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The experience which has led to the writing of this book began in 1929 when, examining a species related to Utricularia gibba, I made an observation of some importance in understanding the mechanism of the trap. This begot a desire to study as many other species of the genus as I could obtain for comparison, primarily to determine the validity of my conclusions. My feeling that research in this field was promising was strengthened by the discovery that the pertinent literature was singularly barren of the information most needed, that is to say, precise accounts of the structure of the entrance mechanisms of the traps. And an examination of much herbarium material, because of the meagreness of the underground parts of the terrestrial types resulting from indifferent methods of collection, forced the conclusion that, even had other difficulties inherent in studying dried material not intervened, it would be necessary to obtain adequately preserved specimens. This meant a wide correspondence and, if possible, extensive travel. The uncertainty of achieving the latter made the former imperative.
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scientific information, and most of them have repeated and recycled data from just three comprehensive, but now long out of date, scientific monographs.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.
“A survey of the botanical experimenting and theorizing that occupied Darwin’s golden years. . . . with expert evolutionary commentary.” —New York Review of Books For many people, Charles Darwin’s trip to Galapagos Islands on the Beagle, where he saw a biodiversity of birds, inspired him to write his theory of evolution. But this simplified narrative leaves out a major part of Darwin’s legacy. He published On the Origin of Species nearly thirty years after his voyages. And much of his life was spent experimenting with and observing plants. Darwin was a brilliant and revolutionary botanist whose observations and theories were far ahead of his time. With Darwin’s Most Wonderful Plants, biologist and gardening expert Ken Thompson restores this important aspect of Darwin’s biography while also delighting in the botanical world that captivated the famous scientist. We learn from Thompson how Darwin used plants to shape his most famous theory and then later how he used that theory to further push the boundaries of botanical knowledge. Both Thompson and Darwin share a love for our most wonderful plants and the remarkable secrets they can unlock. This book will instill that same joy in casual gardeners and botany aficionados alike. “In this quietly riveting study, plant biologist Ken Thompson reveals Charles Darwin as a botanical revolutionary.” —Nature “This is a fascinating insight into the scientist’s sheer delight in observing the minutiae of living organisms.” —Gardens Illustrated “Thompson revisits Darwin’s botany, showing us how insightful he was, where (rarely) he was wrong and the marvelous discoveries that have been made since. . . . Darwin himself would have loved this book.” —Jonathan Silvertown, author of Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution
The 24th volume in a 29-volume set which contain all Charles Darwin's published works. Darwin was one of the most influential figures of the 19th century. His work remains a central subject of study in the history of ideas, the history of science, zoology, botany, geology and evolution.
Plants, as is now becoming widely recognised, exploit animals in almost as many ways as animals use plants; only rarely, however, do they eat animals in the sense of catching, holding, and devouring prey. The manner, however, in which they function as carnivores grants insights into plant form, function, and evolution not otherwise readily available. The diversity of morphological, biochemical, and commensal features generates both the lay and the scientific interest in this diverse group. The carnivorous plants exhibit features which are common to many other non-carnivorous plants. However the extent to which these features have developed and the combination of different features in small organs is unique and therefore, can be exploited by using these plants as models for scientific research.
This 1862 publication describes the flower structure of orchids and their pollination to illustrate aspects of Darwin's evolutionary theory.