by Hope B. Werness
Product price excludes shipping, calculated at checkout
Weaving together botany, mythology, folklore, religious texts, and centuries of art and literature, this richly illustrated, elegant reference guide engages with the cultural significance and meanings of over fifty plants.
Each entry is accompanied by a work of art or botanical illustration, bringing together the world of art and plants in a seamless fashion and deepening our understanding of how plants have been used by artists in the past and what they mean to us today.
The Secret Language of Plants, Art Nature & Symbolism is a wonderful edition to any art history reader's collection. Finished in hardback, this premium publication truly delivers both a comprehensive and illuminating study on some of the most significant artists and artistic movements in art history, and the plants of our earthly world that inspired them.
Features 400 illustrations of artworks.
From early Egyptian reverence for the acacia and the lotus, to the Victorian language of flowers and the works of Vincent van Gogh and Georgia O'Keeffe, we have long sought meaning in nature. Significance has often been ascribed to particular plants, referencing their uses as food or medicine, their associations with saints and heroes, or more abstract or aesthetic qualities like fortitude, beauty and strength.
Hope B. Werness is an Art Historian specializing in non-Western and modern European art. She has taught for over thirty years at California State University, Stanislaus.
Hardback
Book contains 240 pages
Dimensions: 22.9 x 17.7 x 2.9 cm
Shipping to United States of America is currently suspended for the foreseeable future.
The de minimus exemption for orders under $800 going to USA ended on Friday 29 August 2025. Please bear with us while we update our systems to accommodate the new tariffs and duties.
Our Pickup service is a convenient way for you to order online and collect your purchase in person at the Museum. Simply select the Pickup option at checkout.
The Online Shop team operates between Monday-Friday 10:00-16:00, so please allow time for us to prepare your order for collection or delivery, particularly at busy times of the year. We aim to have your order ready for collection/delivery within 72 hours.
UK 1st Class: delivery 2-5 business days from dispatch
Europe: approximately 3-11 business days from dispatch (customs clearance may cause delays)
Rest of World: approximately 3-11 business days from dispatch (customs clearance may cause delays)
Please be aware that orders to International addresses may be subject to local customs duty or taxes. You will need to pay any additional charges for customs clearance, charges include local VAT and duty based on the value and origin of the product.
There is 5kg weight restriction for UK orders, and a 2kg weight restriction for International orders. If your order exceeds this weight, please contact the Online Shop team so that we can organise a quote for special delivery: onlineshop@ashmus.ox.ac.uk
Further information on our delivery options and returns policy can be found in Shipping & Returns.
The profit from your purchases helps fund the running, collection and care of the Ashmolean Museum, which is free to enter and offers more than 1000 tours, workshops and lectures each year. By shopping with us today, you are helping support everything that we do.
© 2026 University Of Oxford.
All Rights Reserved.
