Captivating, beautiful, incredibly diverse and often elusive, orchids can be found in nearly all environments, ranging from sea level to an elevation of almost 5,000 metres.

Victorian plant hunters scoured the globe for new species to bring back for botanical gardens and private collectors; "orchidmania" among gardeners was born and persists to this day. Enhanced with notes and letters held in Kew's archives and illustrations by artists such as John Day and Sarah Drake, this is an exceptionally beautiful book on an extraordinary plant.