The somewhat forbidding title
of this work is "Aphrodite's Mouse Trap. A biography of Venus's Flytrap
with facsimiles of an original pamphlet and the manuscripts of John Ellis,
FRS". It's published by Boëthius Press, Aberyswyth, Wales in association
with the Bentham-Moxon Trust and the Linnean Society.
The bulk of this volume contains a facsimile of John Ellis' 1770 pamphlet with the even longer title "Directions for bringing over seeds and plants...to which is added, The Figure and Botanical description of a new Sensitive Plant, called Dionaea muscipula: or Venus's fly-trap". Ellis was a fellow of the Royal Society of London, a friend of Carolus Linnaeus, the Royal Agent for West Florida and Colonial Agent for Dominica. Yet, his place and date of birth remain unknown. Not even a portrait has survived!
The book starts with introductory chapters on Venus's Flytrap, including a long digression on the Latin name, and on the "discovery" of this bizarre, carnivorous plant in North America. But, as I already pointed out, most of it is a reprint of Ellis' previously mentioned pamphlet.
This book is probably suited for botany or natural history buffs, of the really hard core variety. A typical anachronistic library book! But sure, if you are a real enthusiast, you might get "honeytrapped" by it.
Four stars?
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