Crocologia – A Detailed Study of Saffron, the King of Plants


Book Description

In Crocologia – A Study of Saffron, the King of Plants, Sally Francis and Maria Teresa Ramandi provide the first translation into English of a unique seventeenth century book devoted to saffron, with a commentary on its author and on saffron.




Plants in 16th and 17th Century


Book Description

In the pre-modern times, while medicine was still relying on classical authorities on herbal remedies, a new engagement with the plant world emerged. This volume follows intertwined strands in the study of plants, examining newly introduced species that captured physicians' curiosity, expanded their therapeutic arsenal, and challenged their long-held medical theories. The development of herbaria, the creation of botanical gardens, and the inspection of plants contributed to a new understanding of the vegetal world. Increased attention to plants led to account for their therapeutic virtues, to test and produce new drugs, to recognize the physical properties of plants, and to develop a new plant science and medicine.




Charles Darwin’s Barnacle and David Bowie’s Spider


Book Description

An engaging history of the surprising, poignant, and occasionally scandalous stories behind scientific names and their cultural significance Ever since Carl Linnaeus’s binomial system of scientific names was adopted in the eighteenth century, scientists have been eponymously naming organisms in ways that both honor and vilify their namesakes. This charming, informative, and accessible history examines the fascinating stories behind taxonomic nomenclature, from Linnaeus himself naming a small and unpleasant weed after a rival botanist to the recent influx of scientific names based on pop-culture icons—including David Bowie’s spider, Frank Zappa’s jellyfish, and Beyoncé’s fly. Exploring the naming process as an opportunity for scientists to express themselves in creative ways, Stephen B. Heard’s fresh approach shows how scientific names function as a window into both the passions and foibles of the scientific community and as a more general indicator of the ways in which humans relate to, and impose order on, the natural world.




Environments of Empire


Book Description

The age of European high imperialism was characterized by the movement of plants and animals on a historically unprecedented scale. The human migrants who colonized territories around the world brought a variety of other species with them, from the crops and livestock they hoped to propagate, to the parasites, invasive plants, and pests they carried unawares, producing a host of unintended consequences that reshaped landscapes around the world. While the majority of histories about the dynamics of these transfers have concentrated on the British Empire, these nine case studies--focused on the Ottoman, French, Dutch, German, and British empires--seek to advance a historical analysis that is comparative, transnational, and interdisciplinary to understand the causes, consequences, and networks of biological exchange and ecological change resulting from imperialism. Contributors: Brett M. Bennett, Semih Celik, Nicole Chalmer, Jodi Frawley, Ulrike Kirchberger, Carey McCormack, Idir Ouahes, Florian Wagner, Samuel Eleazar Wendt, Alexander van Wickeren, Stephanie Zehnle




The Plant-lore & Garden-craft of Shakespeare


Book Description

The Plant-Lore & Garden-Craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe, first published in 1884, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.







The Flowering of Ecology


Book Description

The Flowering of Ecology presents an English translation of Maria Sibylla Merian's 1679 'caterpillar' book, Der Raupen wunderbare Verwandelung und sonderbare Blumen-Nahrung. Her processes in making the book and an analysis of its scientific content are presented in a historical context. Merian raised insects for five decades, recording the food plants, behavior and ecology of roughly 300 species. Her most influential invention was an 'ecological' composition in which the metamorphic cycles of insects (usually moths and butterflies) were arrayed around plants that served as food for the caterpillars. Kay Etheridge analyzes the 1679 caterpillar book from the viewpoint of a biologist, arguing that Merian's study of insect interactions with plants, the first of its kind, was a formative contribution to natural history.




The Multifarious Mr. Banks


Book Description

A fascinating life of Sir Joseph Banks which restores him to his proper place in history as a leading scientific figure of the English Enlightenment As official botanist on James Cook's first circumnavigation, the longest-serving president of the Royal Society, advisor to King George III, the "father of Australia," and the man who established Kew as the world's leading botanical garden, Sir Joseph Banks was integral to the English Enlightenment. Yet he has not received the recognition that his multifarious achievements deserve. In this engaging account, Toby Musgrave reveals the true extent of Banks's contributions to science and Britain. From an early age Banks pursued his passion for natural history through study and extensive travel, most famously on the HMS Endeavour. He went on to become a pivotal figure in the advancement of British scientific, economic, and colonial interests. With his enquiring, enterprising mind and extensive network of correspondents, Banks's reputation and influence were global. Drawing widely on Banks's writings, Musgrave sheds light on Banks's profound impact on British science and empire in an age of rapid advancement.




An Atlas of the World's Conifers


Book Description

A 2014 Choice Magazine "Outstanding Academic Title" An Atlas of the World's Conifers is the first ever atlas of all known conifer species. It is based on locality information of ca. 37,000 collected herbarium specimens held in scientific institutions. As well as providing natural distribution maps for each species, Farjon and Filer give the reader comprehensive insight into the biogeography, diversity and conservation status of conifers on all continents, dispelling the widely held view that they are primarily a northern boreal plant group. Conifer diversity is analysed and presented with a taxonomic and geographic perspective. Distribution patterns are interpreted using the latest information on continental drift, dispersal and phylogeny. The entire dataset supporting the Atlas can be consulted and verified online. These data can also be used for further research and are an invaluable resource for anyone working on conifer systematics, biogeography or conservation. An Atlas of the World’s Conifers indicates the known distribution of all conifers including an analysis of their biogeography, diversity and conservation status. Also available from Brill is Aljos Farjon’s A Handbook of the World's Conifers, published in 2010 (ISBN 978 90 04 17718 5) which is a 2017 Choice Magazine "Outstanding Academic Title".




A Turkic Medical Treatise from Islamic Central Asia


Book Description

This is the first serious study on seventeenth-century Central Asian medicine that provides a major resource for the linguistic and cultural history of Central Asia. The richly annotated English translation makes the edition useful for readers without special knowledge on medical history and Turkic studies. The author offers a critical edition of a seventeenth-century Central Asian medical treatise written by Sayyid Subḥān Qulï Muḥammad Bahādur khan in the Chagatay language.The edition includes a detailed introduction, a transcription of the original text for philological purposes, an annotated English translation, complete lexica of vocabulary, herbs and plants, minerals and chemicals, diseases and related terms, measures and units, personal names and Qur’ānic verses, and finally two manuscripts in facsimile.




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