Plant Science

If you’re already questioning the medical establishment and you’re looking for alternatives to drugs that often address the symptoms rather than the disease, these are the books for you.

You don’t need to be a professional landscaper to be able to grow your own thriving garden, and you definitely don’t need four acres of land to add a touch of nature to your home. Whether you’re a lifelong gardener looking for inspiration, or you’re just someone who loves being surrounded by nature, this comprehensive guide will give you everything you need to know about growing plants in small spaces with raised beds, containers, and vertical structures, so you can finally start on a gardening journey that will last a lifetime.

Self-confessed bad birdwatcher Simon Barnes thought he knew nothing about plants. He didn't object to them: trees are interesting, because birds perch in them; plants are useful as they create habitats and birds live in habitats. But while admiring the tenacity of some sea kale and yellow-horned poppy to thrive on an inhospitable shingle beach, he was struck by a truth - it all begins with plants. In this funny and inspiring book, Simon Barnes tells the story of a lifelong relationship with plants, and the realisation of the fact.

As plants see it, humans are not the masters of the Earth but only one of its most unpleasant and irksome residents. They have been on the planet for only about 300,000 years ago (nothing compared to the three billon years of plant evolution) yet have changed the conditions of the planet so drastically as to make it a dangerous place for their own survival. It's time for the plants to offer advice.

The year is 1200, well, let’s just say it’s a time of brutal beauty, where the clash of steel echoes through the valleys and the stench of death hangs heavy in the air. Forget the polished tales of valiant knights and virtuous queens.

Von der guten Kraft der Natur. Schon lange haben wir es geahnt, aber bisher war es nicht wissenschaftlich erwiesen: Kathy Willis liefert in diesem Hörbuch den Nachweis, dass die sinnliche Wahrnehmung von Pflanzen ursächlich ist für eine bessere Gesundheit und Stimmung sowie ein langes Leben. Die Forscherin zeigt viele, teils überraschende Wege, wie die Natur unser Leben positiv beeinflussen kann: Die Berührung von Holz beruhigt, Zedernholz stärkt die Krebsbekämpfungszellen in unserem Immunsystem, der Duft von Rosen trägt dazu bei, entspannt und sicherer Auto zu fahren.

Freedom and equality are the watchwords of American democracy. But like justice, freedom and equality are meaningless when there is no corresponding practical application of the ideals they represent. Physical, bodily liberty is fundamental to every American’s personal sovereignty. And yet, millions of Americans—including author Deborah Plant’s brother, whose life sentence at Angola Prison reveals a shocking current parallel to her academic work on the history of slavery in America—are deprived of these basic freedoms every day.

Willkommen im gefährlichsten Garten der Welt! Auf den ersten Blick wirkt der Schlossgarten von Alnwick ganz harmlos: gepflegte Hecken, blühende Beete, saftiges Grün. Doch hinter seinen Toren verbirgt sich der tödlichste Garten der Welt: Poison Garden. Gegründet von Jane Percy, Herzogin von Northumberland. Hier beginnt Noemis Reise in die Welt der Gifte. Fasziniert folgt sie John Knox, der den Besuchern von Alraune bis Rizinusbaum die Pflanzen und ihre verheerenden Wirkungen erklärt. Und Noemi versteht: Wo Gift wächst, sind auch Mörder.

Andy, a typical twelve-year-old boy living in Stockport, England, is about to embark on an adventure unlike any other. His ordinary life, filled with school, homework, and his two loyal dogs, is about to be turned upside down. The catalyst for this extraordinary journey is a secondhand PlayStation, a gift that seems quite ordinary at first glance.

Darker than the night, like a piece of reality had been ripped out of the world to grant a view into the endless abyss of the void, a shape rose from the low hills of the moor, towering above all. Sherlock Holmes, his brother Mycroft, and their associate Mary Morstan are some of the most adept mages in London, safeguarding the peace of the city. Their daily life of solving crimes is interrupted when an ancient threat rises in Dartmoor.

Propositions about artificial intelligence are being debated seriously in the 21st Century, but machines, unlike plants, are not even living organisms. So, are plants sentient beings, like humans? Do they feel? Can they communicate? Plant sentience is a subject that has intrigued mankind over the ages—from the ancient Greeks, Plato and Aristotle, through to modern day philosophers and psychologists. In this extraordinary book, Australia's Dr Terence McMullen presents an engaging, systematic and thorough study of plant psychology.

Throughout their married lives, baseball star Gaspar Bethlen's wife gave him a lovingly crafted mystery every year for Christmas. Solving the clues led him to his present, but the mysteries themselves were the true gift. Now, Beth has died, leaving Gasper a wreck of a man. But Beth left behind a clue, the beginning of one final Christmas mystery, and it's much more than either of them expected.

Exploding myths and offering research-backed advice, this audiobook provides a shortcut to decades of gardening experience by explaining the science behind how a garden grows. Why does my cherry tree blossom but never fruit? What's the most effective slug deterrent? Could I breed my own unique variety of flower? The world of gardening can be a mystifying place, with so many instructions to follow and often little explanation as to why.

Over several seasons, Kassabova spends time with the people of this magical region. She meets women and men who work in a long lineage of foragers, healers and mystics. She learns about wild plants and the ancient practice of herbalism, and experiences a symbiotic system where nature and culture have blended for thousands of years. Through her captivating encounters we come to feel the devastating weight of the ecological and cultural disinheritance that the people of this valley have suffered. Yet, in her search for elixir, she also finds reasons for hope.

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.

Join Chedderfield and his companions as they navigate a post-apocalyptic wasteland filled with dark humor, horror, and heart-wrenching deaths. Get ready for twists, turns, and gut-wrenching losses as you follow the journey to uncover the truth behind Archimedes' death and the true meaning of survival in a world where anything can happen.

On January 25, 1862, naturalist Charles Darwin received a box of orchids. One flower, the Madagascar star orchid, fascinated him. It had an 11.5-inch nectary, the place where flowers make nectar, the sweet liquid that insects and birds eat. How, he wondered, did insects pollinate the orchid? It took 130 years to find the answer.

"Se si sta dentro un bosco in posizione di ascolto, prima o poi si avverte, si intuisce la presenza di un flusso di energia che circola tra i rami, le foglie, le radici. Talvolta è un sussurro, altre volte strepiti e grida. È come se le piante parlassero tra loro." Camminatore infaticabile e sensibilissimo osservatore della natura, Daniele Zovi, negli anni, questi suoni ha imparato ad ascoltarli e interpretarli.

The Meaning of Trees tells the story of plants and people in Aotearoa New Zealand. It shows us how a globally unique flora has been used for food, medicine, shelter, spirituality and science. From Jurassic giants to botanical oddballs—these are our wonderful native and endemic plants, in an exquisite hardback edition.

Penguin Audio presents The Plant Messiah by Carlos Magdalena, read by Roy McMillan. Carlos Magdalena of Kew Gardens is not your average botanical horticulturist. He's a man on a mission to save the world's most endangered plants from ecological destruction and thieves hunting for wealthy collectors. He is a plant messiah. From the planet's tiniest waterlily - the Nymphaea thermarum - to Huarango trees with roots over 50 metres long, Carlos has a miraculous ability to bring breathtakingly beautiful plants back from the brink of extinction.