This stunning book of photographs by Robyn Stacey, one of Australia's greatest photographers, is the first of its kind. Together with essayist, Ashley Hay, they throw open the closed doors of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney herbarium, and reveal the secret history of Australia's flora. Herbarium tells fascinating stories about the nature of collecting, those who collected, what they collected and when, and the scientific background to each of the specimens. A glossary of botanical descriptions provides a unique link between the specimens and their collectors, and exquisite photographs of the botanical specimens - some now extinct - comprise a collection of rare beauty.