Pitcher Plants of the Old World


Book Description

Pitcher plants include the largest and most spectacular of all carnivorous plants. So-called because they produce highly specialised foliage that takes the form of hollow, water-filled "pitchers", these extraordinary plants lure and prey upon arthropods and other small animals. The pitcher plants of the Old World also trap the largest prey of all carnivorous plants, including on rare occasions, vertebrates as large as frogs, mice and even rats. This two volume work examines both genera of Old World pitcher plants (Nepenthes and Cephalotus) and documents the ecology and natural diversity of every known species for the first time and in unparalleled detail... Pitcher Plants of the Old World Volume Two comprises Nepenthes of the Philippines, Nepenthes of Sumatra and Java, Nepenthes of Sulawesi, Nepenthes of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, Nepenthes of the Outlying Areas, Nepenthes Hybrids, Cephalotus follicularis, Habitat Loss and the Threat of Extinction and Cultivation and Horticulture, Appendix, Glossary, Bibliography, Index.




Carnivorous Plants of the World


Book Description

Few groups of plants capture the imagination like these carnivores. Among the best known are the Venus fly trap and the various pitcher plants; these and many others are covered.




In Defense of Plants


Book Description

The Study of Plants in a Whole New Light “Matt Candeias succeeds in evoking the wonder of plants with wit and wisdom.” ―James T. Costa, PhD, executive director, Highlands Biological Station and author of Darwin's Backyard #1 New Release in Nature & Ecology, Plants, Botany, Horticulture, Trees, Biological Sciences, and Nature Writing & Essays In his debut book, internationally-recognized blogger and podcaster Matt Candeias celebrates the nature of plants and the extraordinary world of plant organisms. A botanist’s defense. Since his early days of plant restoration, this amateur plant scientist has been enchanted with flora and the greater environmental ecology of the planet. Now, he looks at the study of plants through the lens of his ever-growing houseplant collection. Using gardening, houseplants, and examples of plants around you, In Defense of Plants changes your relationship with the world from the comfort of your windowsill. The ruthless, horny, and wonderful nature of plants. Understand how plants evolve and live on Earth with a never-before-seen look into their daily drama. Inside, Candeias explores the incredible ways plants live, fight, have sex, and conquer new territory. Whether a blossoming botanist or a professional plant scientist, In Defense of Plants is for anyone who sees plants as more than just static backdrops to more charismatic life forms. In this easily accessible introduction to the incredible world of plants, you’ll find: • Fantastic botanical histories and plant symbolism • Passionate stories of flora diversity and scientific names of plant organisms • Personal tales of plantsman discovery through the study of plants If you enjoyed books like The Botany of Desire, What a Plant Knows, or The Soul of an Octopus, then you’ll love In Defense of Plants.




Insectivorous Plants


Book Description




Pitcher Plants of the Americas


Book Description

Pitcher plants include the largest and most beautiful of the world's carnivorous plants, plants that are viewed with fascination by people of all ages, nationalities, and walks of life. Pitcher Plants of the Americas is an informative, visually rich overview of the five genera of pitcher plants that occur in North, Middle, and South America - a group that includes three genera of true pitcher plants (Darlingtonia, Heliamphora, and Sarracenia) and two genera of carnivorous tank bromeliads (Brocchinia and Catopsis). Pitcher Plants is written in clear yet substantive language and contains spectacular photography that provides a comprehensive visual record of the group. This book will appeal to both general readers and specialists who are interested in the natural history, conservation, and horticulture of the American pitcher plants. BOOK COVER.







Florida's Carnivorous Plants


Book Description

Learn about Florida's endemic carnivorous plants in this exciting book written for the budding naturalist and hobbyist. Florida has dozens of native species of carnivorous plants––more than any other state in the United States—including sundews, butterworts, bladderworts, and pitcher plants. These plants use appealing scents, leaves, and sticky fluids to trap and imprison insects. Digestive fluids then absorb the prey giving the plant its nutrients. Many of these plants can be grown at home in the backyard, in rain gardens, or in some cases on the windowsill. Florida’s Carnivorous Plants provides an identification and growing guide for the major genera of carnivorous plants found in Florida. Each species description includes etymology, a history of the plant’s discovery highlighting diverse scientists, anatomy, habitat range, and popular cultivars for beginners. Tables include soil requirements, types of potting, water level, amount of light, dormancy and temperature requirements, and propagation tips. A glossary provides readers with the tools to learn botanical jargon to improve their identification skills.




Growing Carnivorous Plants


Book Description

Over 200 species, hybrids, and cultivars from all genera of carnivorous plants are described in this comprehensive volume. Detailed cultivation advice is provided to enable readers to select and place the right plants, while information on how to feed carnivorous plants will enable even the most squeamish grower to ensure that plants receive the nutrients they require.




Carnivorous Plants


Book Description

Carnivorous plants have fascinated botanists, evolutionary biologists, ecologists, physiologists, developmental biologists, anatomists, horticulturalists, and the general public for centuries. Charles Darwin was the first scientist to demonstrate experimentally that some plants could actually attract, kill, digest, and absorb nutrients from insect prey; his book Insectivorous Plants (1875) remains a widely-cited classic. Since then, many movies and plays, short stories, novels, coffee-table picture books, and popular books on the cultivation of carnivorous plants have been produced. However, all of these widely read products depend on accurate scientific information, and most of them have repeated and recycled data from just three comprehensive, but now long out of date, scientific monographs. The field has evolved and changed dramatically in the nearly 30 years since the last of these books was published, and thousands of scientific papers on carnivorous plants have appeared in the academic journal literature. In response, Ellison and Adamec have assembled the world's leading experts to provide a truly modern synthesis. They examine every aspect of physiology, biochemistry, genomics, ecology, and evolution of these remarkable plants, culminating in a description of the serious threats they now face from over-collection, poaching, habitat loss, and climatic change which directly threaten their habitats and continued persistence in them.




Sarraceniaceae of South America


Book Description

"Sarraceniaceae of South America" is one part of a two-part monograph providing the first complete study of the full diversity, ecology and taxonomy of all recognised species of the three genera of Sarraceniaceae, a family of pitcher plants, namely Darlingtonia, Heliamphora and Sarracenia. This volume examines all species of Heliamphora from the Guiana Highlands of Venezuela, Brazil and Guyana. All known species are illustrated in full detail for the very first time, including many that have been discovered only very recently. Notably, the description of one spectacular new species of Heliamphora is included in the Appendix of this work and is documented in detail. Complete with up-to-date conservation assessments, distribution maps and accounts of the wild ecology and habitats of each species of Sarraceniaceae, this work is a major and definitive taxonomic revision for all three genera of true pitcher plants of the New World. Visually beautiful and comprehensive, these books will appeal to both general readers and specialists who are interested in the natural history, diversity, ecology and relationships of Darlingtonia, Heliamphora and Sarracenia.