The strength of this book is that it is written by someone who has spent a lifetime devoted to the science of economic botany. The author has brought together his vast experience in the field in Africa with his studies of arid land plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The result is an informative and reliable text that covers a vast range of topics. It is also firmly based upon the author's research and interest in plant taxonomy and therefore fully acknowledges the importance of correct naming and classification in the field of science of economic botany. The coverage is of economic botany in its broadest sense. I was delighted to find such topics as ecophysiology, plant breeding, the environment and conservation are included in the text. This gives the book a much more comprehensive coverage than most other texts on the subject. I was also glad to see that the book covers the use of various organisms that are no longer considered part of the plant kingdom such as various species of fungi and algae. It is indeed a broad ranging book that will be of use to many people interested in the uses of plants and fungi. Economic botany is once again being given more prominence as a discipline because of its enormous relevance to both conservation and sustainable development. Those people involved in those topics shOUld find this a most useful resource.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

The most respected reference in the field--and a fascinating tourof the world's largest underwater greenhouse . . . MARINE BOTANY Second Edition Unmatched in detail and breadth, this Second Edition of MarineBotany explores the startling diversity and environmental dynamicsof the hundreds of micro- and macroalgae, seagrasses, mangroves,and salt marshes as well as phytoplankton (minute, free-floatingphotosynthetic plants) and benthic communities (attached plants)that comprise the flourishing botanical garden submerged in andaround the surface of our vast oceans. Reflecting the latest in research since the original 1981 edition,long considered the classic reference on marine plant life, thisnew edition's enhanced ecological perspective details the ongoingenvironmental challenges endured by these fragile life-forms.Viewing the structure and function of marine plant communities inthe context of abiotic (light, temperature, water movement,nutrients), biotic (photosynthesis, carbon fixation, competition,predation, symbiosis), and anthropogenic influences, the book moveslayer by layer through the ocean, capturing their photosyntheticand adaptive mechanisms. Pollution in the form of oil spills, heavyand radioactive metals, biological damage wrought from harvestingand aquaculture, and the harmful effects of ozone depletion andUV-B rays are detailed, along with the impact of environmentalfactors on morphological and anatomical adaptations. The book alsodescribes the anthropogenic stresses endured by salt marshes,mangals, seagrass communities, and marine plants of coral reefs,concluding with possible management and restorativetechniques. Marine Botany, Second Edition is both a vivid global map andcomprehensive guide to all of the flourishing forms of plant lifeat our oceans' surface, shores, and depths and the dynamics oftheir survival.

Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology, Third Edition, provides an updated, thorough overview of the fundamentals of botany. The topics and chapters are organized in a sequence that is easy to follow, beginning with the most familiar - structure -- and proceeding to the less familiar -- metabolism -- then finishing with those topics that are probably the least familiar to most beginning students -- genetics, evolution, the diversity of organisms, and ecology.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

Newly updated, Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology, Fourth Edition provides an current, thorough overview of the fundamentals of botany. The topics and chapters are organized in a sequence that is easy to follow, beginning with the most familiar -- structure -- and proceeding to the less familiar -- metabolism -- then finishing with those topics that are probably the least familiar to most beginning students -- genetics, evolution, the diversity of organisms, and ecology.

Organized by body system and ailment makes it easy to locate appropriate therapies. Includes background on the physiology of major systems and ailments so readers can understand how and why a pharmaceutical, botanical, or dietary supplement works. Broad coverage includes green plants, fungi, and microorganisms. Includes extensive references and citations from both conventional and complimentary-alternative medical systems when natural products or their derivatives are involved.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, and vegetation science.

The Term Systematic Botany Encompasses The Domain Not Only Of The Higher Plants, But Also Of The Lower Plants. Since It Is Not Possible To Treat Adequately The Various Plant-Groups Under A Single Volume, This Edition Is Restricted To A Discussion Of The Angiosperms. It Has Been Designed As A Textbook For The Undergraduate Students (Pass & Honours) Of All The Indian Universities And It Will Be Helpful To Postgraduate Students In Botany As Well As To The Study Of Agriculture And Allied Subjects. The Author Has Abandoned Bentham-Hookers System And Presented A New Scheme Of Angiosperm-Classification. Although The Latter Scheme, Like Any Other Envisaged Before, Has Its Shortcomings, It Represents The Most Probable Natural Relationship Among Flowering Plants.Almost All The Taxa Prevalent In The Indian Flora Have Been Dealt With, Covering 44 Orders And 193 Families. Generally, Each Order Has Been Discussed In The Light Of Phylogeny And With Emphasis On Its General Features, Circum Inter-Relationship, Origin And Means Of Identification Of Various Families (By Bracketed Keys). Those Families Prominent In The Countrys Flora Have Been Described Under Six Or Seven Different Heads, Depending On The Available Information. Though The Inconspicuous Ones Have Not Been Categorised Likewise, One Can Even Find In Them The Array Of Items Under Each Family Being Suitably Treated. Moreover, The Nomenclature Of Plants Have Been Checked And Brought Up-To-Date As Far As Possible. Part One Is An Expose Of Taxonomic Principles, While PartsThree And Four, Deal With The Dicotyledonous And Monocotyledonous Plants Respectively. Under Part Two, There Are Certain Specialised Topics Which Have A Bearing On The Study Of The Systematic Botany Of Angiosperms. A List Of Important Books And Papers Is Inserted At The End Of Each Part. In Brief, The Author Has Made Anattempt To Give A Complete Picture Of Angiosperm Systematics.

The book that helped make Michael Pollan, the New York Times bestselling author of Cooked and The Omnivore’s Dilemma, one of the most trusted food experts in America In 1637, one Dutchman paid as much for a single tulip bulb as the going price of a town house in Amsterdam. Three and a half centuries later, Amsterdam is once again the mecca for people who care passionately about one particular plant—though this time the obsessions revolves around the intoxicating effects of marijuana rather than the visual beauty of the tulip. How could flowers, of all things, become such objects of desire that they can drive men to financial ruin? In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan argues that the answer lies at the heart of the intimately reciprocal relationship between people and plants. In telling the stories of four familiar plant species that are deeply woven into the fabric of our lives, Pollan illustrates how they evolved to satisfy humankinds’s most basic yearnings—and by doing so made themselves indispensable. For, just as we’ve benefited from these plants, the plants, in the grand co-evolutionary scheme that Pollan evokes so brilliantly, have done well by us. The sweetness of apples, for example, induced the early Americans to spread the species, giving the tree a whole new continent in which to blossom. So who is really domesticating whom? Weaving fascinating anecdotes and accessible science into gorgeous prose, Pollan takes us on an absorbing journey that will change the way we think about our place in nature. From the Hardcover edition.

This book is a by-product of a rather extended experience in the teaching of botany and especially of seven years of effort to develop an introductory course that would give students a broad view of the subject and enable them to see its problems and appreciate the importance of the solution of these problems.

A concise, descriptive overview of mangrove plants, with emphasis on individual species.

Although it rarely receives the attention it deserves from anthropologists, medical herbalism is perhaps the most widespread and most ancient form of therapy. This book describes in detail one such herbalist tradition, that found in southern Malawi. Offering the first comprehensive examination of medical herbalism in Malawi, this study combines anthropological and botanical insights into medical herbalism. The book is divided into two parts: the first outlines the ethnographic context of the herbalist tradition with discussion of Chewa ethnobotany and the local classification of plants; the various categories of medicine that are expressed in the local culture; the nature and scope of folk herbalism, its practitioners and its relation to biomedicine; local conceptions of disease; and beliefs relating to witchcraft and divination. The second part, which incorporates the researches of a Malawian chemist, Dr Jerome Msonthi, contains detailed information on over 500 Malawian plants with notes on their local names, distribution, botanical descriptions and various medicinal uses.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, and vegetation science.