Green Inheritance - 9780520243590

Humans are entirely dependent on plants: we eat them, build with them, burn them for power, breathe the air they maintain, cure our ills with them. Yet, we are destroying this fundamental resource at a terrifying rate. This extensively revised and updated edition of Anthony Huxley's magnificent global overview of our plant kingdom portrays the beauty, diversity, and history of wild and cultivated plants, highlighting their profound importance in our lives. With its beautiful color photographs, drawings, charts, diagrams, and superb text, Green Inheritance describes the role of plants in the global environment and across cultures; shows how plants are used for food, fuel, and medicine; considers their role for us as objects of beauty in gardens; and much more. Encyclopedic in scope and full of intriguing stories about many individual plants, this remarkable book emphasizes just how essential our green inheritance is to the future of humanity.
Huxley explores many topics that reflect a deepening concern about the threats to our plant heritage such as the slender genetic base of the world's staple crops and the dwindling last locations of wild resources with unexplored potential. This new edition expands its coverage of current issues such as invasive plants, hotspots of plant diversity, herbal medicines, genetically modified crops, and sustainable timber harvesting. Writing with wisdom and vision, Huxley has created an invaluable resource for learning about the world's plant life that underscores the importance and urgency of plant conservation.