Lessons from Plants
Published on 6. April 2021
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-0-674-24128-2 (ISBN)
Description
An exploration of how plant behavior and adaptation offer valuable insights for human thriving.
We know that plants are important. They maintain the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. They nourish other living organisms and supply psychological benefits to humans as well, improving our moods and beautifying the landscape around us. But plants don't just passively provide. They also take action.
Beronda L. Montgomery explores the vigorous, creative lives of organisms often treated as static and predictable. In fact, plants are masters of adaptation. They "know" what and who they are, and they use this knowledge to make a way in the world. Plants experience a kind of sensation that does not require eyes or ears. They distinguish kin, friend, and foe, and they are able to respond to ecological competition despite lacking the capacity of fight-or-flight. Plants are even capable of transformative behaviors that allow them to maximize their chances of survival in a dynamic and sometimes unfriendly environment.
Lessons from Plants enters into the depth of botanic experience and shows how we might improve human society by better appreciating not just what plants give us but also how they achieve their own purposes. What would it mean to learn from these organisms, to become more aware of our environments and to adapt to our own worlds by calling on perception and awareness? Montgomery's meditative study puts before us a question with the power to reframe the way we live: What would a plant do?
We know that plants are important. They maintain the atmosphere by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. They nourish other living organisms and supply psychological benefits to humans as well, improving our moods and beautifying the landscape around us. But plants don't just passively provide. They also take action.
Beronda L. Montgomery explores the vigorous, creative lives of organisms often treated as static and predictable. In fact, plants are masters of adaptation. They "know" what and who they are, and they use this knowledge to make a way in the world. Plants experience a kind of sensation that does not require eyes or ears. They distinguish kin, friend, and foe, and they are able to respond to ecological competition despite lacking the capacity of fight-or-flight. Plants are even capable of transformative behaviors that allow them to maximize their chances of survival in a dynamic and sometimes unfriendly environment.
Lessons from Plants enters into the depth of botanic experience and shows how we might improve human society by better appreciating not just what plants give us but also how they achieve their own purposes. What would it mean to learn from these organisms, to become more aware of our environments and to adapt to our own worlds by calling on perception and awareness? Montgomery's meditative study puts before us a question with the power to reframe the way we live: What would a plant do?
Reviews / Votes
An accessible and, thankfully, jargon-free introduction to a science that has advanced a great deal recently-and has revolutionized the way that we look at our evolutionary predecessors...For the curious, Lessons from Plants is an excellent introduction to a world that most of us know too little about. -- Richard Schiffman * Christian Science Monitor * Offers a deep engagement with plant lives, showing how growing our plant awareness can benefit our understanding of human societies and relationships. * LSE Review of Books * An invitation to awareness, awe, and curiosity. Beronda Montgomery takes us deep into the sophisticated and life-giving behaviors and community lives of plants, giving us evergreen lessons about resilience and diversity along the way. -- David George Haskell, author of Pulitzer Prize finalist <i>The Forest Unseen</i> and John Burroughs Medal winner <i>The Songs of Trees</i> A fascinating look at the adaptive behavior of plants, how they respond to their environments and neighbors-and, ultimately, what we can learn from them. A brilliant read for gardeners. * Psychologies * Thoughtful, contemplative, factual, and philosophical; it's quite different to any other plant biology-based book I've read. -- Nigel Chaffey * Botany One * The plant world is intriguing and endlessly fascinating, with its complexity and resourcefulness. This clearly written pocket-sized book takes a look at the adaptive behavior of plants, the way they act and what we can learn from them. The author demonstrates that, far from being static and predictable, plants are masters of adaptation. They can experience sensations without needing eyes and ears, distinguish family, friend or foe, and respond to ecological competition despite lacking the capacity for the fight-or-flight response. -- Carole Gridley * Gardening Australia * Regal[es] the reader with the latest botanical research. * Inquisitive Biologist * A comprehensive look into the world of everything green. This book explores the connection between plant behavior and how the same can be introduced into human life and living...An in-depth botanic experience and meditative study into what connects us to our leafy friends. * The Telegraph (India) * [Montgomery's] knowledge and enthusiasm will have readers looking at plants in a new light. * Publishers Weekly * Lessons from Plants is an astonishing and luminously written work. By drawing surprising connections between the largely hidden world of plant behavior and the deep problems of human existence, Montgomery vividly illustrates the importance of paying close attention to the intentional behavior of stems, branches, and roots that often escapes our awareness. At once moving, accessible, and edifying, Lessons from Plants is a tour de force of science communication and a profound meditation on the nature of being. -- Crystal M. Fleming, author of <i>How to Be Less Stupid about Race</i> A wonderful portrait of life as a plant. In an accessible style and fluid prose, Montgomery teaches us modern plant biology interwoven with personal stories and philosophy, and ultimately, how to live meaningful, sense-filled lives. -- Jo Handelsman, Director, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, and HHMI Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Whether you are a budding plant biologist, interested in the scientific process, or excited about learning more about the natural world, Lessons from Plants is a must-read. -- Pamela Ronald, coauthor of <i>Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food</i> Lessons from Plants brilliantly highlights principles of plant self-recognition, growth, resources, and adaptations to gift us a newfound level of awareness. These insights illuminate how we might help those around us thrive-I plan to put key lessons into practice. -- Prachee Avasthi, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth Beronda Montgomery studies the secret life of plants, and her findings might surprise us. Plants have communities and can identify and favor their genetic kin. They adapt to complicated conditions in their environments. They are also more productive in a diverse ecosystem. In a beguiling set of observations, Montgomery notes how humans are similar creatures-this book is a call not only to plant awareness, but to self-awareness. -- Teresa A. Sullivan, author of <i>Census 2020: Understanding the Issues</i> A love letter to the natural world. This extraordinary, brave, and thoughtful meditation considers the connection between plants and mentoring, a link I'd never before contemplated. Through gorgeous storytelling and scholarship, Lessons from Plants will speak to scientists, naturalists, and everyone who has experienced the evocative relationship between a mentor and mentee. -- Mary Deane Sorcinelli, coauthor of <i>Faculty Development in the Age of Evidence</i> Refreshing, transformative and rooted in the author's personal and professional experience, the message of this little book could shift your world on its axis. Here are simple yet profound insights into an intrinsic 'wisdom' in the kingdom of plants, reflections on how that wisdom could apply to human living, and a vision of a different world in which these lessons are taken to heart. -- John Roff * African Journal of Range & Forage Science *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge, Mass
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
13 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 188 mm
Width: 106 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
270 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-674-24128-2 (9780674241282)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Beronda L. Montgomery is Professor of Biology, and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Grinnell College. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Plant Biologists, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the American Academy of Microbiology, she was named one of Cell's 100 Inspiring Black Scientists in America and was the winner of the 2021 Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award and the 2022 Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award for outstanding service to the science of plant biology.