| International Standard Book Number |
9780593834978 ebook
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| International Standard Book Number |
9780593834961 hardcover
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| International Standard Book Number |
0593834968 hardcover
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| Personal Name |
Haskell, David George, author.
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| Title Statement |
How flowers made our world : the story of nature's revolutionaries / David George Haskell ; with illustrations by Lucy Smith.
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| Edition Statement |
First edition.
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| Edition Statement |
First United States edition.
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| Production, Publication, Distribution, Manufacture, and Copyright Notice |
New York, NY : Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2026.
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| Physical Description |
xvii, 328 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.
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| Bibliography, Etc. Note |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-314) and index.
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| Formatted Contents Note |
Magnolia -- Goatsbeard -- Orchid -- Grass -- Seagrass -- Rose -- Tea -- Pansy -- Speculative futures -- Afterword: On floral beauty and joy -- Supplement: Invitations for play with flowers.
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| Summary, Etc. |
"An exquisite exploration of the power of flowers, placing them at the center of the story of how evolution created the world we know today. We live on a floral planet, yet flowers don't get the credit they deserve. We admire them for their aesthetics, not their world-changing power. Inspired by the most up-to-date scientific research, David George Haskell observes, smells, and studies flowers such as magnolias, orchids, and roses, as well as fascinating but less well-known flowers such as seagrasses, to show us what we've been missing. Flowers are beautiful revolutionaries. When they evolved, they remade the natural world: They used beauty to transform former enemies into cooperative partners. They reinvented plant growth, sex, and motherhood. Through radical genetic flexibility, they turned past environmental upheavals into opportunities for renewal. This inventiveness allowed them to build and sustain rain forests, savannahs, prairies, and even ocean shores. Without flowers, human beings would not exist. We are a floral species, dependent on flowers for food and our habitats, as well as using flowers for beauty, scent, and culturally important rituals. Looking to the future, flowers offer us lessons on resilience and creativity in the face of rapid environmental change. How Flowers Made Our World combines lyrical writing, sensual exploration, and scientific expertise to explore some of the most consequential life forms ever to have evolved, showing how our planet came to be and how it thrives today"-- Provided by publisher.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Natural history.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Flowers.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Plant ecology.
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| Index Term-Genre/Form |
Informational works.
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| Added Entry, Personal Name |
Smith, Lucy T., illustrator.
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