
Green Inheritance
Saving the Plants of the World
Anthony Huxley(Author)
University of California Press
1st Edition
Published on 8. February 2006
Book
Paperback/Softback
192 pages
978-0-520-24359-0 (ISBN)
Description
Humans are entirely dependent on plants: we eat them, build with them, burn them for power, breathe the air they maintain, cure our ills with them. Yet, we are destroying this fundamental resource at a terrifying rate. This extensively revised and updated edition of Anthony Huxley's magnificent global overview of our plant kingdom portrays the beauty, diversity, and history of wild and cultivated plants, highlighting their profound importance in our lives. With its beautiful color photographs, drawings, charts, diagrams, and superb text, Green Inheritance describes the role of plants in the global environment and across cultures; shows how plants are used for food, fuel, and medicine; considers their role for us as objects of beauty in gardens; and much more. Encyclopedic in scope and full of intriguing stories about many individual plants, this remarkable book emphasizes just how essential our green inheritance is to the future of humanity. Huxley explores many topics that reflect a deepening concern about the threats to our plant heritage such as the slender genetic base of the world's staple crops and the dwindling last locations of wild resources with unexplored potential. This new edition expands its coverage of current issues such as invasive plants, hotspots of plant diversity, herbal medicines, genetically modified crops, and sustainable timber harvesting. Writing with wisdom and vision, Huxley has created an invaluable resource for learning about the world's plant life that underscores the importance and urgency of plant conservation.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkeley, California
United States
Publishing group
The University of California Press
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 279 mm
Width: 241 mm
Weight
851 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-24359-0 (9780520243590)
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Author
The late Anthony Huxley was author of Plant and Planet (1974) and thirty others books and field guides on flowers and horticulture. He was an editor at Amateur Gardening.
Foreword
Content
Foreword by David Attenborough Chapter One The Green Inheritance Chapter Two Guardians of the Environment Chapter Three Green Travellers Chapter Four Our Daily Bread Chapter Five The Spice of Life Chapter Six Green Wealth Chapter Seven Green Medicine Chapter Eight Objects of Beauty Chapter Nine Plants and Society Chapter Ten Improving the Resources Chapter Eleven Saving the Plants that Save Us A Future for Plants Further Reading/Acknowledgements Index