An Orchard Invisible: A Natural History of Seeds
An Orchard Invisible: A Natural History of Seeds By Jonathan Silvertown
2009 | 216 Pages | ISBN: 0226757730 | PDF | 2 MB
2009 | 216 Pages | ISBN: 0226757730 | PDF | 2 MB
An orchard invisible: seeds -- First forms minute: evolution -- Even beans do it: sex -- Before the seed: pollination -- According to their own kinds: inheritance -- O rose, thou art sick!: enemies -- The biggest coconut I ever see: size -- Ten thousand acorns: number -- Luscious clusters of the vine: fruit -- Winged seeds: dispersal -- Circumstance unknown: fate -- Fierce energy: germination -- Sorrow's mysteries: poisons -- Ah, sun-flower!: oil -- John Barleycorn: beer -- Realm of illusion: coffee -- Nourishment and inspiration: gastronomy.;The story of seeds, in a nutshell, is a tale of evolution. From the tiny sesame that we sprinkle on our bagels to the forty-five-pound double coconut borne by the coco de mer tree, seeds are a perpetual reminder of the complexity and diversity of life on earth. With An Orchard Invisible, Jonathan Silvertown presents the oft-ignored seed with the natural history it deserves, one nearly as varied and surprising as the earth's flora itself. Beginning with the evolution of the first seed plant from fernlike ancestors more than 360 million years ago, Silvertown carries his tale through epochs and a.