A handy photographic identification guide to the 26 native plants that inhabit the fragile ecosystem of South Georgia, together with information on the island, its habitats and botanical exploration. The most distinctive introduced plants are also covered, and the threats posed by such species are reviewed.
Deirdre Galbraith grew up in the West of Scotland and following a childhood spent in the outdoors went on to study Medicine at the University of Glasgow and Biochemistry at Universite Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France. She first visited South Georgia in 2000 as an assistant guide on the Shackleton Crossing. In 2003 she undertook a botanical field project in the Husvik valley collecting live native plants for the creation of a sub-antarctic area at Dundee University Botanical Gardens and DNA samples for Jodrell Laboratories, Kew. This book is a direct result of the work carried out at that time. Now based on the Isle of Skye she alternates working as a Hebridean GP with pursuing a Masters in sports medicine. Her interest in polar and high altitude expedition work has allowed her to revisit South Georgia on several occasions.