The botany of desire

Title The botany of desire
a plant's-eye view of the world
Author Michael Pollan
Publication Random House
Size XXV, 271p
Language ENG ENG
ISBN 9780375760396
Topics Human-plant relationships
Desire
Domestication--Effect on humans
Symbiosis
Social processes--Relation to natural and quasi-natural factors
Notes Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom?
304.27
POLL 2
56005
Available
Available
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