The Botany of Desire

The Botany of Desire PDF Author: Michael Pollan
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0375760393
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
“Pollan shines a light on our own nature as well as on our implication in the natural world.” —The New York Times “A wry, informed pastoral.” —The New Yorker The book that helped make Michael Pollan, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, Cooked and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, one of the most trusted food experts in America Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?

The Botany of Desire

The Botany of Desire PDF Author: Michael Pollan
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0375760393
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Pollan shines a light on our own nature as well as on our implication in the natural world.” —The New York Times “A wry, informed pastoral.” —The New Yorker The book that helped make Michael Pollan, the New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, Cooked and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, one of the most trusted food experts in America Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?

The Botany of Empire in the Long Eighteenth Century

The Botany of Empire in the Long Eighteenth Century PDF Author: Yota Batsaki
Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library & Collection
ISBN: 9780884024163
Category : Botanical specimens
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The Botany of Empire in the Long Eighteenth Century brings together international scholars to examine: the figure of the botanical explorer; links between imperial ambition and the impulse to survey, map, and collect specimens in "new" territories; and relationships among botanical knowledge, self-representation, and material culture.

The Big, Bad Book of Botany

The Big, Bad Book of Botany PDF Author: Michael Largo
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 006228276X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
David Attenborough meets Lemony Snicket in The Big Bad Book of Botany, Michael Largo’s entertaining and enlightening one-of-a-kind compendium of the world’s most amazing and bizarre plants, their history, and their lore. The Big, Bad Book of Botany introduces a world of wild, wonderful, and weird plants. Some are so rare, they were once more valuable than gold. Some found in ancient mythology hold magical abilities, including the power to turn a person to stone. Others have been used by assassins to kill kings, and sorcerers to revive the dead. Here, too, is vegetation with astonishing properties to cure and heal, many of which have long since been lost with the advent of modern medicine. Organized alphabetically, The Big, Bad Book of Botany combines the latest in biological information with bizarre facts about the plant kingdom’s oddest members, including a species that is more poisonous than a cobra and a prehistoric plant that actually “walked.” Largo takes you through the history of vegetables and fruits and their astonishing agricultural evolution. Throughout, he reveals astonishing facts, from where the world’s first tree grew to whether plants are telepathic. Featuring more than 150 photographs and illustrations, The Big, Bad Book of Botany is a fascinating, fun A-to-Z encyclopedia for all ages that will transform the way we look at the natural world.

Botany at the Bar

Botany at the Bar PDF Author: Selena Ahmed
Publisher: White Lion Publishing
ISBN: 1782406808
Category : Cooking
Languages : en
Pages : 179

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Book Description
Botanists Selena Ahmed, Ashley DuVal and Rachel Meyer from the New York based craft bitters-making company, Shoots & Roots Bitters, take us on an enlightening trip throughout the plant world as they share their unique expertise on the ecology, cultural practices, and medicinal properties just waiting to be discovered at the bottom of your glass. Notes on the origins of bitters, the science of taste and phytochemistry are followed by a neat guide on how to extract and make herbal infusions at home. Add enlightening plant profiles with a mix of unique botanical drink recipes, and this is a truly fascinating experiential insight into the vital meaning of biodiversity today.

Medical Botany

Medical Botany PDF Author: Walter H. Lewis
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780471628828
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 836

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Book Description
Organized by body system and ailment makes it easy to locate appropriate therapies. Includes background on the physiology of major systems and ailments so readers can understand how and why a pharmaceutical, botanical, or dietary supplement works. Broad coverage includes green plants, fungi, and microorganisms. Includes extensive references and citations from both conventional and complimentary-alternative medical systems when natural products or their derivatives are involved.

Practical Botany for Gardeners

Practical Botany for Gardeners PDF Author: Geoff Hodge
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022609409X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 225

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Book Description
Gardening can be frustratingly shrouded in secrecy. Fickle plants make seemingly spontaneous decisions to bloom or bust, seeds sprout magically in the blink of an eye, and deep-rooted mysteries unfold underground and out of sight. Understanding basic botany is like unlocking a horticultural code; fortunately learning a little science can reveal the secrets of the botanical universe and shed some light on what’s really going on in your garden. Practical Botany for Gardeners provides an elegant and accessible introduction to the world of botany. It presents the essentials that every gardener needs to know, connecting explanations of scientific facts with useful gardening tips. Flip to the roots section and you’ll not only learn how different types of roots support a plant but also find that adding fungi to soil aids growth. The pruning section both defines “lateral buds” and explains how far back on a shoot to cut in order to propagate them. The book breaks down key areas and terminology with easy-to-navigate chapters arranged by theme, such as plant types, plant parts, inner workings, and external factors. “Great Botanists” and “Botany in Action” boxes delve deeper into the fascinating byways of plant science. This multifaceted book also includes two hundred botanical illustrations and basic diagrams that hearken to the classic roots of botany. Part handbook, part reference, Practical Botany for Gardeners is a beautifully captivating read. It’s a must for garden lovers and backyard botanists who want to grow and nurture their own plant knowledge.

The Botany of Gin

The Botany of Gin PDF Author: Chris Thorogood
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781851245536
Category : SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
From its roots in ancient Greek herbal medicine, the popular spirit we now know as gin was established by the Dutch in the sixteenth century as a juniper-infused tincture to cure fevers. It gained notoriety during the London 'gin craze' in the eighteenth century before enjoying a recent resurgence and a profusion of new botanical flavourings.Garnished with sumptuous illustrations depicting the plants that tell the story of this complex and iconic drink, this enticing book delves into the botany of gin from root to branch. A diverse assortment of aromatic plants from around the world have been used in the production of gin over the course of several centuries. Each combination of botanicals yields a unique flavour profile that equates to more than the sum of its parts. Understanding the different types of formulation, and the main groups of plants used therein, is central to appreciating the drink's complexities and subtleties. As this book's extraordinary range of featured ingredients shows, gin is a quintessentially botanical beverage with a rich history like no other.

Botany for Gardeners, Fourth Edition

Botany for Gardeners, Fourth Edition PDF Author: Brian Capon
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1643261681
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 443

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Book Description
“This should be the cornerstone of every gardener’s library.” —Jeff Gillman, Director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens What happens inside a seed after it is planted? How are plants structured? How do plants reproduce? The answers to these and other questions about complex plant processes can be found in the bestselling Botany for Gardeners. First published in 1990 with more than 260,000 copies sold, it has become the go-to introduction to botany for students and gardeners. Now in its fourth edition, Botany for Gardeners has been expanded and updated. It features a revised interior, with new photos and illustrations that clarify the concepts clearer than ever before. Additional updates address scientific advances, changes in nomenclature and taxonomy, and more. As before, Botany for Gardeners shares accessible information about how plants are organized, how they have adapted to nearly all environments on earth, their essential functions, and how they reproduce.

Botany for Designers

Botany for Designers PDF Author: Kimberly Duffy Turner
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 0393706249
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Botany 101 for professionals who want a summary of planting design fundamentals. Plants are among the most important materials for effective landscape design. Yet the fundamentals of plant biology and growth; their morphology, color, and functional assets; and details such as planting, pruning techniques, and maintenance practices are surprisingly absent from our education and training, which tend to focus on other core principles like drainage, grading, and spatial relationships. What do you need to know about how plants grow and function? How can you determine appropriate plants for a particular site? How can you use their distinct design features effectively? What are the real design considerations to keep in mind? This book—a Botany 101 course for professionals and students alike—walks you through all the answers, equipping you with the ability to be not just an informed landscape designer but also an effective planting designer. Kimberly Duffy Turner, a landscape architect and horticulturalist, explains the essentials of planting design, exploring form and function and showing how various characteristics of plants and trees—shape, pigment, leaf veination, texture, fragrance, sound, height, and more—can be used to achieve effective site-appropriate designs. Specifying appropriate plant material and examining stock at the nursery—drawing up a planting schedule of the species or cultivar, sizes, and quantities—and evaluating modes of transplantation (when to ask for bare root, balled and burlapped, or containerized) are other key “on-the-job” concepts covered. A chapter on green design outlines some of the sustainable trends in botany: the role of LEED certification in landscape design; mitigating environmental problems with plants and open space; the emergence of green roofs and vertical gardens; biomimicry; and sensitive material selection, like composite wood products and plant-derived, soy-based paints. Both a handy appendix of common Latin and Greek terms used in horticulture and a comprehensive list of plant palettes are included. With more than 150 color photographs and schematic drawings illustrating key strategies, Botany for Designers is the professional’s go-to guide, showing you how an appreciation of plant fundamentals can lead to more inspired, well-designed landscapes.

Botany in a Day

Botany in a Day PDF Author: Thomas J. Elpel
Publisher: Hops Press
ISBN: 9781892784353
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 235

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Book Description
Explains the patterns method of plant identification, describing eight key patterns for recognizing more than 45,000 species of plants, and includes an illustrated reference guide to plant families.