Botanica Magnifica ─ Portraits of the World's Most Extraordinary Flowers & Plants

Botanica Magnifica features two hundred and fifty stunning photographs by HasselbladLaureate Award winner Jonathan Singer, representingGCoin the words of an ARTnewscriticGCorare or exotic plants and flowers GC￡in large scale and exquisite detail, emergingfrom the shadows in a manner evocative of Old Master paintings.GC￥
The original edition of Botanica Magnifica, consisting of five lavishly hand-boundvolumes, was limited to just ten copies, the first of which was recently donated to theSmithsonian Institution. The extra-large GC￡double-elephantGC￥ format of that editionwas chosen in homage to the famous double-elephant folio of The Birds of America,and indeed, Botanica Magnifica is one of the few works of natural history ever to rivalAudubonGCOs magnum opus in its scope and artistry. In praise of the double-elephant folioof Botanica Magnifica, the SmithsonianGCOs Chairman of Botany attested, GC￡Everyone whohas seen the photographs . . . has been tremendously impressed with the power, scale,and depth of the work.GC￥
Now SingerGCOs remarkable images are available to the public for the first time in thisbaby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica. Like the larger edition, this volume is organizedinto five alphabetically arranged sections, each introduced by a gatefold page thatdisplays one extraordinary plant at a luxurious size. Each pictured plant is accompaniedby a clear and accessible description of its botany, geography, folklore, history, and conservation.
This volume is also available in a leatherbound, slipcased edition. With its marvelousreproductions and fascinating text, the baby-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica isone of the most impressive volumes of natural history ever published.

Jonathan Singer’s double-elephant folio of Botanica Magnifica is kept in the Cullman Rare Book Room at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. Dr. Singer was named a Hasselblad Laureate Award winner (2008) and Carl Linnaeus Silver Medalist from the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences (2009) based on his contribution marrying art with science, and to ?our perception and appreciation of the botanical world.” His many achievements include his appointment as Research Collaborator, Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

W. John Kress is a Curator of Botany and Research Scientist at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. He is the author of Abbeville’s The Weeping Goldsmith: Discoveries in the Secret Land of Myanmar and has written many articles on botany.

Marc Hachadourian is the Acting Manager of the Nolen Greenhouses for the New York Botanical Garden. He specializes in orchids, aquatics, bulbs, and alpines and is particularly interested in public awareness of global plant conservation and the appreciation of plant biodiversity.