Wonders of the plant kingdom : a microcosm revealed / Wolfgang Stuppy, Rob Kesseler, Madeline Harley.

Many of the most remarkable features of plants cannot be seen by the human eye. The amazing geometric structures of pollen grains, or the dust-like seeds of orchids, to the layered innards of a fruit ripe for pollination. Evolutionary adaptations over thousands of years have resulted in forms of exc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Stuppy, Wolfgang (Author)
Kesseler, Rob (Author)
Harley, M. M. (Madeline M.) (Author)
Language:English
Published: Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 2014.
Subjects:
Plants.
Botany.
Seeds.
Physical Description:146 pages : color illustrations ; 25 cm
Format: Book
Contents:
  • Precious dust: The difference between pollen, spores and seed
  • Those who copulate in secret
  • No match for a seed
  • An invisible microcosm
  • Apertures
  • Finding the other half
  • Pollination by wind and water
  • Pollination by animals
  • Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder
  • The insect pollination syndrome
  • Bee flowers
  • Butterfly and moth flowers
  • Flies and beetles as pollinators
  • The bird pollination syndrome
  • The bat pollination syndrome
  • Typical bat flowers
  • Exotic pollinators
  • The advantages of animal pollination
  • Fruits and Seeds: What is a fruit and what is a vegetable?
  • The true nature of fruits
  • The various ways to get around
  • Wind dispersal
  • Seeds like dust
  • Masterpieces of Nature
  • Indirect wind dispersal
  • Water dispersal
  • Rafters and sailors
  • Sea beans
  • The biggest seed in the world
  • Explosive strategies
  • Animal couriers
  • Tenacious hitchhikers
  • Caltrops, devil's claws and other sadistic fruits
  • Reward rather than punishment
  • Small rewards for little helpers
  • Juicy temptations
  • Colourful appendages
  • Fraudsters of the plant kingdom
  • The everlasting beauty of plants
  • Phytopia: The 'Making Of'' Wonders of the Plant Kingdom: How Science Becomes Art
  • The Millennium Seed Bank: The World's Largest Plant Conservation Initiative.