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Seeing Flowers: Discover the Hidden Life of Flowersby Teri Dunn Chace
Synopses & Reviews
Compared to the obvious complexity of animals, plants at a glance seem relatively simple in form. But that simplicity is deceptive: the plants around us are the result of millennia of incredible evolutionary adaptations that have allowed them to survive, and thrive, under wildly changing conditions and in remarkably specific ecological niches. Much of this innovation, however, is invisible to the naked eye.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; With Wonders of the Plant Kingdom, the naked eye gets an unforgettable boost. A stunning collaboration between science and art, this gorgeous book presents hundreds of images of plants taken with a scanning electron microscope and hand-colored by artist Rob Kesseler to reveal the awe-inspiring adaptations all around us. The surface of a peachand#151;with its hairs, or trichomes, and sunken stomata, or breathing poresand#151;emerges from these pages in microscopic detail. The dust-like seeds of the smallest cactus species in the world, the Blossfeldia liliputanaand#151;which measures just twelve millimeters fully grownand#151;explode here with form, color, and character, while the flower bud of a kaffir lime, cross-sectioned, reveals the complex of a flower bud with the all-important pistil in the center.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Accompanying these extraordinary images are up-to-date explanations of the myriad ways that these plants have ensured their own survivaland#151;and, by proxy, our own. Gardeners and science buffs alike will marvel at this wholly new perspective on the world of plant diversity.
Many of the most remarkable features of plants cannot be seen by the human eye.and#160; The amazing geometric structures of pollen grains, or the dust-like seeds of orchids, to the layered innards ofand#160; a fruit ripe for pollination.and#160; Evolutionary adaptations over thousands of years have resulted in forms of exceptional function and beauty, which alight in the pages of this work.and#160; A wonderful marriage of art and science, the pages of this book dissect and reveal the stunning structures and forms of plants, taking readers on a journey through the unseen world of the plant kingdom.and#160; The unusual and extraordinary images, taken by scanning electron microscope, are accompanied by a text that illuminates for a wide readership the structure and form of pollen, seeds and fruit, their role in preserving the biodiversity of our planet, and the means, often devious, by which they ensure their survival, and ultimately, that of our natural world.
We've all seen red roses, blue irises, and yellow daffodils. But when we really look closely at a flower, whole new worlds of beauty and intricacy emerge.
About the Author
Teri Dunn Chace is a writer and editor with over 30 consumer titles in publication, including The Anxious Gardener’s Book of Answers. She has also written and edited extensively for Horticulture, North American Gardener, Backyard Living, and Birds & Blooms. She lives and gardens in a small upstate New York village with snowy winters and glorious summers.Robert Llewellyn has been photographing trees and landscapes for almost forty years. His photographs have been featured in major art exhibits, and more than thirty books featuring his photography are in print.
His 2007 book, Empires of the Forest: Jamestown and the Beginning of America, won five national awards in nonfiction and photography, and his The Capital was an official diplomatic gift of the White House and State Department. Llewellyn honed his tree photography skills while working on Remarkable Trees of Virginia (2008), a four year project, creating landscape photographs that have been called "a spectacular tribute to Virginia's native trees."
Seeing Trees showcases a new form of photography, however. Using software developed for work with microscopes, Llewellyn creates incredibly sharp close-ups by stitching together 8 to 45 images of each subject #8212; each shot at a different focal point.
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