Sexus Botanicus

Sexus Botanicus introduces us to a wide range of extraordinary specimens, some very ancient and still with us, and some their descendants by millions of years: time-traveling plants (from the wedding of a mushroom and an alga 450 million years ago to the amorous mosses that help maintain the balance of our ecosystems today); the literal flower-power sexual revolution of angiosperms (from their reliance on wind for sex to some of their edible ovaries we commonly refer to as “fruit”); zoophilic plants (from the sexual doings of bumblebees and tomato plants to the mutually beneficial pollination program between yucca and moths); the games of deception played between plants, insects, and birds; and the improbable plants operating in such extreme environments as deserts and volcanos (some of whom, such as Australia’s Queensland grasstree, utilize conflagration to reproduce).

Hand-illustrated by the author in color throughout, the book also includes a full glossary of all relevant terms to introduce readers to the scientific language of plant sex.