Have you ever wondered why the rose has thorns and other flowers don't
why the daffodil is the color it is
or why some plants have shiny leaves and others matte?
How The Rose Got its Thorns reveals the inner workings of our favorite flowers and trees. Designed to help gardeners, both novice and experienced, better understand how plants grow, the book is easy to navigate - it is divided into 50 chapters, each one a story.
Accompanied by specially commissioned color illustrations, each chapter explains the science behind how plants work and the extraordinary processes they have evolved: such as protecting themselves from predators using chemicals
attracting pollinators using scent, shape and color
growing in low or high temperatures
their relationship with the wind
the size and pattern of their leaves
the distribution of their seeds and survival strategies
their relationship with insects
how they allocate their resources
and how they retain water efficiently.
This delightful and intriguing book offers readers an accessible way to better understand how our plants evolved into the species of today.