Showing 1–12 of 29 results
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Vegetation of Australian Riverine Landscapes: Biology, Ecology and Management
Artist/Author: Capon, Samantha, Cassandra James, Michael Reid (Editors)$140.00 Add to cartVegetation communities in Australia’s riverine landscapes are ecologically, economically and culturally significant. They are also among the most threatened ecosystems on the continent and have been dramatically altered as a result of human activities and climate change. Vegetation of Australian Riverine Landscapes brings together, for the first time, the results of the substantial amount of research that has been conducted over the last few decades into the biology, ecology and management of these important plant communities in Australia.
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Flora: Inside the World of Plants
Artist/Author: Ambrose, Jamie, Ross Bayton, Matt Candeias, Sarah Jose, Andrew Mikolajski, Esther Ripley, David Summers (Contributors)$62.00 Add to cartDiscover the extraordinary diversity of the plant world – and how plants work – with this photographic celebration of the trees, flowers, and foliage plants that share our planet.
From tiny mosses and delicate ferns to vibrant blooms and stately palms, Flora invites you to explore the plant kingdom from the ground up, and from root to leaf tip. DK’s elegant introduction to botany is packed with sumptuous photos and crystal-clear artworks that explain the mechanics of photosynthesis, why leaves change colour, how cacti store water, and how seeds know when to grow.
Filled with fascinating stories of how plant roots and leaves communicate with their neighbours and how flowers use colour and scent to interact with – and manipulate – the creatures around them, Flora is a fresh and engaging introduction to the mysterious inner workings of the plant world.
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Understanding Flowers and Flowering: An Intergrated Approach (Second Edition)
Artist/Author: Glover, Beverley$85.00 Add to cartTo fully understand plant development (and why flowers differ in shape, structure and colour), it is necessary to understand why it is advantageous for them to look like they do. Conversely, in order to fully understand plant ecology, it is necessary to appreciate how floral structures have developed and evolved. This new edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect the latest advances in the field, especially an increased understanding of the evolution of floral traits. New chapters consider the genetic basis of the floral transition in diverse species, as well as the evolutionary lability of floral form. There is a new focus throughout on both phylogenetic position and morphological diversity across the angiosperm phylogeny. Understanding Flowers and Flowering continues to provide the first truly integrated study of the topic – one that discusses both the how and why of flowering plant reproductive biology.
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Important Bird Areas of the Americas: Priority Sites for Biodiversity Conservation
Artist/Author: Devenish, C. et al.$130.00 Add to cartThis directory provides a concise summary of the 2345 Important Bird Areas described to date in the Americas. The inventory represents a participative consensus on the most important sites for bird and biodiversity conservation in the hemisphere, in what is probably the most comprehensive assessment of its kind to be published. Since the beginning of the IBA program in North America in 1995, sites have now been identified in all 57 countries or territories in the region, totalling more than 3,250,000 km2. This book is the culmination of national IBA identification processes involving thousands of people in the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, and at least 150 governmental and non-governmental organizations. The directory is at once a high level awareness-raising publication; a decision-making tool for national and hemispheric biodiversity management and planning; and a portfolio of funding opportunities for potential donors.
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Peonies of the World: Taxonomy and Phytogeography
Artist/Author: De-Yuan, Hong.$165.00 Add to cartThe genus Paeonia is a famous group of plants that has been culturally significant in both the East and West for millennia, and is extensively cultivated for both ornamental and medicine purposes. The cultivated tree peony is known as ‘The King of Flowers’ in China, and the herbaceous peony was known as ‘The Queen of Herbs’ in ancient Greece. This book contains a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus based on extensive field observations, population sampling, examination of a large quantity of specimens (including type specimens) and statistic analysis of characters.
Recognition of 32 species in the book is a result of substantial taxonomic revision. The book will satisfy readers not only with the taxonomy of Paeonia, description and distribution, and other biological aspects of each species, but also with the methodology and principles, on which the taxonomic revision was based. A must have book for both plant taxonomists and horticulturists. -
Biology of the Red Algae
Artist/Author: Cole, Kathleen M. and Robert G. Sheath, editors.$106.00 Add to cartWhen Biology of the Red Algae was first published in 1990, it was the first comprehensive monograph to be written on the Rhodophyta in over fifteen years. This book presents an authoritative review on the state of knowledge on the biology of the red algae. Written by a group of 26 internationally renowned experts, the eighteen chapters of Biology of the Red Algae range from molecular and cellular to biochemical, physiological, organismal, and ecological aspects of this important group of algae. Together they will be of interest for students of oceanography and plant evolution.
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Pollination Power
Artist/Author: Angel, Heather$50.00 Add to cartPollination Power is a visually spectacular insight into the hidden secrets of plant pollination, unravelling the deceit, tricks and rewards that plant bestow upon their pollinators. Throughout the book, full page colour photographs are accompanied with extended captions, telling the stories of the different pollination methods used by plants. This is Heather’s 60th book, adding to her impressive back catalogue of natural history photography books.
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Brilliant Green: The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence
Artist/Author: Mancuso, Stefano and Alessandra Viola.$30.00 Add to cartIn this book, a leading plant scientist offers a new understanding of the botanical world and a passionate argument for intelligent plant life. 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 this book, 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, this book is an engaging and passionate examination of the inner workings of the plant kingdom.
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How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do
Artist/Author: Chalker-Scott, Linda.$32.00 Add to cartWhy do slugs prefer your lettuces to eating weeds which are just as tasty? Why do container plants wilt even though they have plenty of water? Linda Chalker-Scott tackles these and other questions gardeners ask in this engaging and accessible introduction to plant physiology. This book explains how plants tell time, how they move to follow the sun and capture food, and why they change colour. By revealing the science behind what plants do every day, this book arms you with information that will change the way you garden. You’ll learn how to fertilize and prune more effectively, how to weed less than you ever have, and how to determine which garden products are worth your time and money.
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A Garden of Marvels: How We Discovered that Flowers have Sex, Leaves Eat Air, and Other Secrets of Plants
Artist/Author: Kassinger, Ruth.$28.00 Add to cartCombining both curiosity and a playful spirit, this engaging book provides an anecdotal tutorial on the fascinating science of plants. After pruning a kumquat tree with the best of intentions, Kassinger watched as it proceeded to turn brittle and brown. Why did the kumquat die when a rose bush and a crape myrtle similarly clipped had thrived? While she knew the basic rules of caring for indoor plants, Kassinger realized that she understood very little about plant physiology – how roots, stems, leaves, and flowers actually function. Determined not to repeat her failure, she set out to learn the fundamentals of botany in order to become a better gardener. This is the story of her wise and enchanting odyssey to discover the secret life of plants.
Kassinger retraces the progress of the first botanists, including Charles Darwin, who banished myths and misunderstandings and discovered that flowers have sex, leaves eat air, roots choose their food, and hormones make morning glories climb fence posts. She goes out into the world as well, visiting modern gardens, farms, and labs to discover the science behind extraordinary plants like one-ton pumpkins, truly black petunias, ferns that eat the arsenic in contaminated soil, biofuel grass that grows twelve feet tall, and the world’s only photosynthesizing animal. Kassinger also introduces us to modern scientific research that offers hope for combating climate change and alleviating world hunger. She then transfers her insights to her own garden.
Intertwining personal anecdotes, accessible science, and little-known history, A Garden of Marvels takes us on an eye-opening journey into Kassinger’s garden – and yours – offering us a new appreciation of this exquisite gift of nature.
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Plant Behaviour and Intelligence
Artist/Author: Trewavas, Anthony.$119.00 Add to cartThis novel book is the first to properly address the controversial issue of plant intelligence, arguing convincingly that cells and whole plants growing in competitive wild conditions exhibit aspects of plant behaviour that can be accurately described as ‘intelligent’. The author expands on three main insights drawn by the Nobel Prize winning botanist Barbara McClintock: firstly that plant cells may have knowledge of themselves; secondly that they receive challenges which lead to behavioural changes; finally, that they do so in a manner which implies assessment and intelligent behaviour. By equating the concept of intelligent behaviour with that of adaptively variable behaviour, the book provides a novel integration of signalling, behaviour, and behavioural ecology, all set within the context of plant studies. Plant Behaviour and Intelligence begins with chapters on the origins and multicellular nature of plant life, before going on to discuss novel behaviours such as branch initiation and growth, unusual behaviour of leaves, and how roots reconstruct their sensing systems and are capable of self-recognition. An entire chapter is devoted to the nature of intelligence and another to the vexed question of ‘consciousness’, as applied to plant life. This advanced textbook will be suitable for senior undergraduate and graduate level students taking related courses in plant ecology and evolution. It will also be of relevance and use to a broader audience of professional plant ecologists seeking an authoritative reference text to help them navigate the complexity and controversy of plant behaviour.
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Plant Physics
Artist/Author: Niklas, Karl J. and Hanns-Christof Spatz.$78.00 Add to cartMany of our greatest physicists, mathematicians, and engineers such as Galileo and Leonardo da Vinci have learned much from studying plants. A symbiotic relationship between botany and the fields of physics, mathematics, engineering, and chemistry continues today, as is revealed in this book. The result of a long-term collaboration between plant evolutionary biologist Karl J. Niklas and physicist Hanns-Christof Spatz, this book presents a detailed account of the principles of classical physics, evolutionary theory, and plant biology in order to explain the complex interrelationships among plant form, function, environment, and evolutionary history. Covering a wide range of topics, from the development and evolution of the basic plant body and the ecology of aquatic unicellular plants to mathematical treatments of light attenuation through tree canopies and the movement of water through plants’ roots, stems, and leaves, this book is destined to inspire students and professionals alike to traverse disciplinary membranes.
