The Nature of Plants
An Introduction to How Plants Work
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
Choice Outstanding Academic Title
Florida Book Awards, Bronze Medal for General Nonfiction
Plants play a critical role in how we experience our environment. They create calming green spaces, provide oxygen for us to breathe, and nourish our senses. In The Nature of Plants, ecologist and nursery owner Craig Huegel demystifies the complex lives of plants and provides readers with an extensive tour into their workings.
Beginning with the importance of light, water, and soil, Huegel describes the process of photosynthesis and how best to position plants to receive optimal sunlight. He explains why plants suffer from overwatering, what essential elements plants need to flourish, and what important soil organisms reside with them. Readers will understand the difference between friendly and hostile bacteria, fungi, and insects.
Sections on plant structure and reproduction focus in detail on major plant organs—roots, stems, and leaves—and cover flowering, pollination, fruit development, and seed germination. Huegel even delves into the mysterious world of plant communication, exploring the messages conveyed to animals or other plants through chemical scents and hormones.
With color illustrations, photographs, and real-life examples from his own gardening experiences, Huegel equips budding botanists, ecologists, and even the most novice gardeners with knowledge that will help them understand and foster plants of all types.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Plant biology professor Huegel addresses this unassuming but superbly well-explained primer to the modest goal of educating gardeners in scientific fundamentals, "so that more gardens thrive and fewer plants die." However, an active horticultural practice isn't required for enjoyment. Huegel provides the basic facts of plant biology, starting with their evolution from ocean-based algae about 500 million years ago, and how the development of a simple vascular system made plant complexity possible. He walks readers through the mechanics of photosynthesis and the components of plant cells without jargon or assumptions of familiarity with those subjects. While Huegel does give out practical tips such as that removing leaves and plant debris from lawns is a mistake, as doing so eliminates a valuable and natural source of fertilizer the most eye-opening sections pertain to how plants communicate with each other as defense mechanisms, and to evidence that trees can send resources to trees directly related to them. This is an outstanding introduction that will serve avid gardeners well, and may also sway those who previously viewed plant life as inert and absent of interest.
