Plant Biology

A natural history of the wilderness in our homes, from the microbes in our showers to the crickets in our basements Even when the floors are sparkling clean and the house seems silent, our domestic domain is wild beyond imagination. In Never Home Alone, biologist Rob Dunn introduces us to the nearly 200,000 species living with us in our own homes, from the Egyptian meal moths in our cupboards and camel crickets in our basements to the lactobacillus lounging on our kitchen counters. You are not alone.

With three hearts and blue blood, its gelatinous body unconstrained by jointed limbs or gravity, the octopus seems to be an alien, an inhabitant of another world. It’s baggy, boneless body sprouts eight arms covered with thousands of suckers—suckers that can taste as well as feel. The octopus also has the powers of a superhero: it can shape-shift, change color, squirt ink, pour itself through the tiniest of openings, or jet away through the sea faster than a swimmer can follow.

The globetrotting naturalists of the 18th century were the geeks of their day: innovators and explorers who lived at the intersection of science and commerce. Foremost among them was Carl Linnaeus, a radical thinker who revolutionized biology. In What Linnaeus Saw, Karen Magnuson Beil chronicles Linnaeus's life and career in readable, relatable prose.

In Monarchs and Milkweed, Anurag Agrawal presents a vivid investigation into how the monarch butterfly has evolved closely alongside the milkweed - a toxic plant named for the sticky white substance emitted when its leaves are damaged - and how this inextricable and intimate relationship has been like an arms race over the millennia, a battle of exploitation and defense between two fascinating species.

Several years ago, ecologist Lauren E. Oakes set out from California for Alaska's old-growth forests to hunt for a dying tree: the yellow-cedar. With climate change as the culprit, the death of this species meant loss for many Alaskans. Oakes and her research team wanted to chronicle how plants and people could cope with their rapidly changing world. Amidst the standing dead, she discovered the resiliency of forgotten forests, flourishing again in the wake of destruction, and a diverse community of people who persevered to create new relationships with the emerging environment.

In forests, fields and even gardens, there is a constant exchange of information going on. Animals and plants must communicate with one another to survive, but they also tell lies, set traps, talk to themselves and speak to each other in a variety of unexpected ways. In Nature Is Never Silent, behavioural biologist Madlen Ziege reveals the fascinating world of nonhuman communication. In charming, humorous and accessible prose, she shows how nature’s language can help us to understand our own place in the natural world a little better.

Botany is the fundamental of plants life science from seed to a giant tree. It is the branch of biology which study of fruits and flowering plants are all there biochemical processes, structures, classification, evolution, physiology and the diseases when plants and trees interact with environment. In the book of Botany, text providing to guide with the latest content on plant life, plant biotechnology, and the most recent coverage of physiology and reproduction of plants to stay readers on the forefront of cutting-edge in this biological field. Botany The life of Plants, clearly ...

Do plants really move? Absolutely! You might be surprised by all ways plants can move. Plants might not pick up their roots and walk away, but they definitely don't sit still! Discover the many ways plants (and their seeds) move. Whether it's a sunflower, a Venus flytrap, or an exotic plant like an exploding cucumber, this fascinating book shows just how excitingly active plants really are.

Science writer and plant expert Rebecca E. Hirsch presents fun and gross facts about a variety of plants along with explaining the science behind why they do what they do. Featured plants include the Venus flytrap, an African tree that houses stinking ants to protect itself from hungry animals, a "vampire vine" that sucks nutrients from other plants, and fiendishly invasive kudzu.

Do bulls get angry when they see the color red? Do plants grow by snacking on soil? Are bats blind? At one time science supported wild notions like these! But later studies proved these ideas were nonsense. Discover science's biggest mistakes and oddest assumptions about plants and animals, and see how scientific thought changed over time.

A leaf can be a...shade spiller, mouth filler, tree topper, rain stopper. Find out about the many roles leaves play in this poetic exploration of leaves throughout the year.