The Rose's Kiss: A Natural History Of FlowersIsland Press, 1999 - 267 strani Flowers bring joy and beauty to our lives, from the smallest patch of daisies outside our window to the elaborate floral decorations on display at weddings, banquets, and funerals. As well as offering aesthetic benefits, they teach us much about how the world works -- each blossom is a living factory that manufactures organs and compounds ranging from the flavonoids that make a rose red to the pollen that gives us hayfever.In The Rose's Kiss, botanist Peter Bernhardt rekindles our sense of wonder at the plant life all around us. He presents a fascinating and wide ranging look at the natural history of flowers -- their forms and functions as well as their hidden interactions with the surrounding environment and the other living organisms they depend upon for survival. Using both familiar and exotic examples, he examines: flower architecture, including the wonderfully descriptive names of floral parts and their respective roles in a plant's life-cycle the secret exchange between a bud and its environment that determines blooming time and the lifespan of individual blossoms colors, scents, and other mechanisms that plants use to attract pollinators and keep them returning season after season the incredible diversity of organisms that pollinate plants -- cockroaches, flies, moths, parrots, hummingbirds, bats, and others extinct plants and their fossil blossoms, showing the evolution of flowering plants over the past 125 million years and much moreDelightfully interwoven with intriguing facts and stories from history, folklore, and mythology, The Rose's Kiss is a wonderful example of literary science writing at its best. It should hold wide appeal for nature lovers, garden enthusiasts, and anyone interested in learning more about the inner workings of the natural world. |
Vsebina
INTRODUCTION | 3 |
CHAPTER 2 | 25 |
CHAPTER 3 | 41 |
CHAPTER 4 | 54 |
CHAPTER 5 | 67 |
CHAPTER 7 | 95 |
CHAPTER 9 | 122 |
CHAPTER 12 | 132 |
The Faithful and Unfaithful Bee | 160 |
CHAPTER 13 | 174 |
CHAPTER 14 | 187 |
CHAPTER | 198 |
CHAPTER 16 | 209 |
CHAPTER 17 | 221 |
Glossary of Flower Terms | 235 |
About the Author | 249 |
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animals anther anther sac Australia bats beetles birds bisexual bloom blossoms body botanical botanists breeds bumblebee bushes butterflies carpels chapter chromosomes color contain contrast Cretaceous cross-pollination cues cycle daisy dog rose drink dung early embryo evolution example female flowers fertile flies floral flower buds flowering plants flowering stalk flowers pollinated foraging forests fossil fruit garden genes grass grow gymnosperms hawkmoth honeybees hummingbirds insects inside Koonwarra lack leaves lilies linated lip petal lives male and female male flowers midges moths mouthparts Myers natural nectar glands nectar guides offer orchids outer ovary ovules perfume petals pigments pollen grains pollen tube pollinia pores produce release resemble reward scent scientists season self-incompatibility self-pollination sepals sex organs shape smell species spring stamens stamens and carpels stem stigma sugar tangle-vein temperature tips tissue tongue trees tropical vine wasps wild wildflowers yellow