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In Anatomy of a Rose , Sharman Apt Russell eloquently unveils the "inner life" of flowers. From their diverse fragrances to their nasty deceptions, Russell proves that, where nature is concerned, "wonder is not only our starting point, it can also be our destination." Throughout this botanical journey, she reveals that the science behind these intelligent plants-how they evolved, how they survive, how they heal-is even more awe-inspiring than their fleeting beauty. Russell helps us imagine what a field of snapdragons looks like to a honeybee, and she introduces us to flowers that regulate their own temperature, attract pollinating bats, even smell like a rotting corpse. She also delves into cutting-edge research on everything from flower senses to their healing power. Long used to ease everything from depression to childbirth, flowers are now our main line of defense against childhood leukemia and the deadly Ebola virus. In this poetic rumination, which combines graceful writing with a scientist's clarity, Russell brings together the work of botanists around the globe, and illuminates a world at once familiar and exotic.
American National Biography is the first new comprehensive biographical dicionary focused on American history to be published in seventy years. Produced under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies, the ANB contains over 17,500 profiles on historical figures written by an expert in the field and completed with a bibliography. The scope of the work is enormous--from the earlest recorded European explorations to the very recent past.
In The Rose's Kiss, botanist Peter Bernhardt rekindles our sense of wonder at the plant life all around us. He presents a fascinating and wide-ranging look at the natural history of flowers - their forms and functions as well as their hidden interactions with the surrounding environment and the other living organisms upon which they depend for survival. The Rose's Kiss will hold wide appeal for nature lovers, garden enthusiasts, and anyone interested in learning more about the inner workings of the natural world.
As with nearly all living creatures, humans have always been attracted and intrigued by floral scents. Yet, while we have been manufacturing perfumes for at least 5000 years to serve a myriad of religious, sexual, and medicinal purposes, until very recently, the limitation of our olfactory faculty has greatly hindered our capacity to clearly and ob
Many people will remember that Rachel Carson predicted a silent spring, but she also warned of a fruitless fall, a time with no pollination and no fruit. The fruitless fall nearly became a reality when, in 2007, beekeepers watched thirty billion bees mysteriously die. And they continue to disappear. The remaining pollinators, essential to the cultivation of a third of American crops, are now trucked across the country and flown around the world, pushing them ever closer to collapse. Fruitless Fall does more than just highlight this growing agricultural catastrophe. It emphasizes the miracle of flowering plants and their pollination partners, and urges readers not to take the abundance of our Earth for granted. A new afterword by the author tracks the most recent developments in this ongoing crisis.
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve has captured the attention of biologists, conservationists and ecologists and has been the setting for extensive investigation over the past 30 years. This provides information on this ecosystem and the biota.
植物看似不會動,不代表他們天性善良、毫無心機 ◎吳大猷科普獎佳作作品 ◎凌拂(自然作家)、黃生(台師大生命科學系教授)專文推薦 ◎自然作家李偉文專文導讀 爭奇鬥豔的花花世界 花朵有著五花八門的形狀、顏色與氣味,唯一共同的目標就是完成授粉傳宗接代。但花朵如何以形狀、顏色與氣味虛張聲勢,挑逗那些傳粉的拜訪者,又如何知道哪時該釋放花粉以獲得最大的效益?除了人類能夠感知的結構、顏色與氣味之外,植物其實還有更多與其他動物溝通的手段,有些花甚至可以嚴格調控自己的溫度,在夜裡散發溫�...
Eight years have elapsed since the first International Meeting on Plant Mitochondria was held in Marseilles. Since this date numerous important developments have occurred within the field and hence a further conference on this fundamental area of research was considered well overdue. This volume summarises the lecture and poster sessions of the second International Meeting on Plant Mitochondria held in Aberystwyth, July 20- 24th, 1986. The meeting was held not only to bring together plant scientists interested in the bioenergetics of plant mitochondria but also those who are interested in the regulatory role of mitochondria in plant growth and respiration. A further important aspect of this ...
China, with its geographical, historical, cultural, and political distance from the West, long has been a black box upon which we readily paste labels—communist, non-Western, developing country—but whose internal logic remains a mystery to us. Arguing that it would be a major step forward in our genuine knowledge of China if we understood its internal dynamic, this innovative book considers China from a historical perspective to chart its current dynamic and future direction. Renowned historians, economists, and political scientists explore the internal dynamic of China's rise since traditional times through the key themes of China's identity, security, economy, environment, energy, and ...
This book, the first to catalogue ecologically important insects by their roles, gives us an enlightening look at how insects work in ecosystems--what they do, how they live, and how they make life as we know it possible. Waldbauer combines anecdotes from entomological history with insights into the intimate workings of the natural world, describing the intriguing and sometimes amazing behavior of these tiny creatures. As entertaining as it is informative, this charmingly illustrated volume captures the full sweep of insects' integral place in the web of life.