Nature’s Palette

David Lee

Nature’s Palette is a highly illustrated, immensely entertaining exploration of the science of plant colour. Beginning with potent reminders of how deeply interwoven plant colours are with human life and culture – from the shifting hues that told early humans when fruit and vegetables were ready to eat, to the indigo dyes that signified royalty for later generations. David Lee moves easily through the details of pigments, the evolution of colour perception, the nature of light and dozens of other topics. Through a narrative peppered with anecdotes of a life spent pursuing botanical knowledge around the world, he reveals the profound ways that efforts to understand and exploit plant colour have influenced the sphere of human life, and continue to do so.

This book achieves great balance, full of wonders and wondering, in which the scientific, the personal, the poetic and the historical come together in a delightful and easy read.