Plant Science

Trouet, a leading tree-ring scientist, takes us out into the field, from remote African villages to radioactive Russian forests, offering listeners an insider's look at tree-ring research, a discipline formally known as dendrochronology. Tracing her own professional journey while exploring dendrochronology's history and applications, Trouet describes the basics of how tell-tale tree cores are collected and dated with ring-by-ring precision, explaining the unexpected and momentous insights we've gained from the resulting samples.

In a book destined to become a classic, biologist and acclaimed nature writer Bernd Heinrich takes listeners on an eye-opening journey through the hidden life of a forest. A lifetime observer of the natural world shares his vast knowledge and reflections on the trees of the Northeast woodlands and the rhythms of their seasons, from the DNA contained in an apple seed to the great branches beyond reach.

It has never been simpler to grow psilocybin mushrooms at home for increased productivity, the pursuit of a spiritual awakening, or medicine! Have you always been intrigued by the idea of raising your own psilocybin mushrooms but are unsure where to begin? Are you intrigued by the possibility of natural medicine to address the underlying causes of issues rather than merely treating their symptoms? What can we learn from the psilocybin mushroom-eating cultures of the past who saw it as a divine food?

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.

The first mass dungeon break in history grows nearer. Nick and his growing guild are training against time to be ready to stop this “Red Death” before it ever happens, but no one outside Nick’s closest circle knows this true purpose behind their intense tactical team-combat exercises. The secret weighs heavily on Nick as he considers revealing the truth of his regression to his found family, the Walters, and his other allies, hoping they will believe him and still support him when he needs them most.

Ann Armbrecht describes her journeys to herb collection sites, farms, and factories in North America, Europe, and India to tell the stories of the people and places behind the bottles of herbal products on grocery store shelves. The Business of Botanicals is the first resource of its kind for listeners who wish to take the extra step in curating ethically sourced products.

Decades of research document plants' impressive abilities: they communicate with one another, manipulate other species, and move in sophisticated ways. Lesser known, however, is the new evidence that plants may actually be sentient. Although plants may not have brains, their microscopic commerce exposes a system not unlike the neuronal networks running through our own bodies. Paco Calvo offers an entirely new perspective on plant biology. In Planta Sapiens, he shows for the first time how we can use tools developed in animal cognition studies in a quest to deeply understand plant intelligence.

In 1848, the British East India Company, having lost its monopoly on the tea trade, engaged Robert Fortune, a Scottish gardener, botanist, and plant hunter, to make a clandestine trip into the interior of China - territory forbidden to foreigners - to steal the closely guarded secrets of tea horticulture and manufacturing. For All the Tea in China is the remarkable account of Fortune's journeys into China - a thrilling narrative that combines history, geography, botany, natural science, and old-fashioned adventure.

In The Power of a Plant, globally acclaimed teacher and self-proclaimed CEO (Chief Eternal Optimist) Stephen Ritz shows you how, in one of the nation's poorest communities, his students thrive in school and in life by growing, cooking, eating, and sharing the bounty of their green classroom.

Jailed as a scapegoat for Stalin's famines, Vavilov had traveled over five continents, collected hundreds of thousands of seeds in an effort to outline the ancient centers of agricultural diversity. Gary Paul Nabhan weaves together Vavilov's story with his own expeditions to Earth's richest agricultural landscapes and the cultures that tend them.

Collections of preserved plant specimens, known as herbaria, have existed for nearly five centuries. These pressed and labeled plants have been essential resources for scientists, allowing them to describe and differentiate species and to document and research plant changes and biodiversity over time—including changes related to climate. Maura C. Flannery tells the history of herbaria, from the earliest collections belonging to such advocates of the technique as sixteenth-century botanist Luca Ghini, to the collections of poets, politicians, and painters, and to the digitization today.

We all take for granted the idea that being in nature makes us feel better. But if you were a skeptic who wanted hard scientific evidence for this idea, where would you look? And how would that evidence be gathered? It wasn't until Dr. Kathy Willis was asked to contribute to an international project looking for the societal benefits we gain from plants that she stumbled across a study that radically changed the way she saw the natural world. In the study there was clear proof that patients recovering from gall bladder operations recovered more quickly if they were looking at trees.

Explorer, naturalist and president of Britain's Royal Society, Sir Joseph Banks was a larger-than-life character best known for his promotion of science. In 1768 Banks joined Captain James Cook's expedition to the South Pacific. The 30,000 specimens he brought back generated enormous interest, as did the sometimes racy written account of the journey, which chronicled his frequent amorous exploits.

Collins Big Cat is a guided reading series for ages 4–11 edited by Cliff Moon. Top children’s authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that your children will love to read, banded to help you choose the right book for every child. Practical ideas for guided reading...

The creators of the award-winning science podcast for kids, Brains On!, present a humorous, fact- and fun-filled look at life on Earth -- from deep sea creatures and carnivorous plants to the human body and stinky bacteria. Perfect for STEM fans! Did you ever wonder why jellyfish sting? Or if...

Nick Gallows has one goal: prevent the Apocalypse. But time is running out faster than he can imagine, and the Forebears of Ingenga are closing in. To stand a chance, Nick must venture through the rift that unleashed unspeakable horrors upon his city. On the other side, he finds an arctic wasteland crawling with monsters and a fortress under siege—the stronghold of the elusive Black Witch that has haunted his dreams. Forced to fight through hundreds of thousands of savage creatures, Nick must decide if aiding the Witch is worth the risk.

Award-winning poet and novelist Helen Humphreys returns to her series of nature meditations in this gorgeously written and illustrated book that takes a deep look at the forgotten world of herbariums and the people who amassed collections of plant specimens in the 19th and 20th centuries. From Emily Dickinson’s and Henry David Thoreau’s collections to the amateur naturalists whose names are forgotten but whose collections still grace our world, herbariums are the records of the often-humble plants that are still with us and those that are lost.

Have you ever wished you could be more healthy without spending a ton of extra money? Ever wondered how to make your own natural medicine? You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home. Dr Lemmon will take you on a guided tour of all your living spaces, inside and out. In Natural Home & Herbal Healing, you will learn step-by-step how to change your life by tapping into the healing remedies that are hiding in plain sight all around your home. With just a few changes, you can have more joy, energy, strength, and peace of mind than ever before.

Beware! The sordid lives of plants behaving badly. A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. Amy Stewart, best-selling author of Flower Confidential, takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature's most appalling creations in an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend.

Balancing a broad array of archaeological, botanical, and historical evidence, Fruit from the Sands presents the fascinating story of the origins and spread of agriculture across Inner Asia and into Europe and East Asia. Through the preserved remains of plants in archaeological sites, Robert N. Spengler III identifies the regions where our most familiar crops were domesticated and follows their routes as people carried them around the world. Vividly narrated, Fruit from the Sands explores how the foods we eat have shaped the course of human history.