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Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Botany & plant sciences > Plant reproduction & propagation
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Flora Unveiled - The Discovery and Denial of Sex in Plants (Hardcover)
Loot Price: R2,803
Discovery Miles 28 030
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Flora Unveiled - The Discovery and Denial of Sex in Plants (Hardcover)
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Sex in animals has been known for at least ten thousand years, and
this knowledge was put to good use during animal domestication in
the Neolithic period. In stark contrast, sex in plants wasn't
discovered until the late 17th century, long after the
domestication of crop plants. Even after its discovery, the "sexual
theory" continued to be hotly debated and lampooned for another 150
years, pitting the "sexualists" against the "asexualists". Why was
the notion of sex in plants so contentious for so long? "Flora
Unveiled" is a deep history of perceptions about plant gender and
sexuality, beginning in the Ice Age and ending in the middle of the
nineteenth century, with the elucidation of the complete plant life
cycle. Linc and Lee Taiz show that a gender bias that plants are
unisexual and female (a "one-sex model") prevented the discovery of
plant sex and delayed its acceptance long after the theory was
definitively proven. The book explores the various sources of this
gender bias, beginning with women's role as gatherers, crop
domesticators, and the first farmers. In the myths and religions of
the Bronze and Iron Ages, female deities were strongly identified
with flowers, trees, and agricultural abundance, and during Middle
Ages and Renaissance, this tradition was assimilated into
Christianity in the person of Mary. The one-sex model of plants
continued into the Early Modern Period, and experienced a
resurgence during the eighteenth century Enlightenment and again in
the nineteenth century Romantic movement. Not until Wilhelm
Hofmeister demonstrated the universality of sex in the plant
kingdom was the controversy over plant sex finally laid to rest.
Although "Flora Unveiled" focuses on the discovery of sex in
plants, the history serves as a cautionary tale of how strongly and
persistently cultural biases can impede the discovery and delay the
acceptance of scientific advances.
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