Plant Science Literature

The eighteenth-century naturalist Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) argued that plants are animate, living beings and attributed them sensation, movement, and a certain degree of mental activity, emphasizing the continuity between humankind and plant existence. Two centuries later, the understanding of plants as active and communicative organisms has reemerged in such diverse fields as plant neurobiology, philosophical posthumanism, and ecocriticism. The Language of Plants brings together groundbreaking essays from across the disciplines to foster a dialogue between the biological sciences and the humanities and to reconsider our relation to the vegetal world in new ethical and political terms. Viewing plants as sophisticated information-processing organisms with complex communication strategies (they can sense and respond to environmental cues and play an active role in their own survival and reproduction through chemical languages) radically transforms our notion of plants as unresponsive beings, ready to be instrumentally appropriated. By providing multifaceted understandings of plants, informed by the latest developments in evolutionary ecology, the philosophy of biology, and ecocritical theory, The Language of Plants promotes the freedom of imagination necessary for a new ecological awareness and more sustainable interactions with diverse life forms. Contributors: Joni Adamson, Arizona State U; Nancy E. Baker, Sarah Lawrence College; Karen L. F. Houle, U of Guelph; Luce Irigaray, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris; Erin James, U of Idaho; Richard Karban, U of California at Davis; André Kessler, Cornell U; Isabel Kranz, U of Vienna; Michael Marder, U of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU); Timothy Morton, Rice U; Christian Nansen, U of California at Davis; Robert A. Raguso, Cornell U; Catriona Sandilands, York U.

Reproductive Biology of Angiosperms: Concepts and Laboratory Methods will cater to the needs of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing core and elective courses in life sciences, botany, and plant sciences. The book is designed according to the syllabi followed in major Indian universities. It provides the latest and detailed description of structures and processes involved in reproduction in higher plants. The inclusion of colour photographs and illustrations will be an effective visual aid to help readers. Interesting and significant findings of the latest research taking place in the field of reproductive biology are also provided in boxes. At the end of each chapter, the methodology of hands-on exercises is presented for the implementation and practice of theoretical concepts.

This revised text provides a comprehensive introduction to the fascinating world of plant science. From the basic requirements for plant growth, to genetic engineering and biotechnology, this easy- to- understand book is ideal for the high school level agriscience curriculum or college freshman level plant science course. Students will learn about the origins of cultivated plants, structure and anatomy, photosynthesis, respiration, propagation, production of major agronomic crops, and more.

With over 1000 original drawings and 500 photographs, this work offers complete coverage of cell biology, plant physiology and molecular biology.

Written by some of the most respected innovators in the field, this comprehensive text takes an in-depth look at the environmental, cultural and social factors that influence how plants are grown and used worldwide. The newest edition cites the most recent statistics, production methods and issues concerning the production and utilization of plants. It offers several web-based resources including a free companion website with practice questions andonline crop fact sheets that give information at a local level. Along with information on climate and environment, it also explores plants’ tremendous economic impact in both developed and developing nations. Introduces the basics of plant science including the ecosystem; climate; managing soil, water and fertility; and pest management. Examines plant structure, chemistry, growth and development; genetics and biodiversity and their relationship to crop growing and utilization systems. Covers multiple crop types and growth settings including nursery, landscape and greenhouse. Also discusses how crops are preserved, transported and marketed.For anyone interested in how plants are cultivated and utilized.

Myth, art, literature, film, and other discourses are replete with depictions of evil plants, salvific plants, and human-plant hybrids. In various ways, these representations intersect with “deep-rooted” insecurities about the place of human beings in the natural world, the relative viability of animalian motility and heterotrophy as evolutionary strategies, as well as the identity of organic life as such. Plants surprise us by combining the appearance of harmlessness and familiarity with an underlying strangeness. The otherness of vegetal life poses a challenge to our ethical, philosophical, and existential categories and tests the limits of human empathy and imagination. At the same time, the resilience of plants, their adaptability, and their integration with their habitat are a perennial source of inspiration and wisdom. Plants and Literature: Essays in Critical Plant Studies examines the manner in which literary texts and other cultural products express our multifaceted relationship with the vegetable kingdom. The range of perspectives brought to bear on the subject of plant life by the various authors and critics represented in this volume comprise a novel vision of ecological interdependence and stimulate a revitalized sensitivity to the relationships we share with our photosynthetic brethren. Randy Laist is Associate Professor of English at Goodwin College. He is the author of Technology and Postmodern Subjectivity in Don DeLillo’s Novels and the editor of Looking for Lost: Critical Essays on the Enigmatic Series. He has also published dozens of articles on literature, film, and pedagogy.