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50 Plants that Changed the World
Brief Description
Have you ever stopped to think about how your morning cappuccino came to be? From the coffee bush that yielded the beans, to the grass for the cattle or perhaps the soya that produced the milk, plants are an indispensable part of our everyday life. Beginning...
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50 Plants that Changed the World
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An exciting journey through history, this beautifully illustrated new edition tells the stories of fifty plants that have been key to the development of the western world.
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Description
Have you ever stopped to think about how your morning cappuccino came to be? From the coffee bush that yielded the beans, to the grass for the cattle or perhaps the soya that produced the milk, plants are an indispensable part of our everyday life.
Beginning with some of the earliest uses of plants, Stephen Harris takes us on an exciting journey through history, identifying fifty plants that have been key to the development of the western world, discussing trade, imperialism, politics, medicine, travel, and chemistry along the way. There are plants here that have changed landscapes, fomented wars, and fuelled slavery. Others have been the trigger for technological advances, expanded medical knowledge, or simply made our lives more pleasant.
Plants have provided paper and ink, chemicals that could kill or cure, vital sustenance, and stimulants. Some, such as barley, have been staples from earliest times; others, such as oil palm, are newcomers to western industry.
We remain dependent on plants for our food, our fuel, and our medicines. As the wide-ranging and engaging stories in this beautifully illustrated book demonstrate, their effects on our lives continue to be profound and often unpredictable.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781851246526
Publisher: Bodleian Library
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 15 May 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Bodleian Library
Edition: 2nd New edition
Illustration: 60 Illustrations, color
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Width: 156.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 320
Collections
About the Author
Stephen A. Harris is Druce Curator of the Oxford University Herbaria.
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