Research Catalog
Reaching for the sun : how plants work
- Title
- Reaching for the sun : how plants work / John King.
- Author
- King, John, 1938-
- Publication
- Cambridge [England] : New York, NY, USA : Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Items in the Library & Off-site
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1 Item
| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Use in library | QK50 .K46 1997 | Off-site |
Details
- Description
- viii, 232 pages; 24 cm
- Summary
- "Green plants are all around us. We are totally dependent on them for food; we cultivate them for our pleasure; and we have used them in a vast number of ways down the centuries to our advantage. But have you ever wondered how plants work? Where do trees get the material to make wood? How does a bulb 'know' to sprout in the spring? Why are flowers different colours and why do they smell? This book answers these questions in a charming and accessible way. From their ability to take energy from sunlight to make their own food to their amazing range of life-sustaining, death-defying strategies, John King explains why plants dominate our planet. Plants might live life at a different pace from animals but they are just as fascinating. This is not just a book for keen gardeners and naturalists. This is a book for anyone who wants to understand why the earth is green."--Publisher description.
- Subject
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [217]-220) and index.
- Contents
- Plants are cool, but why? -- Photosynthesis: the leitmotiv of life -- Respiration: breathing without lungs -- Nitrogen, nitrogen, everywhere… -- Nutrition for the healthy lifestyle -- Transport of delights -- Growth: the long and short of it -- The time of their lives -- A dash of seasoning -- Dormancy: a matter of survival -- The colorful world of plants -- Fragrance and flavor -- Chemical warfare -- Not in my backyard! -- Cornu copiae: the horn of plenty -- Getting dead.
- ISBN
- 052155148X
- 9780521551489
- 0521587387
- 9780521587389
- LCCN
- 96045251
- OCLC
- ocm35758207
- 35758207
- SCSB-9546811
- Owning Institutions
- Princeton University Library