Plant remains can preserve a critical part of history of life on Earth. While telling the fascinating evolutionary story of plants and vegetation across the last 500 million years, this book also crucially offers non-specialists a practical guide to studying, dealing with and interpreting plant fossils. It shows how various techniques can be used to reveal the secrets of plant fossils and how to identify common types, such as compressions and impressions. Incorporating the concepts of evolutionary floras, this second edition includes revised data on all main plant groups, the latest approaches to naming plant fossils using fossil-taxa and techniques such as tomography. With extensive illustrations of plant fossils and living plants, the book encourages readers to think of fossils as once-living organisms. It is written for students on introductory or intermediate courses in palaeobotany, palaeontology, plant evolutionary biology and plant science, and for amateurs interested in studyin
Retracing the progress of the first botanists who banished myths and misunderstandings, the author interweaves personal anecdotes, science and untold history as she attempts to become a better gardene
"In the tradition of The Botany of Desire and Wicked Plants, the author of Paradise Under Glass gives us a witty and engaging history of the first botanists interwoven with stories of today's extraord
Secrets of Coral Reefs explains in simple language the interlocking community of bizarre and beautiful coral reef animals and plants. Although their stony structures seem impervious to harm, coral ree
A Californian may vacation in Yosemite, Big Sur, or Death Valley, but many of us come home to an oak woodland. Yet while common, oak woodlands are anything but ordinary. In a book rich in illustration
Discover the wonders of DNA in a fascinating new book from the creators of the award-winning Tiny Creatures and Many.Earth is full of life! All living things grow—plants, animals, and human beings. Th
A Shine-a-Light book. Discover natures wintertime secrets and meet the animals and plants that live in and around a snow-covered forest, from the bears in their lairs and the foxes in their earths to
Discover the animals and plants that live in and around a kapok tree, from the colourful parrots in the canopy to the sleek jaguar on the forest floor. Engaging non-fiction title that will stimulate a
This classic has now taught generations of gardeners how to use the natural benefits of plants to protect and support each other. Here is a reader's complete reference to which plants nourish the soi
Plants are found almost everywhere on Earth, but to many people their lives are a mystery. Discover the secrets of more than 100 amazing plants in this treasury of intriguing flora.Learn how seagrass changes the environment around it, how the Venus flytrap counts to make sure it catches its prey, and why some tulips used to cost more than a house! This book explores the vast plant kingdom and explains how plants work, as well as the weird and wonderful relationships they have with animals. Plants provide us with food, fuel, and medicine, and without them, life as we know it would not exist. From orchids that grow vanilla pods to trees that cause headaches, and from bamboo that can be made into clothes to moss that soaks up vast amounts of carbon dioxide, plants shape our world in an endless variety of ways.The Secret World of Plants covers the key plant groups; the essentials of plant science, including photosynthesis, pollination, and germination; and what they mean to the people arou
Container gardening is an extremely delightful hobby that is going to make you joyous and content. Nature has bestowed man with some of the most wonderful gifts, and if you nurture them with care, you