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We followed an ancient camel track and look what it took us to - the finest desert hyacinths I've ever seen (Cistanche deserticola). The local people said they opened today: they came out for us.

A master of camouflage: seen today in the Mongolian Desert.

The Mongolian Desert is full of curiosities. Among the strangest is Cynomorium, which forces its red fists through the sand. Here it is a much-valued plant, harvested sustainably by locals, to treat stomach complaints.

We came across an enormous eagles' nest. It's quite close to the ground because, as the local people said quite rightly: 'no choice!'

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We took bikes into the heart of the Inner Mongolian desert to meet local families who harvest medicinal herbs sustainably. I found rare plants, sunshine and kindness there.

Rou cong rong, or 'meat ginseng', is a herb harvested here for Traditional Chinese Medicine that looks like something out of Hogwarts. Its fat, scaly stems - used here as a tonic for strength - resemble snakes.

The largest Rou cong rong (a traditional medicinal herb) I saw conjured out of the sand here in the Mongolian Desert was the size of a python. Truly extraordinary.

The purpose of my latest expedition was to meet local farmers growing herbs used in herbal medicine sustainably. Desert hyacinth (Rou Cong Rong/Cistanche deserticola) has potential as a future food in a changing climate - it's summoned out of the sand as if by magic. I learned

The curious life forms of suǒ yáng 锁阳 (Cynomorium), seen last week in the Mongolian Desert and much celebrated there as a medicinal plant used to treat stomach complaints. Suǒ yáng has a unique history of use in treating a whole host of ills, including 'sexual problems'. A

Sometimes I see so much natural beauty on my expeditions it can be hard to make sense of at the time. I try to make sense of it visually with photos, and later, through art. Here is a collection of some of the many 'desert hyacinths' (Cistanche spp.) I found in the Inner

Today my konjac (Amorphophallus konjac) flowered. This plant is as sinister as it looks: it fills the air with the stench of rotting meat to attract the type of insects that normally visit carcasses. It imprisons them, and then enslaves them as pollinators.

Our sapphire tower (Puya alpestris) blossomed today for the first time in five years. It is native to the Chilean Andes where its flowers - an improbable shade of blue - are visited by birds.

A watercolour illustration of Nepenthes stenophylla I've just completed:

Today on a sun-soaked slab in the south of Italy, I found wild leeks (Allium ampeloprasum); their stems were like swans' necks, craning to see the sun 🌞

Today on a roadside in southern Italy, I found picris broomrape (Orobanche picridis), a rare parasitic plant that sends up ambitious spears of white blossom. It is my gift to conjure these plants out of the earth wherever I go 💫

Here are samples of 'meat ginseng' (Cistanche deserticola) I saw on an expedition to the Inner Mongolian desert last month. These curious forms are the underground stems of a herb harvested for Traditional Chinese Medicine. The fat, scaly stems - used as a tonic for strength -

Some pitcher plants of Borneo I have just finished illustrating in pen and ink:

We deep-dived into the genomes of water lilies to see how some produce enormous leaves: