Authors: Maddie and Alice Bailey
A monstera’s holes, a calathea’s moving leaves and a fern’s preference for humidity may seem like ordinary botanical quirks, but “The Hidden Histories of Houseplants” makes a persuasive case that there is a much bigger story behind houseplants.
Written by sisters Maddie and Alice Bailey and published by Hardie Grant Books’ imprint Quadrille Publishing, the 2021 work explores the histories of 20 of the world’s most familiar houseplants.
As a plant parent with over 50 houseplants of my own, I found this book to be the perfect bedtime read, something to wind down with at the end of the day. Beautifully illustrated throughout, it carries the appeal of a botanical reference work without making it feel like one.
It is not a conventional plant-care book that will tell you when to water your Pilea peperomioides without causing leaf drops, nor is it simply a catalogue of botanical facts.
Instead, the Baileys use familiar plants as entry points into larger stories about the natural world and our changing relationship with it. They trace the plants’ journeys into our homes through science, social history, art, politics, fashion and culture.
Something that makes this work worth perusing is its ability to take houseplants that may seem ordinary because of familiarity and make them intriguing again.
Why does it grow the way it does? What did humans once make of it? And how did a plant adapted to one environment end up becoming a fixture of homes thousands of kilometers away?
And so, a pothos vine trailing from a bookshelf or a Ficus elastica, or rubber tree, unfurling in a sunny corner suddenly feels less ordinary, once its histories and adaptations hidden in plain sight are brought into sharper focus.
Learning why Monstera deliciosa develops holes in its leaves, for instance, transforms it’s iconic feature into a question of adaptation and survival.
Elsewhere, it looks at why some begonias have developed unusual ways of capturing light, turning leaf shapes into examples of evolutionary ingenuity.
The book also follows houseplants through botanical collecting, science, art and fashion, revealing the unlikely histories behind their place in our homes.
Nineteenth century British designer William Morris’ obsession with palms is traced to the Victorian fascination with exotic greenery to the houseplant culture of today.
One chapter unravels how ferns entered homes through glass containers used for botanical study, offering an unexpected history for the terrariums that now occupy shelves and windowsills.
These details in “The Hidden Histories of Houseplants” more than satisfy curiosity and give a glimpse into the marvels of the natural world around us.
If you are already a committed plant parent, the book offers plenty of new reasons to look more closely at plants you may think you know well. But you do not need to own a single houseplant to enjoy it.
