• ISBN13: 9781399405676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Subject: N/A
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Wildlife
• Publisher Imprint: Bloomsbury Wildlife
• Publication Date: October 28, 2025
• Pages: 272
• Original Price: GBP 20.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 454 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Plants / General, Animals / General, and Natural History

Meet the rare, obscure, and utterly British species found nowhere else on earth.

Around 70,000 species call Britain home, but how many of them can be found here and only here? Join conservationist James Harding-Morris as he uncovers the stories of our endemic wildlife - the plants, animals and fungi that are unique to these islands.

Determined to give these irreplaceable species their moment in the spotlight, James goes in search of them across the length and breadth of Britain, from wild and rugged Orkney, the only known location for the Orkney vole, down to suburban Plymouth where the horrid ground-weaver spider faces global extinction at the hands of developers. He explores Devon's depths on the hunt for ghostly cave shrimp, seeks out alien fungi on Norfolk roadsides, and traces the tribulations of interrupted brome, the grass that has gone extinct not once, but twice.

Along the way, he meets the experts devoted to the study and survival of these vanishingly rare creatures and plants, individuals working tirelessly - and often single-handedly - to save them from the brink of global extinction. Because many of these species are at risk of disappearing forever, before most of us have even realised they exist.

A tapestry of wonder and weirdness, tragedies and triumphs, Endemic celebrates what makes our natural history so special and calls on us all to cherish and protect it.

James Harding-Morris is a passionate nature enthusiast with a lifelong love for exploring the natural world. Professionally, he specialises in communications and engagement within the conservation sector. His work on the Back from the Brink project has inspired many to care about some of England's rarest and most obscure species. Currently, James is on a mission to ensure that everyone in Britain and Ireland has the opportunity to fall in love with plants through his work with the BSBI.