num_pages: 239
description: Imagine a typical morning--munching on a bowl of cereal sipping coffee dressing for the day riding to work. Every moment of this common routine draws on the power of plants and the centuries of development that brought wheat coffee beans cotton and rubber--among many others--into our daily lives.Remarkable Plants celebrates the wonder and utility of the green kingdom taking a detailed look at how plants have shaped our world. It focuses on eighty key species and richly explores their history highlighting their importance and bringing to light surprising stories. Organized thematically into eight sections the book starts with Transformers (including rice beans olives) and moves through sections such as Heal and Harm (poppy aloe strychnos) and Revered and Adored (lotus frankincense rose). Each species is introduced with its common and scientific names and followed by an exploration of its cultural historical botanical and symbolic associations. Hundreds of botanical illustrations show full plants as well as highlight distinctive leaves blooms and fruits.Rooted in one of the worlds most important and renowned temples of greenery the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Remarkable Plants is a symbiotic balance of science and art that will open readers eyes to the deep influence of the natural world on our modern one.
language: English
title: Remarkable Plants That Shape Our World
publisher: University of Chicago Press