With the very-Victorian subtitle "Being an Examination of Collecting, with an Account of the Careers and the Methods of a Number of Those Who have Searched the World for Wild Plants," this classic book first published in 1970 is an excellent introduction to the great early plant explorers -- and the origins of some popular garden plants. The rather old-fashioned author, who wrote a dozen books for adults and children mostly about botany, was a born storyteller and his tales of collecting in Yunnan, Patagonia and the Himalayas make for fascinating reading.  (NAT29, $16.95)