Showing titles in Botany & Plants

A Foundational Conservation Story Revived. Ancient writers observed that forests always recede as civilizations develop and grow. The great Roman poet Ovid wrote that before civilization began, “even the pine tree stood on its own very hills” but when civilization took over, “the mountain...

We live in a world of seeds. From our morning toast to the cotton in our clothes, they are quite literally the stuff and staff of life, supporting diets, economies, and civilizations around the globe. Just as the search for nutmeg and the humble peppercorn drove the Age of Discovery, so did coffee beans help fuel the Enlightenment and cottonseed help spark the Industrial Revolution. And from the fall of Rome to the Arab Spring, the fate of nations continues to hinge on the seeds of a Middle Eastern grass known as wheat.

The author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Forest Unseen visits with nature’s most magnificent networkers — trees "At once lyrical and informative, filled with beauty." – Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction David Haskell’s award-winning The Forest Unseen won acclaim...

Winner of the 2026 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature Finalist for the 2025 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize A Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year In her memoir The Snag, the acclaimed, award-winning author of Shame on Me, Tessa McWatt, takes on personal and collective grief...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK In Susan Orlean's mesmerizing true story of beauty and obsession is John Laroche, a renegade plant dealer and sharply handsome guy, in spite of the fact that he is missing his front teeth and has the posture of al dente spaghetti. In...

As a child, Chris Thorogood dreamed of seeing Rafflesia - the plant with the world's largest flowers. Today he is a botanist at the University of Oxford's Botanic Garden and has dedicated his life to studying the biology of such extraordinary plants, working alongside botanists and foresters in Southeast Asia to document these huge, mysterious blooms. Pathless Forest is the story of his journey to study and protect this remarkable plant - a biological enigma, still little understood, which invades vines as a leafless parasite and steals its food from them.

Long before the advent of conventional farming methods - which have focused on constant growth, human intervention, and genetic homogeneity - the apple had already grown to become the ubiquitous all-American symbol it is today. Known for their hardiness, ability to adapt to new environments, natural diversity, and plentiful bounty, wildly grown apples were once known as “America’s fruit” throughout the trading world.

Reflecting on family, identity and nature, Belonging is a personal memoir about what it is to have and make a home. It is a love letter to nature, especially the northern landscapes of Scotland and the Scots pinewoods of Abernethy—home to standing dead trees known as snags, which support the overall health of the forest. Belonging is a book about how we are held in thrall to elements of our past. It speaks to the importance of attention and reflection, and will encourage us all to look and observe and ask questions of ourselves.

Ein neuer Blick auf alte Freunde. Erstaunliche Dinge geschehen im Wald: Bäume, die miteinander kommunizieren. Bäume, die ihren Nachwuchs, aber auch alte und kranke Nachbarn liebevoll umsorgen und pflegen. Bäume, die Empfindungen haben, Gefühle, ein Gedächtnis. Unglaublich? Aber wahr! - Der Förster Peter Wohlleben erzählt faszinierende Geschichten über die ungeahnten und höchst erstaunlichen Fähigkeiten der Bäume.

Author Mark Plotkin, chief ethnobotanist for Conservation International, has spent much of the past 15 years tracking the shamans of the northeast Amazon. Their knowledge of healing plants may hold the cure to some of today's most devastating diseases. This book is a critically acclaimed account of his apprenticeship to these powerful wise men, a gripping journey into a wild and wonderful world seldom glimpsed by outsiders.

This groundbreaking walk through Scripture by former physician and carpenter Dr. Matthew Sleeth makes the convincing case that trees reveal more about God and faith than you ever imagined. “Christians looking to reconnect to the natural world will relish Sleeth’s passionate call to Christian...

This captivating history of medicine traces healing practices from the Stone Age to modern times, highlighting ancient knowledge and plant-based treatments. This absorbing history of medicine takes the reader on a sweeping journey, revealing that Western medicine has its origins not only in the...

Are plants intelligent? Can they solve problems, communicate, and navigate their surroundings? Or are they passive, incapable of independent action or social behavior? Philosophers and scientists have pondered these questions since ancient Greece, most often concluding that plants are unthinking and inert: they are too silent, too sedentary - just too different from us. Yet discoveries over the past 50 years have challenged these ideas, shedding new light on the extraordinary capabilities and complex interior lives of plants.  

Certified Arborist Exam Prep is your complete guide to mastering the knowledge and skills needed to pass the ISA Certified Arborist Exam and grow your career in professional tree care. Whether you're a tree care pro seeking certification or a newcomer breaking into the field, this book prepares you with both confidence and competence.

Thomas Pakenham's classic portraits of 60 distinctive trees, available in download form for the first time. Written by Thomas Pakenham and read by Bill Paterson with an introduction read by the author and music by Orlando Gough. This download includes a fully illustrated accompanying PDF booklet. In 1996, with this astonishing collection, Thomas Pakenham produced a new kind of tree book. The arrangement owes little to conventional botany.

Forest celebrates the diverse ways in which trees and forests are as magnificent, economically relevant and profoundly enchanting today as they ever have been. Journeying across the continents, Matt Collins and Roo Lewis tie together both the historical context and modern-day applications of...

As development and subsequent habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations. But there is an important and simple step toward reversing this alarming trend: Everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity. Bringing Nature Home has sparked a national conversation about the link between healthy local ecosystems and human well-being, and this audio edition will help broaden the movement. By acting on Douglas Tallamy's practical recommendations, everyone can make a difference.

In the summer of 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter set off to run the Colorado River, accompanied by an ambitious and entrepreneurial expedition leader, a zoologist, and two amateur boatmen. With its churning waters and treacherous boulders, the Colorado was famed as the most dangerous river in the world. Journalists and veteran river runners boldly proclaimed that the motley crew would never make it out alive. But for Clover and Jotter, the expedition held a tantalizing appeal: no one had yet surveyed the plant life of the Grand Canyon, and they were determined to be the first.

Dive into the world of medicinal seaweeds with this complete guide to the distinctive flavors and healing properties of these important marine plants. Author Tasha Greenwood combines their expertise in marine biology and clinical herbalism in this richly layered and fascinating reference, which...

Wise women, apothecaries, witches, herbalists: whatever you like to call them, those who cultivate plants for their apparent mystical properties have existed for thousands of years. The Witch's Garden tells the story of our folkloric fascination with these magical specimens, documenting the beliefs and rituals surrounding the natural world. This book beautifully evokes the bewitching nature of mysterious plants.