack of fossils which is an evolutionary botanical mystery.

These two botanists have ‘cracked’ the story of Brazil nuts…..yes, they have become nuts about the nuts on this botanical literary expedition. There is nothing quite like this botanical masterpiece on such a key rainforest species. The book has many colour photographs, and there is a General Index, Index of Scientific Names, Index of Indigenous tribes cited, and  a Glossary.

 Every botanical and ethnobotanical library in the world should have a copy.