Intimate in size yet quietly breathtaking in scope, this graceful gift book will forever change how you think, and how you feel, about trees. In poetically sparse scientific observations, renowned conservation biologist Gretchen Daily narrates the evolution, impact, and natural wonder of trees. Alongside photographs by Chuck Katz, the text and images form a quiet and moving meditation on The Power of Trees.
Twenty-six duotone black and white photographs illustrate the development of trees: how trunks were formed, what tree rings tell us about human societies, and how trees define the future of humanity. Pictures of trees threading through the landscape - dotting mountainsides, braiding along the sides of glassine rivers - bear witness to the lyrical force and clarity of Daily's observations.
Recreating the authors' hike together through the landscape of the Skagit River in Washington State, the balletic movement between Daily's commentary and Katz's vision reaches out to readers, inviting them to enjoy the landscape through a scientific understanding of trees. At once emotional and intellectual, The Power of Trees is the first collection of nature photographs that invites the reader to not only delight in the gorgeous play between light and shadow, but also the fascinating natural mechanisms that create such striking natural beauty.
An ecologist by training, Gretchen Daily is an internationally acclaimed conservancy advocate and scholar. Her role as a National Trustee for The Nature Conservancy will feature prominently in the national marketing campaign to bridge the gap between scientific educators and the general nature reader.

The definitive field guide for understanding and identifying ferns and lycophytes in Minnesota   Rapid advances in DNA studies have given scientists new understandings of ferns and lycophytes, making books published only a decade ago now obsolete. Ferns and Lycophytes of Minnesota is the first comprehensive presentation of these oldest of land plants in Minnesota. Welby R. Smith, Minnesota state botanist, thoroughly developed this essential guide for anyone interested in learning about and identifying these ubiquitous plants that have fascinated people for centuries. Found in forests, prairies, marshes, and lakes throughout the state, ferns and lycophytes are marvelously adaptive, allowing them to inhabit and thrive in unique ecological niches, including native plant gardens. Created for natural resource professionals as well as avid gardeners, hikers, and naturalists at all levels, this easy-to-use reference enables the quick and reliable identification of each of the one hundred species of ferns and lycophytes that grow wild in Minnesota. Illustrated with more than four hundred original photographs, primarily by Richard W. Haug, this complete and up-to-date field guide includes information about how to distinguish closely related species as well as details about the ecology, distribution, and phenology of each species.

Observing the plants of the forest floor - the flowers, ferns, sedges and grasses - can be a vital way of understanding our relationship with British woodland. They tell us stories about its history and past management, and can be a visible sign of progress when we get conservation right. For centuries, woodland plants have also been part of our lives in practical ways as food and medicines, and they have influenced our culture through poetry, perfume and pub signs. In this insightful and original account, Keith Kirby explores how woodland plants in Great Britain have come to be where they are, coped with living in the shade of their bigger relatives, and responded to threats in the form of storms, fires, floods, the attentions of grazing herbivores and the effects of the changing seasons. Along the way, the reader is introduced to the work of important botanists who have walked the woods in the past, collecting information on where plants occur and why. In-depth profiles of some of our most important and popular ground flora species provide extra detail and insight. Beautifully illustrated, Woodland Flowers is a must for anyone who appreciates and wants to learn more about British woodland and its plants.

Guide to the properties and uses of Southern African Wood is a fully illustrated, scientifically accurate guide to the characteristics, properties and uses of wood from 140 Southern African tree species. Species treatments include information on conservation status, uses, mechanical properties, durability, identification features, woodworking properties and comments from wood users on workability. Photographs of tree bark, untreated and treated wood, end-grain macrographs, as well as worked items. Provides information on historical uses, where trees grow, availability and sustainability of the woods and the practicalities of harvesting and processing. Superior quality text and excellent reproduction and printing. The only commercially available book which focuses on the properties of Southern African wood, written in a style that will appeal to a wide audience: professional woodworkers, designers, architects, wood dealers and wood collectors, hobbyists, botanists and anyone interested in trees and wood. A must-have for all who love wood and trees!

This title features the flora of the Vice County of Renfrewshire. It marks the culmination of over 50 years of field recording by local botanists and over 18 years of fieldwork and in-depth search of historical records by the author.

THE UPDATED, AUTHORITATIVE GUIDE TO SPORTS FIELD MANAGEMENT THAT INCLUDES THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN, AND ON, THE FIELD The updated Third Edition of Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance is a comprehensive reference for professionals who are responsible for the design, construction, renovation, and maintenance of athletic facilities. This book contains illustrative examples of specific design elements of the most popular sports facilities. This Third Edition contains new chapters on safety, public relations, and professionalism for future sports field managers, as well as fresh drawings and photos that highlight innovative field layout, grading, irrigation, and drainage. All-new case studies review best practices and techniques for sports fields ranging from youth and high school fields to fields that are designed for professional athletes. This text is also an ideal resource for anyone studying for Sports Field Manager Certification (offered by STMA). Features new case studies that include design and management best practices for all levels and types of sports facilities Offers new chapters on safety, public relations, and professionalism for future sports field managers Includes new illustrations and photos of innovative field layout, grading, irrigation, and drainage Contains the most recent information on sand-based field systems and synthetic turf Presents discussions of a range of fields including baseball, softball, football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, tennis, and track and field Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance, Third Edition is a blueprint for field managers, designers, and builders for successful sports field projects.

Hedgerows, moors, meadows and woods - these hold a veritable feast for the forager. In this hugely informative and witty handbook, John Wright reveals how to spot the free and delicious pickings to be found in the British countryside, and how to prepare and cook them. First John touches on the basics for the hedgerow forager, with an introduction to conservation, safety, the law, and all the equipment that you may need. Next he guides you through the tasty edible species to be found. Each one is accompanied by photographs for identification, along with their conservation status, habitat, distribution, season, taste, texture and cooking methods - not forgetting, of course, some fascinating asides and diversions about their taxonomy and history. Fifty species are covered, including bilberries, blackberries, raspberries, common mallow, dandelions, hedge garlic, horseradish, pignuts, nettles, sloes, sweet chestnuts, water mint, bulrushes and wild cherries. After this there is a section describing the poisonous species to steer clear of, with identifying photographs as well as warnings about nasty 'lookalikes'. Finally, there are thirty delicious recipes to show how you can make the most of your (edible) findings.Introduced by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, "Hedgerow" is an indispensable household reference, and an essential book to have by your side for every trip into the countryside.

A beautifully written classic of nature writing. 'A masterly account...of supreme interest...a classic' Country Life Long accepted as the best work on the subject, Oliver Rackham's book is both a comprehensive history of Britain's woodland and a field-work guide that presents trees individually and as part of the landscape. From prehistoric times, through the Roman period and into the Middle Ages, Oliver Rackham describes the changing character, role and history of trees and woodland. He concludes this definitive study with a section on the conservation and future of Britain's trees, woodlands and hedgerows.

Featuring folklore, symbology and practical rituals alongside ancient crafts and modern techniques this beautifully illustrated book contains over 50 creative ways to use the gifts of the natural world to make charms, talismans, amulets, altars and much more. These natural offerings provide us with protection, good fortune and healing. Being in nature helps us to relax and connect with our innate knowing. When we're connected, we naturally want to collect: a pink shell, sycamore key, a pinecone, or a pure white pebble that calls to us. Nature's Hidden Charms is an invitation to reach into the natural world, understand folklore and to explore and discover the hidden symbols and gifts that even the tiniest twig or stone can bring. Inside this treasure trove you will learn how to: * Prepare to open the senses to intentionally connect with nature * Create and make amulets, charms, alters, talismans and natural mandalas * Work with plants, trees and herbs throughout the seasons * Understand the folklore, history and symbology surrounding the plants and practices featured * Recognise and explore symbols that speak to you in the natural world From making a healing lavender pouch to evoking the sacred power of the circle or arranging your charms as a mandala for meditation, this book is for anyone wanting to slow down, connect with nature and enjoy the simple pleasures of the natural world.

Fully updated and expanded, this third edition of the top-selling Field Guide to Common Trees & Shrubs of East Africa now features more than 520 of the trees and shrubs – indigenous and naturalized exotics – commonly found in the region.

Each of the four sections – trees, shrubs, palms and mangroves – is arranged in alphabetical order according to scientifi c name. The book features:

• An informative introduction to families.

• Species accounts describing the plants’ habitat, bark, leaves, fl owers and fruit.

• General and commercial applications and uses in traditional medicine.

• Almost 2,000 photographs depicting the species, its fruit, fl owers and bark.

• Glossaries, both textual and illustrated, of botanical and medical terms.

At the tips of our forks and on our dinner plates, a buffet of botanical dalliance awaits us. Sex and food are intimately intertwined, and this relationship is nowhere more evident than among the plants that sustain us. From lascivious legumes to horny hot peppers, most of humanity’s calories and other nutrition come from seeds and fruits—the products of sex—or from flowers, the organs that make plant sex possible. Sex has also played an arm’s-length role in delivering plant food to our stomachs, as human handmade evolution (plant breeding, or artificial selection) has turned wild species into domesticated staples. In Sex on the Kitchen Table, Norman C. Ellstrand takes us on a vegetable-laced tour of this entire sexual adventure. Starting with the love apple (otherwise known as the tomato) as a platform for understanding the kaleidoscopic ways that plants can engage in sex, successive chapters explore the sex lives of a range of food crops, including bananas, avocados, and beets, finally ending with genetically engineered squash—a controversial, virus-resistant vegetable created by a process that involves the most ancient form of sex. Peppered throughout are original illustrations and delicious recipes, from sweet and savory tomato pudding to banana puffed pancakes, avocado toast (of course), and both transgenic and non-GMO tacos. An eye-opening medley of serious science, culinary delights, and humor, Sex on the Kitchen Table offers new insight into fornicating flowers, salacious squash, and what we owe to them. So as we sit down to dine and ready for that first bite, let us say a special grace for our vegetal vittles: let’s thank sex for getting them to our kitchen table.

"I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree." The poet, Joyce Kilmer understood the beauty of our sturdy environmental companions. Trees is the essential pocket-sized, folding guide to familiar North American trees. This beautifully illustrated guide Identifies over 140 familiar species organized by family. Created and printed in the USA, this guide was updated in 2012 with a new cover design and updated species selection. The quality of our environment - the air, soil and water - depends on trees. Durable and lightweight, this guide is the one to keep with you on your next outdoor adventure.

You've spent the summer picking mushrooms in the forest, gaze sweeping along the trunks of trees and a basket of mushrooms dangling from the crook of your arm but what next? With storerooms and cellar overflowing with chanterelles, porcini, and boletes, how do you prepare these delicacies of nature into flavorful and mouthwatering dishes? Wild Mushroom Cookbook is the cookbook foragers and mushroom lovers have been waiting for; this is the book that shows how to turn delicious, hand-picked ingredients into: Mushroom flour Chanterelle soup with gorgonzola Dumplings, quesadillas, and risottos Porcini focaccia Mushroom pie with mozzarella and chard Lamb and venison stir fries Lasagna And much more! Mushrooms are a flavor enhancer like no other perfect for a light snack, appetizer or main course and are perfect in combination with fish, poultry, game, and other wild ingredients. Mushrooms are also sugar, gluten, and carb free making them the ideal ingredient for the modern kitchen. Featuring fifty delectable recipes, mouthwatering photographs, and tips on how to dry and preserve mushrooms from the wild, Wild Mushroom Cookbook is all you need to turn your favorite hobby into tonight's dinner. Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Good Books and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of cookbooks, including books on juicing, grilling, baking, frying, home brewing and winemaking, slow cookers, and cast iron cooking. We've been successful with books on gluten-free cooking, vegetarian and vegan cooking, paleo, raw foods, and more. Our list includes French cooking, Swedish cooking, Austrian and German cooking, Cajun cooking, as well as books on jerky, canning and preserving, peanut butter, meatballs, oil and vinegar, bone broth, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

There are dozens of titles that focus on specific areas of the Cape, or on specific types of plants that occur there. None of the simpler publications for the general public have tackled the integration of vegetation regions and the distribution of woody plants of this diverse area. Sappi tree spotting Cape successfully explores the wonder of trees and shrubs from the rocky dry Richtersveld in the west, through the Kalahari sands and the spiky survivors of the arid Karoo. It includes the Proteas and the towering giants of the forests of the south. The series, and now this last title, can make a difference on so many levels: They keep the terminology simple; they show you the right place to look for the right tree. They ID the striking features. These trees do not need a complex system of "keying" because they are instantly recognisable. The other four books are Sappi tree spotting Lowveld, Bushveld, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape and Highveld.

The coastal guide of South Africa will take you on a magical journey along South Africa's coastline while exploring the beauties and hidden secrets of our natural heritage. The 3000km stretch of coastline in South Africa has contrasting climates and habitats that in turn accommodate an enormously rich and diverse array of plants and animals. The west coast has cold, nutrient-rich waters, kelp forests and low-growing, succulent scrub along the dunes, while on the east and north coasts conditions are more tropical with higher rainfall, warmer waters, greater marine diversity and tall, dense coastal forests. The coastal guide of South Africa is a basic guide to our coastline's biodiversity, from dune to ocean, developed in order to offer beach enthusiasts, holidaymakers and recreational anglers a simple guide for identifying the plants and animals most frequently or commonly seen or caught along South Africa's coastline. Although it does not cover all the species, it is a good introduction for those people who would like to begin to identify and understand some of the coastal life we come into contact with while using the beach. We also hope that this guide will create an awareness and appreciation of the diverse and contrasting biodiversity found on our rich and beautiful coast, including background information on tides, habitats and coastlines.

Praise for The Green Planet (BBC One) 'David Attenborough's gobsmacking, awe-inspiring return' The Guardian 'The Green Planet reveals the secret lives of plants in the same way The Blue Planet opened our eyes to the oceans' New Scientist There's something new under the sun Plants live secret, unseen lives - hidden in their magical world and on their timescale. From the richest jungles to the harshest deserts, from the snowiest alpine forest to the remotest steaming swamp, Green Planet travels from one great habitat to the next, showing us that plants are as aggressive, competitive and dramatic as the animals on our planet. You will discover agents of death, who ruthlessly engulf their host plant, but also those that form deep and complex relationships with other species, such as the desert cacti who use nectar-loving bats to pollinate. Although plants are undoubtedly the stars of the show, a fascinating new light will be shed on the animals that interact with them. Using the latest technologies and showcasing over two decades of new discoveries, Green Planet reveals the strange and wonderful life of plants like never before - a life full of remarkable behaviour, emotional stories and surprising heroes.

Foraged food is surprising in its flavour, unusual texture, fresh colour and nutritional value. As more people become familiar with the idea of finding food in the woods, lakeside, or on their favorite hiking trail, they begin to notice the world around them in a new way. Now it's time to discover the many surprisingly edible plants found in backyards, lawns and parks. Foraging doesn't have to be hard or scary. Backyard Foraging brings foraging home to the neighbourhood. There's the lawn full of sheep sorrel, chickweed, dandelion and pineapple weed. Vacant lots host edibles like sumac, purslane, or Japanese knotweed. And even urban parks may offer up garlic mustard, milkweed, gingko nuts, daylilies and elderberries.

Many of us have stopped to pick wildflowers or have admired them as they flourished in fields and along hiking trails and roads. Always appreciated, but not always recognized, these beauties can now be identified with Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, the most inclusive field guide available to the wildflowers of the Northeastern United States. Designed for easy use, the book features two-page spreads with descriptive text and range maps on the left page and color photos on the right. The descriptions are concise, but thorough, and the range maps show both where the plant grows and at what time of year it is likely to be in bloom. Plants are grouped by flower color, usually the feature first noticed by the observer. The species are subsequently grouped by leaf arrangement, type of leaves, and number of flower parts as indicated in the "quick characters" box at the top of each page. There is also a simple key in the beginning of the book that allows one to quickly narrow the search to a few pages. In addition to the more common and conspicuous wildflowers, many of the lesser known, and often overlooked, species are depicted. Over 1400 species are described with nearly all of them illustrated with full-color photos. While these photos generally show the flowers of the plant, insets of leaves and occasionally fruits are often included as well. A bar on each photo allows users to accurately judge the actual size of each flower. Both serious botanists and casual nature observers will welcome this beautifully photographed and expertly detailed guide.

These flower arrangements are not the type that your mother used to excel at. Breaking the mould in flower arranging, Nicci Scholtz's Flowers for your home allows you to see flowers and the art of arranging them from a completely different angle. She explains what makes her so passionate about flowers, she explains the rules – and then how to break them. Even if you're cash-strapped but want to make an impression, Nicci shows you how to have fun with one or two bunches of flowers – or even without a flower in sight. The title allows your creativity to blossom by including several easy step-by-step arrangements. It shows that you dont have to stick to ordinary, run-of-the-mill containers – why not rather use cool drink bottles, or a cabbage or even a fish bowl? The ideas that she shares with you include the use of traditional flowers such as roses and poppies, but always served with a twist, incorporating ribbon, twigs, kumquats, asparagus and even weeds from the garden!

Hierdie blommerangskikkings is nie die soort waarmee jou ma uitgeblink het nie. Die skrywer se Blomme vir jou huis dop blomme en die rangskikking daarvan op sy kop. Sy verduidelik hoekom sy so passievol is oor blomme, dan verduidelik sy die reels - en hoe om hulle te breek. Indien jy graag 'n goeie indruk wil maak, maar al jou sente moet omdraai, leer Nicci jou om pret te hê met een of twee bosse blomme - selfs met geen blomme in sig nie. Die title is gevul met pragtige volkleurfoto's en laat jou kreatiwiteit ontpop met verskeie stap-vir-stap rangskikkings. Dit wys jou dat jy nie net gewone houers hoef te gebruik nie - al gedink aan koeldrankbottels, 'n koolkop of wat van 'n visbak? Sy gebruik alledaagse blomme soos rose en papawers, maar altyd opgetower deur die gebruik van takkies, koemkwat, aspersies of selfs onkruid uit die tuin uit!

"Some plants are inherently rare, while others become rare through our actions." Rare Plants explores what makes the world's most uncommon plants so exceptional, and by what means they have become so scarce. From highlands to jungles, many of our most extraordinary plants are vanishing at shocking rates, and this exquisitely illustrated book explores 40 of these mysterious species. Featuring stunning archive images and expert insight from the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, Rare Plants explores both the beauty and necessity of our endangered plant life.

This thorough and meticulous study, the result of nearly a quarter-century of research, examines the island biogeography of plants on continental islands in Barkley Sound, British Columbia. Invaluable both because of its geographical setting and because of the duration of the study, Plants on Islands summarizes the diversity, dynamics, and distribution of the approximately three hundred species of plants on more than two hundred islands. Martin Cody uses his extensive data set to test various aspects of island biogeographic theory. His thoughtful analysis, constrained by taxon and region, elucidates and enhances the understanding of the biogeographic patterns and dynamics. He provides an overview of the basic theory, concepts, and analytical tools of island biogeography. Also discussed are island relaxation to lower equilibrium species numbers post-isolation, plant distributions variously limited by island area, isolation and climatic differences, adaptation to local abiotic and biotic environments within islands, and the evolution of different island phenotypes. The book concludes with a valuable consideration of equilibrium concepts and of the interplay of coexistence and competition. Certain to challenge, Plants on Islands is among the first books to critically analyze the central tenets of the theory of island biogeography.