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An ocean garden : the secret life of seaweed

Josie Iselin celebrates the unexpected beauty of seaweed, an often overlooked but fundamental aspect of ocean life. Produced on a flatbed scanner, Iselin's vibrant portraits of ocean flora reveal the exquisite colour and extraordinary forms of more than two hundred specimens gathered from tidal pools along the California and Maine coasts. Her engaging text, which accompanies the images, blends personal observation and philosophical musings with scientific fact. Like her previous books, An Ocean Garden, The Secret Life of Seaweed is a poetic and compelling tribute to the natural world and the wonder it evokes.

The curious world of seaweed

Marine algae are the supreme eco-engineers of life: they oxygenate the waters, create habitat for countless other organisms, and form the base of a food chain that keeps our planet unique in the universe as we know it. In this beautiful volume Josie Iselin explores both the artistic and the biological presence of sixteen seaweeds and kelps that live in the thin region where the Pacific Ocean converges with the North American continent-a place of incomparable richness. Each species receives a detailed description of its structure, ecological importance, and humans' scientific inquiry into it, told in scientifically illuminating yet deeply reverent and inspired prose. Throughout the writings are historical botanical illustrations and Iselin's signature, Marimekko-like portraits of each specimen that reveal their vibrant colors-whether rosy, "olivaceous, " or grass-green-and whimsical shapes. Iselin posits that we can learn not only about the seaweeds but also from them: their resilience, their resourcefulness, their poetry and magic.

An ocean garden : the secret life of seaweed / Josie Iselin