The lure of the tropics is covered, including its diversity of plant species, brilliance of colors, leaf shapes, and forms: as illustrated two centuries apart in the paintings and writings of "exploratrices intrépides" Marianne North and Margaret Mee; from within the lush, personal paradise at Villa Pancha in the Dominican Republic, one of Asia's oldest botanic gardens, Keban Raya in Indonesia; and Hawaii's youngest, Ho'omaluhia on Oahu.
