Plants are fascinating - we get the ones we can eat, the ones that would rather eat us, some that help us "have a good time" (whether legal wherever you live or not), ones we keep as decoration, those that we make clothing out of, some grant shelter / shade, others can heal, all of them produce the oxygen we so need to live. Stephen Barstow presents fascinating and useful information about his top 80 perennial leafy vegetables including lots of historical references, his and others’ recipe ideas, along with photos and more. Many of these are easily grown and can be ornamental as well as great edibles. This will be a really useful book helping extend the range of food plants for gardeners.”Martin Crawford, Agroforestry Research Trust. What has underground gardening in Tokyo, the origin of garlic and an English bishop got in common? They are all stories from the original, groundbreaking book, Around The World In 80 Plants. Perennial gardening will never be the same again, nor will be your kitchen repertoire!

Often beautiful, sometimes deadly, but constantly ingenious, plants are the sources of life and delight, myth and mayhem. This should prove to be the most exciting book of the year for veggie gardeners, plant geeks and ethnobotanists…” Emma Cooper, author, organic gardener & bloggerJust look how they can warn one another in case of danger either by producing scent molecules (yeah, sorry, but I have to break it to you that that wonderful smell after mowing the lawn is actually a cry for help and warning to others) or by firing signals through the root network! As I researched the book, using obscure historical sources and the most up-to-date academic papers, I discovered wonderful and frankly, bizarre new things about plants which seemed so familiar, like the tomato, and the humble dandelion, which is pretty much regarded as a weed here in England. And I had goosebump moments investigating plants that I’ve always found creepy, such as the eerie mandrake and Spanish ‘moss’ of Louisiana. An inspirational and beautifully illustrated book that tells the stories of 80 plants from around the globe.

The entries for every plant not only give the general information like the physical description but also historical context and interesting tidbits about each respective plant about its relationship with humans. My father was trained in botany but spent his career as an engineer, while my mother was interested in the aesthetics of plants,” he says. “She would carry a magnifying glass in her purse, and we’d go to Kew every week to look at the individual plants.” The country/plant associations are not always obvious nor necessarily plants native to the country or even the region. Scotland gets Rhododendron because it is so invasive that it is taking over the countryside there. One unusual tree representing the USA is the Cook Island pine, frequently planted in California, especially on college campuses. Part of the fun of this book is anticipating which plants represent which countries. Germany has entries on barley and hops, while Australia has the endemic grass tree ( Xanthorrhoea), but also the opium poppy because it is the world’s largest legal supplier to the pharmaceutical industry. Around the World in 80 Plants takes us on an original and inspiring adventure around the temperate world, introducing us to the author’s top eighty perennial leafy-green vegetables. Around The World In 80 Plants takes us on an inspiring edible adventure across the continents, introduacing us to the author’s top 80 perennial vegetables, with inspiration along the way from local foraging traditions and small scale domestication. Each plant has its own ethnobotanical story to tell; introducing Sherpa vegetables of the Himalayas; forest gardened and foraged vegetables of the Sámi people of Arctic Scandinavia; a super-vegetable of the Maori of New Zealand; an onion with a 1,000 year history linking the author’s home and Iceland ; a plant which earned the name ‘supermarket of the swamps’; the traditional veggie roof gardens of Norway; clifftop perennial vegetables of Dorset’s Jurassic coast; the Hampshire perennial vegetable triangle; Scandinavias best kept secret, a long-lived spinach that climbs; Prince Charles’ Forest Garden, and inspiring multi-species dishes of the Mediterranean countries.

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Around the World in 80 Plants will be of interest to both traditional vegetable and ornamental gardeners, as well as anyone interested in permaculture, forest gardening, foraging, slow food, gourmet cooking, and ethnobotany. A thorough description is given of each vegetable, its traditions, stories, cultivation, where to source seed and plants, and how to propagate it. This charming and beautifully illustrated book takes readers on a voyage of discovery, exploring the many ingenious and surprising uses for plants in modern science and throughout history' Kew Magazine

In his follow-up to the bestselling Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori takes another trip across the globe, bringing to life the science of plants by revealing how their worlds are intricately entwined with our own history, culture and folklore. From the seemingly familiar tomato and dandelion to the eerie mandrake and Spanish 'moss' of Louisiana, each of these stories is full of surprises. Some have a troubling past, while others have ignited human creativity or enabled whole civilizations to flourish. With a colourful cast of characters all brought to life by illustrator Lucille Clerc, this is a botanical journey of beauty and brilliance. We are taken underground gardening in Tokyo, beach gardening in the UK, and traditional roof gardening in the Norwegian mountains. . . . There are stories of the wild foraging traditions of indigenous people in all continents: from the Sámi people of northern Norway to the Maori of New Zealand, the rich food traditions of the Mediterranean peoples, the high-altitude food plants of the Sherpas in the Himalayas, wild mountain vegetables in Japan and Korea, and the wild aquatic plant that sustained Native American tribes with myriad foodstuffs and other products. A beautiful celebration of the plants and flowers that surround us and a quiet call to arms for change’ The Herald So what makes it so accessible? It comes down to a few things: short chapters, cultural and societal stories about each plant, and gorgeous illustrations.A beautiful celebration of the plants and flowers that surround us and a quiet call to arms for change AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 PLANTS by Jonathan Drori is a brilliant and - thanks to Lucille Clerc - a beautiful book. It's an excellent companion to the same author's AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 TREES. Everybody who has the slightest interest in plants - and people - and wonders why we need to conserve botanical biodiversity should read this book for curious people, for gardeners, for people who like science, animals, travelling, and/or learning, for a fascinating set of plant vignettes that are easy to dip into and savor Fun fact about me: I generally dislike touching plants. It's a weird little aversion, and maybe it's from that time I pet a cactus as a child and learned what "regret" meant, but regardless of the reason, it's a thing for me. Buuuuut I also really love nature and plants and learning and science. This is a fantastic little book, and what I most want to emphasize is that I truly think anyone can read and enjoy this!!! For a very factual nonfiction book on a very sciency topic, that is quite impressive!

elevator pitch". Его размер подразумевает что автор успеет наговорить и продать свою идею за то короткое время что ваш лифт едет до нужного этажа. Это не обязательно самый структурированный текст, и он не столько идет по плану, сколько красиво переходит от одной запоминающейся детали к другой — и так пока не откроются двери или пока не закончится двухстраничный разворот. Его цель — навести фокус и заинтересовать.

Ik kijk nu vol bewondering naar de ogenschijnlijk eenvoudige paardenbloem (Taraxacum officinale) die in Estland wordt gevierd met een heus paardenbloemenfestival. Maar ook over de aardappel, tomaat en banaan heb ik weer wat bijgeleerd. Mijn smaakpapillen werden geprikkeld door koffie, vanille, saffraan en gember. En ik maakte voor het eerst kennis met iboga en asafoetiola.