For readers of Prof. Maura Flannery’s superb long-running blog on the subject of herbaria, the simple statement “Prof. Maura Flannery has written a book on the history of herbaria” is a sufficient declaration to cause a run on copies at bookshops across the land. However for those not already among the readers of her blog, I hope these humble words I’ve here assembled will cause both regular readership of it as well as a run to your local bookshop.