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| a short history of a special plant: A Short History of the Plant Sciences Howard Sprague Reed, 1947 |
| a short history of a special plant: A Short History of Progress Ronald Wright, 2004 Each time history repeats itself, so it's said, the price goes up. The twentieth century was a time of runaway growth in human population, consumption, and technology, placing a colossal load on all natural systems, especially earth, air, and water — the very elements of life. The most urgent questions of the twenty-first century are: where will this growth lead? can it be consolidated or sustained? and what kind of world is our present bequeathing to our future?In his #1 bestseller A Short History of Progress Ronald Wright argues that our modern predicament is as old as civilization, a 10,000-year experiment we have participated in but seldom controlled. Only by understanding the patterns of triumph and disaster that humanity has repeated around the world since the Stone Age can we recognize the experiment's inherent dangers, and, with luck and wisdom, shape its outcome. |
| a short history of a special plant: Plant Life Frederick B. Essig, 2015 A chronological narrative of the evolution of photosynthetic organisms, with a focus on those that led to land-based plants. |
| a short history of a special plant: What a Plant Knows Daniel Chamovitz, 2012-05-22 Explores the secret lives of various plants, from the colors they see to whether or not they really like classical music to their ability to sense nearby danger. |
| a short history of a special plant: Plant the Tiny Seed Christie Matheson, 2017-01-24 How do you make a garden grow? In this playful companion to the popular Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star, you will see how tiny seeds bloom into beautiful flowers. And by tapping, clapping, waving, and more, young readers can join in the action! Christie Matheson masterfully combines the wonder of the natural world with the interactivity of reading. Beautiful collage-and-watercolor art follows the seed through its entire life cycle, as it grows into a zinnia in a garden full of buzzing bees, curious hummingbirds, and colorful butterflies. Children engage with the book as they wiggle their fingers to water the seeds, clap to make the sun shine after rain, and shoo away a hungry snail. Appropriate for even the youngest child, Plant the Tiny Seed is never the same book twice—no matter how many times you read it! And for curious young nature lovers, a page of facts about seeds, flowers, and the insects and animals featured in the book is included at the end. Fans of Press Here, Eric Carle, and Lois Ehlert will find their next favorite book in Plant the Tiny Seed. |
| a short history of a special plant: Marijuana John Hudak, 2020-06-30 From “Reefer Madness” to legal purchase at the corner store With long-time legal and social barriers to marijuana falling across much of the United States, the time has come for an accessible and informative look at attitudes toward the dried byproduct of Cannabis sativa. Marijuana: A Short History profiles the politics and policies concerning the five-leaf plant in the United States and around the world. Millions of Americans have used marijuana at some point in their lives, yet it remains a substance shrouded by myth, misinformation, and mystery. And nearly a century of prohibition has created an enforcement system that is racist, and the continuing effects of racially-targeted over criminalization limit economic and social opportunities in communities of color. Marijuana: A Short History tells this story, and that of states stepping up to enact change. This book offers an up-to-date, cutting-edge look at how a plant with a tumultuous history has emerged from the shadows of counterculture and illegality. Today, marijuana has become a remarkable social, economic, and even political force—with a surprising range of advocates and opponents. Over the past two decades marijuana policy has transformed dramatically in the United States, as dozens of states have openly defied the federal government. Marijuana: A Short History provides a brief yet compelling narrative that discusses the social and cultural history of marijuana but also tells us how a once-vilified plant has been transformed into a serious, even mainstream, public policy issue. Focusing on politics, the media, government, racism, criminal justice, and education, the book describes why public policy has changed, and what that change might mean for marijuana's future place in society. |
| a short history of a special plant: A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth Henry Gee, 2021-11-09 The Royal Society's Science Book of the Year [A]n exuberant romp through evolution, like a modern-day Willy Wonka of genetic space. Gee’s grand tour enthusiastically details the narrative underlying life’s erratic and often whimsical exploration of biological form and function.” —Adrian Woolfson, The Washington Post In the tradition of Richard Dawkins, Bill Bryson, and Simon Winchester—An entertaining and uniquely informed narration of Life's life story. In the beginning, Earth was an inhospitably alien place—in constant chemical flux, covered with churning seas, crafting its landscape through incessant volcanic eruptions. Amid all this tumult and disaster, life began. The earliest living things were no more than membranes stretched across microscopic gaps in rocks, where boiling hot jets of mineral-rich water gushed out from cracks in the ocean floor. Although these membranes were leaky, the environment within them became different from the raging maelstrom beyond. These havens of order slowly refined the generation of energy, using it to form membrane-bound bubbles that were mostly-faithful copies of their parents—a foamy lather of soap-bubble cells standing as tiny clenched fists, defiant against the lifeless world. Life on this planet has continued in much the same way for millennia, adapting to literally every conceivable setback that living organisms could encounter and thriving, from these humblest beginnings to the thrilling and unlikely story of ourselves. In A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth, Henry Gee zips through the last 4.6 billion years with infectious enthusiasm and intellectual rigor. Drawing on the very latest scientific understanding and writing in a clear, accessible style, he tells an enlightening tale of survival and persistence that illuminates the delicate balance within which life has always existed. |
| a short history of a special plant: The Plant Messiah Carlos Magdalena, 2017-06-01 Passionate, forthright and enthusiastic, Carlos Magdalena is a world-renowned horticulturist - known both for his charisma and his conservation work. The Plant Messiah follows Carlos' dreams and disappointments; from his days as a school boy in the death throes of General Franco's Fascist dictatorship, to his advent as The Plant Messiah at the forefront of conservation, backed by the reputation and resources of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and enthused by the potential that lies beyond. The book discloses for the first time the details behind his 'codebreaking' exploits and the secret stories behind his work; his genius, lateral thinking and steadfast belief that everything is possible. |
| a short history of a special plant: The Secret Life of Plants Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird, 2018-06-12 Once in a while you find a book that stuns you. Its scope leaves you breathless. This is such a book. — John White, San Francisco Chronicle Explore the inner world of plants and its fascinating relation to mankind, as uncovered by the latest discoveries of science. In this truly revolutionary and beloved work, drawn from remarkable research, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird cast light on the rich psychic universe of plants. The Secret Life of Plants explores plants' response to human care and nurturing, their ability to communicate with man, plants' surprising reaction to music, their lie-detection abilities, their creative powers, and much more. Tompkins and Bird's classic book affirms the depth of humanity's relationship with nature and adds special urgency to the cause of protecting the environment that nourishes us. |
| a short history of a special plant: Brilliant Green Stefano Mancuso, Alessandra Viola, 2015-03-12 In this book, a leading plant scientist offers a new understanding of the botanical world and a passionate argument for intelligent plant life. Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? For centuries, philosophers and scientists have argued that plants are unthinking and inert, yet discoveries over the past fifty years have challenged this idea, shedding new light on the complex interior lives of plants. In Brilliant Green, leading scientist Stefano Mancuso presents a new paradigm in our understanding of the vegetal world. He argues that plants process information, sleep, remember, and signal to one another-showing that, far from passive machines, plants are intelligent and aware. Part botany lesson, part manifesto, Brilliant Green is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.-- |
| a short history of a special plant: Latin for Gardeners Lorraine Harrison, 2012-10-12 Since Latin became the standard language for plant naming in the eighteenth century, it has been intrinsically linked with botany. And while mastery of the classical language may not be a prerequisite for tending perennials, all gardeners stand to benefit from learning a bit of Latin and its conventions in the field. Without it, they might buy a Hellebores foetidus and be unprepared for its fetid smell, or a Potentilla reptans with the expectation that it will stand straight as a sentinel rather than creep along the ground. An essential addition to the gardener’s library, this colorful, fully illustrated book details the history of naming plants, provides an overview of Latin naming conventions, and offers guidelines for pronunciation. Readers will learn to identify Latin terms that indicate the provenance of a given plant and provide clues to its color, shape, fragrance, taste, behavior, functions, and more. Full of expert instruction and practical guidance, Latin for Gardeners will allow novices and green thumbs alike to better appreciate the seemingly esoteric names behind the plants they work with, and to expertly converse with fellow enthusiasts. Soon they will realize that having a basic understanding of Latin before trips to the nursery or botanic garden is like possessing some knowledge of French before traveling to Paris; it enriches the whole experience. |
| a short history of a special plant: A Short History of the Honey Bee , 2009 Looks at the life cycle of honeybees, their funcion, and their impact on the environment, along with information on beekeeping and the collection of honey. |
| a short history of a special plant: Hybrid Noel Kingsbury, 2011-11-15 Noel Kingsbury reveals that even those imaginary perfect foods are themselves far from anything that could properly be called natural, rather, they represent the end of a millennia-long history of selective breeding and hybridization. Starting his story at the birth of agriculture, Kingsbury traces the history of human attempts to make plants more reliable, productive, and nutritiousa story that owes as much to accident and error as to innovation and experiment. Drawing on historical and scientific accounts, as well as a rich trove of anecdotes, Kingsbury shows how scientists, amateur breeders, and countless anonymous farmers and gardeners slowly caused the evolutionary pressures of nature to be supplanted by those of human needs and thus led us from sparse wild grasses to succulent corn cobs, and from mealy, white wild carrots to the juicy vegetables we enjoy today. At the same time, Kingsbury reminds us that contemporary controversies over the Green Revolution and genetically modified crops are not new, plant breeding has always had a political dimension.--Publisher's description. |
| a short history of a special plant: The Gardener's Botanical Ross Bayton, 2020-03-10 The definitive guide to botanical Latin Unlock the secrets of botanical Latin with this beautifully illustrated encyclopedia. The Gardener's Botanical contains definitions of more than 5,000 plant names—from abbreviatus (shortened) to zonatus (with bands)—along with more than 350 color illustrations. Scientific plant names are an invaluable tool for those who understand them. Formed from Greek and, more commonly, from Latin root words, not only do they make it possible for gardeners and botanists to communicate, they also contain a wealth of hidden information. The Gardener's Botanical is the key to unlocking these secrets. This guide contains a breathtaking array of botanical names in alphabetical order. Each word is listed with a pronunciation guide, definition, example plant, and, where appropriate, etymology. Also included in this illuminating guide are special features on important plant genera, fact boxes, essays focusing on the history and importance of Latin names and botanical illustrations, and an index of common names with more than 2,000 popular plants, cross-referenced with their binomial name in Latin. |
| a short history of a special plant: A Short History of the Civil War James L. Stokesbury, 2011-03-15 The Definitive One-Volume History of the American Civil War The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the pivotal conflict of the nation’s history. It was a war defined by savage brutality, untold human costs, and monumental political crises that left the literal and social landscape of the nation forever changed. One hundred fifty years later, it continues to hold a powerful grip on the American psyche. In A Short History of the Civil War, noted historian James L. Stokesbury dramatically and concisely chronicles the important events leading up to the war and, using maps, recounts its decisive battles while describing the strategies and tactics of the North’s and South’s prominent commanders. Drawing on fascinating details and little-known facts, Stokesbury also brings to life the generals—Grant, Lee, Hooker, McClellan, Jackson—and the unsung heroes of this great struggle between the Union and the Confederacy. |
| a short history of a special plant: Florapedia Carol Gracie, 2021-04-06 A delightful illustrated treasury of botanical facts and fancy Florapedia is an eclectic A–Z compendium of botanical lore. With more than 100 enticing entries—on topics ranging from achlorophyllous plants that use a fungus as an intermediary to obtain nutrients from other plants to zygomorphic flowers that admit only the most select pollinators—this collection is a captivating journey into the realm of botany. Writing in her incomparably engaging style, Carol Gracie discusses remarkable plants from around the globe, botanical art and artists, early botanical explorers, ethnobotanical uses of plants, botanical classification and terminology, the role of plants in history, and more. She shares illuminating facts about van Gogh's sunflowers and reveals how a hallucinogenic weed left its enduring mark on the early history of the Jamestown colony. Gracie describes the travels of John and William Bartram—father and son botanists and explorers who roamed widely in early America in search of plants—and delves into the miniature ecosystems entangled in Spanish moss. The book's convenient size allows for it to be tucked into a pocket or bag, making it the perfect companion on your own travels. With charming drawings by Amy Jean Porter, Florapedia is the ideal gift book for the plant enthusiast in your life and a rare pleasure for anyone interested in botanical art, history, medicine, or exploration. Features a real cloth cover with an elaborate foil-stamped design |
| a short history of a special plant: The Botanist's Repository Henry Charles Andrews, 1797 |
| a short history of a special plant: Thus Spoke the Plant Monica Gagliano, 2018-11-13 A research scientist’s fascinating study of plant communication reveals how we “have been misunderstanding plants, and ourselves, for all of history” (The Paris Review). “A compelling story of discovery . . . [that] will change the way you see the world”—for fans of The Hidden Life of Trees (Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass) In this “phytobiography”—a collection of stories written in partnership with a plant—research scientist Monica Gagliano shares genuine first-hand accounts from her research into plant communication and cognition. By transcending the view of plants as the objects of scientific materialism, Gagliano encourages us to rethink plants as people—beings with subjectivity, consciousness, and volition, and hence having the capacity for their own perspectives and voices. The book draws on up-close-and-personal encounters with the plants themselves, as well as plant shamans, indigenous elders, and mystics from around the world and integrates these experiences with an incredible research journey and the groundbreaking scientific discoveries that emerged from it. Gagliano has published numerous peer-reviewed scientific papers on how plants have a Pavlov-like response to stimuli and can learn, remember, and communicate to neighboring plants. She has pioneered the brand-new research field of plant bioacoustics, for the first time experimentally demonstrating that plants emit their own 'voices' and, moreover, detect and respond to the sounds of their environments. By demonstrating experimentally that learning is not the exclusive province of animals, Gagliano has re-ignited the discourse on plant subjectivity and ethical and legal standing. This is the story of how she made those discoveries and how the plants helped her along the way. |
| a short history of a special plant: Plant Lore and Legend Ruth Binney, 2019-02-13 From time immemorial, people have sought to understand the mysteries of the natural world, giving rise to a wealth of myths and legends connected to plant life. In addition to their imaginative appeal, these oral traditions offered practical advice about which flowers, trees, and plants could provide foods, remedies, and construction materials. This richly illustrated volume provides a treasury of ancient wisdom, exploring the sound principles behind traditional advice, along with a wealth of fanciful beliefs. Naturalist Ruth Binney recounts charming examples of floral symbolism, linking roses with romance, lilies with purity, and poppies with sleep. She examines tree lore and the association of trees with wisdom and knowledge, from the coveted crown of laurel awarded to ancient Greek poets and Roman generals to the palm branches presented to pilgrims returning from the Holy Land. A survey of the power of plants ranges from the rituals that ensure a good harvest and a newly married couple's fertility to the healing qualities of oil of cloves for toothache, cherries for gout, and aloe vera for burns. Abounding in fascinating facts and fancies, this absorbing compilation will captivate lovers of plants and gardens. |
| a short history of a special plant: Plant-Thinking Michael Marder, 2013-02-19 The margins of philosophy are populated by non-human, non-animal living beings, including plants. While contemporary philosophers tend to refrain from raising ontological and ethical concerns with vegetal life, Michael Marder puts this life at the forefront of the current deconstruction of metaphysics. He identifies the existential features of plant behavior and the vegetal heritage of human thought so as to affirm the potential of vegetation to resist the logic of totalization and to exceed the narrow confines of instrumentality. Reconstructing the life of plants after metaphysics, Marder focuses on their unique temporality, freedom, and material knowledge or wisdom. In his formulation, plant-thinking is the non-cognitive, non-ideational, and non-imagistic mode of thinking proper to plants, as much as the process of bringing human thought itself back to its roots and rendering it plantlike. |
| a short history of a special plant: Lives of the Trees Diana Wells, 2010-01-19 Diana Wells, author of 100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names now turns her attention to something bigger—our deep-rooted relationship with trees. As she investigates the names and meanings of trees, telling their legends and lore, she reminds us of just how innately bound we are to these protectors of our planet. Since the human race began, we have depended on them for food, shade, shelter and fuel, not to mention furniture, musical instruments, medicine utensils and more. Wells has a remarkable ability to dig up the curious and the captivating: At one time, a worm found in a hazelnut prognosticated ill fortune. Rowan trees were planted in churchyards to prevent the dead from rising from their graves. Greek arrows were soaked in deadly yew, and Shakespeare’s witches in Macbeth used “Gall of goat and slips of Yew” to make their lethal brew. One bristlecone pine, at about 4,700 years old, is thought to be the oldest living plant on earth. All this and more can be found in the beautifully illustrated pages (themselves born of birch bark!) of 100 Trees. |
| a short history of a special plant: Plant Evolution Karl J. Niklas, 2016-08-12 Although plants comprise more than 90% of all visible life, and land plants and algae collectively make up the most morphologically, physiologically, and ecologically diverse group of organisms on earth, books on evolution instead tend to focus on animals. This organismal bias has led to an incomplete and often erroneous understanding of evolutionary theory. Because plants grow and reproduce differently than animals, they have evolved differently, and generally accepted evolutionary views—as, for example, the standard models of speciation—often fail to hold when applied to them. Tapping such wide-ranging topics as genetics, gene regulatory networks, phenotype mapping, and multicellularity, as well as paleobotany, Karl J. Niklas’s Plant Evolution offers fresh insight into these differences. Following up on his landmark book The Evolutionary Biology of Plants—in which he drew on cutting-edge computer simulations that used plants as models to illuminate key evolutionary theories—Niklas incorporates data from more than a decade of new research in the flourishing field of molecular biology, conveying not only why the study of evolution is so important, but also why the study of plants is essential to our understanding of evolutionary processes. Niklas shows us that investigating the intricacies of plant development, the diversification of early vascular land plants, and larger patterns in plant evolution is not just a botanical pursuit: it is vital to our comprehension of the history of all life on this green planet. |
| a short history of a special plant: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate Peter Wohlleben, 2017-08-24 Sunday Times Bestseller‘A paradigm-smashing chronicle of joyous entanglement’ Charles Foster Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month (September) Are trees social beings? How do trees live? Do they feel pain or have awareness of their surroundings? |
| a short history of a special plant: Wonders of the Plant Kingdom Wolfgang Stuppy, Rob Kesseler, Madeline Harley, 2015-02-23 Compared to the obvious complexity of animals, plants at a glance seem relatively simple in form. But that simplicity is deceptive: the plants around us are the result of millennia of incredible evolutionary adaptations that have allowed them to survive, and thrive, under wildly changing conditions and in remarkably specific ecological niches. Much of this innovation, however, is invisible to the naked eye. With Wonders of the Plant Kingdom, the naked eye gets an unforgettable boost. A stunning collaboration between science and art, this gorgeous book presents hundreds of images of plants taken with a scanning electron microscope and hand-colored by artist Rob Kesseler to reveal the awe-inspiring adaptations all around us. The surface of a peach—with its hairs, or trichomes, and sunken stomata, or breathing pores—emerges from these pages in microscopic detail. The dust-like seeds of the smallest cactus species in the world, the Blossfeldia liliputana—which measures just twelve millimeters fully grown—explode here with form, color, and character, while the flower bud of a kaffir lime, cross-sectioned, reveals the complex of a flower bud with the all-important pistil in the center. Accompanying these extraordinary images are up-to-date explanations of the myriad ways that these plants have ensured their own survival—and, by proxy, our own. Gardeners and science buffs alike will marvel at this wholly new perspective on the world of plant diversity. |
| a short history of a special plant: Beans Ken Albala, 2017-03-09 This is the story of the bean, the staple food cultivated by humans for over 10,000 years. From the lentil to the soybean, every civilization on the planet has cultivated its own species of bean. The humble bean has always attracted attention - from Pythagoras' notion that the bean hosted a human soul to St. Jerome's indictment against bean-eating in convents (because they tickle the genitals), to current research into the deadly toxins contained in the most commonly eaten beans. Over time, the bean has been both scorned as poor man's meat and praised as health-giving, even patriotic. Attitudes to this most basic of foodstuffs have always revealed a great deal about a society. Featuring a new preface from author Ken Albala, Beans: A History takes the reader on a fascinating journey across cuisines and cultures. |
| a short history of a special plant: Plant Fever d-o-t-s (Laura Drouet + Olivier Lacrouts), 2020-11-09 * Plant Fever looks to the future of design from a vegetal perspective, moving from a human-centered to a phyto-centered designFor centuries, our inherent alienation from nature has prevented us from truly seeing plants and understanding them as more than simple materials or decorative objects. Can design help us change our perspective and reveal their potential as allies? / Edited by d-o-t-s (Laura Drouet & Olivier Lacrouts) / Foreword by Marie Pok / With contributions by Emanuele Coccia, Carole Collet, dach&zephir, Quentin Hiernaux, Overmind, Catriona A. H. Sandilands, Ana Silva, Penny Sparke, Trajna collective |
| a short history of a special plant: In the Devil's Garden Stewart Lee Allen, 2007-12-18 Deliciously organized by the Seven Deadly Sins, here is a scintillating history of forbidden foods through the ages—and how these mouth-watering taboos have defined cultures around the world. From the lusciously tempting fruit in the Garden of Eden to the divine foie gras, Stewart Lee Allen engagingly illustrates that when a pleasure as primal as eating is criminalized, there is often an astonishing tale to tell. Among the foods thought to encourage Lust, the love apple (now known as the tomato) was thought to possess demonic spirits until the nineteenth century. The Gluttony “course” invites the reader to an ancient Roman dinner party where nearly every dish served—from poppy-crusted rodents to “Trojan Pork”—was considered a crime against the state. While the vice known as Sloth introduces the sad story of “The Lazy Root” (the potato), whose popularity in Ireland led British moralists to claim that the Great Famine was God’s way of punishing the Irish for eating a food that bred degeneracy and idleness. Filled with incredible food history and the author’s travels to many of these exotic locales, In the Devil’s Garden also features recipes like the matzo-ball stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden “chocolate champagnes” of the Aztecs. This is truly a delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers, culinary historians, amateur anthropologists, and armchair travelers alike. Bon appétit! |
| a short history of a special plant: There Plant Eyes M. Leona Godin, 2021-06-01 From Homer to Helen Keller, from Dune to Stevie Wonder, from the invention of braille to the science of echolocation, M. Leona Godin explores the fascinating history of blindness, interweaving it with her own story of gradually losing her sight. “[A] thought-provoking mixture of criticism, memoir, and advocacy. —The New Yorker There Plant Eyes probes the ways in which blindness has shaped our ocularcentric culture, challenging deeply ingrained ideas about what it means to be “blind.” For millennia, blindness has been used to signify such things as thoughtlessness (“blind faith”), irrationality (“blind rage”), and unconsciousness (“blind evolution”). But at the same time, blind people have been othered as the recipients of special powers as compensation for lost sight (from the poetic gifts of John Milton to the heightened senses of the comic book hero Daredevil). Godin—who began losing her vision at age ten—illuminates the often-surprising history of both the condition of blindness and the myths and ideas that have grown up around it over the course of generations. She combines an analysis of blindness in art and culture (from King Lear to Star Wars) with a study of the science of blindness and key developments in accessibility (the white cane, embossed printing, digital technology) to paint a vivid personal and cultural history. A genre-defying work, There Plant Eyes reveals just how essential blindness and vision are to humanity’s understanding of itself and the world. |
| a short history of a special plant: Lola at the Library Anna McQuinn, 2013-01-07 Lola has a big smile on her face. Why? Because it's Tuesday--and on Tuesdays, Lola and her mommy go to the library. Join Lola in this cozy celebration of books and the people who love them. |
| a short history of a special plant: Passalong Plants Steve Bender, Felder Rushing, 1993 Rushing and Bender are storytellers in the great Southern tradition, and expert gardeners, too. Best of all, they are wonderfully amusing companions for the trip on which they invite us: a tour of traditional Southern plants.--Horticulture. 88 color photos. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved. |
| a short history of a special plant: My Favorite Plant Jamaica Kincaid, 1998-11 A delightful compendium of writing on plants. The passion for gardening and the passion for words come together in this inspired anthology, a collection of essays on topics as diverse as beans and roses, by writers who garden and by gardeners who write. Among the contributors are Christopher Lloyd, on poppies; Marina Warner, who remembers the Guinée rose; and Henri Cole, who offers poems on the bearded iris and on peonies. There is also an explanation of the sexiness of castor beans from Michael Pollan and an essay from Maxine Kumin on how, as Henry David Thoreau put it, one [makes] the earth say beans instead of grass. Most of the essays are new in print, but Colette, Katharine S. White, D. H. Lawrence, and several other old favorites make appearances. Jamaica Kincaid, the much-admired writer and a passionate gardener herself, rounds up this diverse crew. A wonderful gift for green thumbs, My Favorite Plant is a happy collection of fresh takes on old friends. Other contributors include: Hilton Als Mary Keen Ken Druse Duane Michals Michael Fox David Raffeld Ian Frazier Graham Stuart Thomas Daniel Hinkley Wayne Winterrowd |
| a short history of a special plant: Mabberley's Plant-Book David J. Mabberley, 2017-06-22 Mabberley's Plant-Book is internationally accepted as an essential reference text for anyone studying, growing or writing about plants. With some 26,000 entries, this comprehensive dictionary provides information on every family and genus of seed-bearing plant (including conifers), plus ferns and clubmosses, besides economically important mosses and algae. The book combines taxonomic details and uses with English and other vernacular names found in commerce. The third edition was recognised in the American Botanical Council's annual James A. Duke Excellence in Botanical Literature Award for 2008 and the International Association for Plant Taxonomy's Engler Medal in Silver for 2009. In this new edition, each entry has been updated to take into consideration the most recent literature, notably the greater understanding resulting from molecular analyses; over 1400 additional entries (including ecologically and economically important genera of seaweeds) have been included, ensuring that Mabberley's Plant-Book continues to rank among the most practical and authoritative botanical texts available. |
| a short history of a special plant: Watch Me Plant a Garden Jack Otten, 2002-03 For use in schools and libraries only. A young girl demonstrates how to plant a flower garden. From Children's Press Welcome Books series for emergent readers. |
| a short history of a special plant: A Short History of the World Herbert George Wells, 1922 A Short History of the World is a period-piece non-fictional historic work by English author H. G. Wells. The book was largely inspired by Wells's earlier 1919 work The Outline of History. |
| a short history of a special plant: Garden Flora Noel Kingsbury, 2016-10-05 “A beautifully illustrated reference book covers the origins, ecology and history of popular garden plants.” —Shelf Awareness The oldest rose fossil was found in Colorado and dates to 35 million years ago. Marigolds, infamous for their ability to self-seed, are named for an Etruscan god who sprang from a ploughed field. And daffodils—an icon of spring—were introduced to Britain by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago. Every garden plant has an origination story, and Garden Flora, by noted garden designer Noel Kingsbury, shares them in a beautifully compelling way. This lushly illustrated survey of 133 of the most commonly grown plants explains where each plant came from and the journey it took into home gardens. Kingsbury tells intriguing tales of the most important plant hunters, breeders, and gardeners throughout history, and explores the unexpected ways plants have been used. Richly illustrated with an eclectic mix of new and historical photos, botanical art, and vintage seed packets and catalogs, Garden Flora is a must-have reference for every gardener and plant lover. |
| a short history of a special plant: Risk Dan Gardner, 2009-02-24 In the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell, Gardner explores a new way of thinking about the decisions we make. We are the safest and healthiest human beings who ever lived, and yet irrational fear is growing, with deadly consequences — such as the 1,595 Americans killed when they made the mistake of switching from planes to cars after September 11. In part, this irrationality is caused by those — politicians, activists, and the media — who promote fear for their own gain. Culture also matters. But a more fundamental cause is human psychology. Working with risk science pioneer Paul Slovic, author Dan Gardner sets out to explain in a compulsively readable fashion just what that statement above means as to how we make decisions and run our lives. We learn that the brain has not one but two systems to analyze risk. One is primitive, unconscious, and intuitive. The other is conscious and rational. The two systems often agree, but occasionally they come to very different conclusions. When that happens, we can find ourselves worrying about what the statistics tell us is a trivial threat — terrorism, child abduction, cancer caused by chemical pollution — or shrugging off serious risks like obesity and smoking. Gladwell told us about “the black box” of our brains; Gardner takes us inside, helping us to understand how to deconstruct the information we’re bombarded with and respond more logically and adaptively to our world. Risk is cutting-edge reading. |
| a short history of a special plant: Trees Tony Rodd, Jennifer Stackhouse, 2008 Beautifully illustrated and designed, this gorgeous reference book explores the world of trees from every perspective--from the world's great forests to the lifespan of a single leaf. Arresting color photographs of a wide variety of trees and close-ups of many of their remarkable features provide an enormous amount of information in a highly accessible format. The volume illustrates how trees grow and function, looks at their astounding diversity and adaptations, documents the key role they play in ecosystems, and explores the multitude of uses to which we put trees--from timber and pharmaceuticals to shade and shelter. A highly absorbing read cover to cover or dipped into at random, Trees: A Visual Guide delves into many specific topics: the details of flowers, bark, and roots; profiles of favorite trees; how animals and insects interact with trees; trees in urban landscapes; the role trees play in our changing climate; deforestation and reforestation; and much more. With clear diagrams, illustrations, and intriguing sidebars on many featured topics, this unique volume is a complete visual guide to the magnificence of the arboreal world. |
| a short history of a special plant: A Short History of Flowers Advolly Richmond, 2024-03-05 Garden and social historian Advolly Richmond (of Gardener’s World) unravels the surprising histories of 60 flowers that shape our gardens. Have you ever wondered where your favourite garden flowers came from? Where their names derived? Or why some cultivars go in and out of favour? Every flower in your herbaceous border has a story, and in this book Advolly Richmond takes you on a tour of the most intriguing, surprising and enriching ones. Tales of exploration, everlasting love and bravery bring these beautiful flowers to life. Advolly has dug down to uncover the royalty, scholars, pioneers and a smuggler or two that have all played a part in discovering and cultivating some of our favourite species. From the lavish and exotic bougainvillea, found by an 18th century female botanist in disguise to the humble but majestic snowdrop casting a spell and causing a frenzy. These plants have played pivotal roles in our societies, from boom to bust economies, promises of riches and making fashion statements. These unassuming blooms hold treasure troves of stories. With specially commissioned artworks from award-winning botanical illustrator Sarah Jane Humphrey, which sumptuously bring each flower to life – this is a beautiful compendium for every garden lover. |
| a short history of a special plant: A Really Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson, 2020-10-29 Ever wondered how we got from nothing to something? Or thought about how we can weigh the earth? Or wanted to reach the edge of the universe? Uncover the mysteries of time, space and life on earth in this extraordinary book - a journey from the centre of the planet to the dawn of the dinosaurs, and everything in between. And discover our own incredible journey, from single cell to civilisation, including the brilliant (and sometimes very bizarre) scientists who helped us find out the how and why. |
| a short history of a special plant: A Short History of Botany in the United States Joseph Ewan, Chester Arthur Arnold, 1969 |
#shorts - YouTube
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SHORT Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
He is short for his age. the shortest day of the year Life's too short to worry about the past. The movie was very short. You have done a lot in a short space of time. a short burst of speed I've …
Short note 7 Little Words - 7LittleWordsAnswers.com
1 day ago · Short note. Below you will find the solution for: Short note 7 Little Words which contains 6 Letters. Short note 7 Little Words . Possible Solution: QUAVER. Since you already …
Short - definition of short by The Free Dictionary
short - primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration; "a short life"; "a short flight"; "a short holiday"; "a short story"; "only a few short months"
SHORT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
SHORT definition: 1. small in length, distance, or height: 2. used to say that a name is used as a shorter form of…. Learn more.
YouTube Shorts - Wikipedia
YouTube Shorts is the short-form section of the online video-sharing platform YouTube.. YouTube Shorts are vertical videos that have a duration of up to 180 seconds, and has various features …
SHORT definition in American English | Collins English Dictionary
If someone or something is or stops short of a place, they have not quite reached it. If they are or fall short of an amount, they have not quite achieved it.
What Is YouTube Shorts? – The 101 Guide - Influencer Marketing …
Jun 24, 2024 · YouTube Shorts is a short-form video feature that YouTube introduced in 2020 to compete with rivals like Instagram Reels and TikTok. Using this feature, content creators can …
Short Definition & Meaning - YourDictionary
Short definition: Having little length; not long.
Short - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com
The adjective short describes things that aren't long when you measure them, or have a small distance from one end to another, like your short hair or the short walk to the library. A small …
#shorts - YouTube
About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket
SHORT Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
He is short for his age. the shortest day of the year Life's too short to worry about the past. The movie was very short. You have done a lot in a short space of time. a short burst of speed I've …
Short note 7 Little Words - 7LittleWordsAnswers.com
1 day ago · Short note. Below you will find the solution for: Short note 7 Little Words which contains 6 Letters. Short note 7 Little Words . Possible Solution: QUAVER. Since you already …
Short - definition of short by The Free Dictionary
short - primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration; "a short life"; "a short flight"; "a short holiday"; "a short story"; "only a few short months"
SHORT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
SHORT definition: 1. small in length, distance, or height: 2. used to say that a name is used as a shorter form of…. Learn more.
YouTube Shorts - Wikipedia
YouTube Shorts is the short-form section of the online video-sharing platform YouTube.. YouTube Shorts are vertical videos that have a duration of up to 180 seconds, and has various features …
SHORT definition in American English | Collins English Dictionary
If someone or something is or stops short of a place, they have not quite reached it. If they are or fall short of an amount, they have not quite achieved it.
What Is YouTube Shorts? – The 101 Guide - Influencer Marketing …
Jun 24, 2024 · YouTube Shorts is a short-form video feature that YouTube introduced in 2020 to compete with rivals like Instagram Reels and TikTok. Using this feature, content creators can …
Short Definition & Meaning - YourDictionary
Short definition: Having little length; not long.
Short - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com
The adjective short describes things that aren't long when you measure them, or have a small distance from one end to another, like your short hair or the short walk to the library. A small …
