Book Description

Despite their long tradition spices are subject to international modern scientific research. This has made it necessary to disseminate knowledge to a large audience of interest. The book addresses this need by informing the reader about the complex worldwide use of spice plants.

Customer Reviews (2)

Linnaeus' tercentenary
May 23rd will be the 300th anniversary of Carl Linnaeus' birth so I purchased this little book to become familiar with him and to honor his memory. However this book is more about Banks than Linnaeus, altho' Banks did much to promote Linnaeus' system of classification not only in England but thru-out the world. In some ways, Banks was to Linnaeus what Huxley was to Darwin and Bateson was to Mendel. Not only did Linnaeus and Banks promote science (and themselves), but they promoted their respective country's agricultural economy before the Industrial Revolution. Yet both men were largely forgotten soon after their deaths.

In large part the successful promotion of Linnaeus' system was due to his use of animal genitalia (in an uptight society) as an analogy to describe the reproductive organs of plants and as the basis for naming and classifying them. Add to that, Banks' well-known promiscuity while in Tahiti on Captain Cook's first voyage there (to record the Transit of Venus) and you have a sure-fire salacious combination (sex sells!).

Fara also describes how the English used scientific exploration as a cover for colonization which they justified in the belief that Europeans were a superior race and must help the other races. Both Linnaeus and Banks brought in non-native plants and tried to adapt them to their countries but Banks was far more successful. Indeed Banks had plants and animals transplanted from one colony to another fairly successfully.

So eventho' I bought the book for Linnaeus, the inclusion of Banks rounds out the story. While Wikipedia has more facts on Linnaeus it has less of the personal. I gave the book only four stars because Fara doesn't include an index, tho' Amazon's `Search Inside' feature provided an alternative.

Read this for a science project
Carl Linnaeus was responsible for revolutionizing the way modern science classifies and organizes all living organisms. His simple system based on the sexual characteristics of plants shocked society and inspired other scientists including Joseph Banks, whose voyages around the world to find and classify new organisms included an interesting array of sexual exploits with the natives he came across. In her novel, Patricia Fara presents a solid and well supported thesis on how botany contributed and was inexplicably tied into the imperialism of European society, most especially the British Empire.

This book is a quick read and not overly bogged down with the intricacies of scientific classification. It presents the story of Carl Linnaeus and Joseph Banks's enormous contributions to the beginnings of modern classification while discussing the political, social, and economic incentives behind their science. Patricia Fara has written several other books concerning Enlightenment era science and this book is a prime example of her ability and specialty in tying in the role of science as a part of society and government in the 18th and 19th centuries. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in biology or botany as well as anyone interested in the workings of early modern science and their place in the development of modern English society. ... Read more

Book Description
Increasingly, forensic scientists use plant evidence to reconstruct crimes. The forensic aspects of this subject require an understanding of what is necessary for botanical evidence to be accepted in our judicial system.Bringing together the latest information into a single resource, Forensic Botany: Principles and Applications to Criminal Casework introduces the basic science underlying this emerging field of forensic botany. Contributors discuss the recognition of pertinent plant evidence at a crime scene, the appropriate collection and preservation of the material, and maintenance of a chain of custody. They also explain scientific testing methods, the validation of new forensic techniques, and admissibility criteria for court. An overview of plant biology and historical developments in forensic DNA analysis is also included, as well as case examples featuring the use of botanical evidence in a variety of criminal cases.In an effort to build the scientific foundation for this promising field, this book provides definitive coverage of forensic botany with detailed applications and case examples. It familiarizes forensic scientists with the role of botanical evidence in criminal investigations and its potential value in the pursuit of justice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A well written volume on a very broad subject
Coyle has put together a very concise and comprehensive introductory work to a timely subject.While some background in science or forensics is useful before diving into this book, being an expert is by no means necessary.While I won't go so far as to call this volume an "easy read", it is far more understandable to the layperson then some other materials I have read on this subject.

Chapter by chapter, the authors build on the basics of plant science, physiology, and genetics to bring the reader up to a working understanding of the world of forensic botany.This is book is an excellent primer for folks who have a basic knowledge of plant science or forensic science and are interested in how the two tie together.

The example cases do so much to make the rest of the material understandable.I only wish that there were more of these cases.

To the authors - bravo and thank you! ... Read more

Book Description
This volume completes a trilogy meant to be a commentary on the botanophilia that captured the literate public in 18^th-century France. Enthusiastic public support for any governmental initiative likely to expand botanical knowledge was an expression of immense curiosity about the natural world beyond Europe, which extended into a curiosity about primitive people and cultures little known. It amounted to a quest for universal knowledge that could benefit all mankind: useful knowledge that could improve the human condition in this life.
That was the spirit of the Enlightenment, the sciences believed to be the key to humanity's advancement. The botanists exploring abroad brought back exciting quantities of new species and genera, but also a message about the condition of primitive people that undercut the fashionable image of noble savagery. No matter how dispiriting were some of the conditions they observed abroad, they retained a faith that ignorance and superstition could be vanquished. ... Read more

Book Description

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on genetics, cell biology, physiology, comparative morphology, systematics, ecology, and vegetation science.

Book Description

Did you know that the smell of sassafras blowing offshore convinced Columbus he was near land? Or that the American sycamore, which has the largest tree trunk in the eastern forest, can live for 500 to 600 years? Or that in the period before the American Revolution, patriots designated a sycamore tree in each colony as a "Liberty Tree" -- a meeting place for plotting against the British?

Book Description
Here is an in-depth examination of the opium poppy--the first medicinal plant known to mankind. In Opium Poppy: Botany, Chemistry, and Pharmacology, author L. D. Kapoor provides readers with a comprehensive resource on poppy production from seed to alkaloid. He explores the opium poppy?s origin, distribution, chemistry, and uses and abuses from ancient civilizations through the present day. He covers plant and seed production and crop improvement and explores in detail the chemical and pharmaceutical by-products of the opium poppy.

The book begins with a historical overview of the origin and use of opium poppy in ancient civilizations such as Greece, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Chapters that follow contain detailed information on:

• botanical studies
• cytogenics and plant breeding
• agronomy, including insect and pest control measures
• physiological and anatomical studies
• chemical and pharmacological aspects of opium alkaloids
• biosynthesis and physiology of opium alkaloids
• the occurrence and role of alkaloids in plants
• the evaluation of analgesic actions of morphine in various pain models in experimental animals
  
  Opium Poppy: Botany, Chemistry, and Pharmacology is a useful reference for professionals and students of pharmacy, botany, chemistry, medicine, and pharmacology who need a better overall understanding of this ancient plant and its (potential) modern usage.

Customer Reviews (3)

Useful With Many Shortcomings
Note that this book is written for scientists. It will not appeal to readers looking for an introduction to the opium poppy, nor those who are not fairly well educated in chemistry and biology. For those looking for something "easier", I would recommend, "Opium for the Masses" or perhaps better, "Flowers in the Blood".

This book shines in its discussions of poppy horticulture and agricultural. The literature in these areas is highly contradictory and Kapoor does an excellent job synthesizing what is known. Chapter 4 (Agricultural Studies) is well worth the price of the entire book. The thorough discussion of opium poppy botany is also good. For an understanding of the entire poppy family, however, Christopher Grey-Wilson's "Poppies" is far better.

Kapoor fails in his discussions of opium alkaloid pharmacology and chemistry. These discussions are almost random in structure and are far from thorough in the research cited. Whenever an individual alkaloid is discussed (even when discussing its role in plant development), the book becomes muddy. This is not surprising, I suppose, because Kapoor is clearly most interested in the plant itself.

Too often, Kapoor does not actually synthesize the research in a particular area. Instead, he simply lists it--indicating that he is confused as to the meaning of the work. There is also little discussion of why certain research questions are of interest. Worst of all, none of his chapters have introductions or conclusions. This is true of the book itself. The first chapter is titled "Introduction", but it isn't--it is a history of the opium poppy. Then, instead of ending the book with some kind of overview, the last chapter discusses pain models with an emphasis on how morphine fits in with them. The reason that "Opium Poppy" would contain this chapter--not even written by Kapoor--is unclear. (In fairness, this last non-Kapoor chapter has an introduction and conclusion.)

Another problem that makes extracting information from the book difficult is the poor editing done by The Haworth Press. The book is riddled with typographical and grammatical errors. The section headings are a mess; the reader is best to ignore them because they cause much confusion.

"Opium Poppy" should be subtitled "Botany, Horticulture, and Agriculture". This is what the author knows and what he is interested in. When he gets too far afield from these areas, the book falls apart. However, in these three areas, the book is indispensable.

A Psychopharmacologist 's Opinion of Kapoor's"OPIUM POPPY"
L.D. KAPOOR has written a brilliant, organized, carefully researched multidisciplinary study of the Opium Poppy,Papaver somniferum:its Botany, chemistry and pharmacology. He writes as an objective scientist.He gives us all the information, in the proper order, that we need to understand such a unfairly maligmed plant.I read a "customer review" that said there was too much info and it was too technical.It seems that reading that takes any intellectual effort is just too much for the usual reader.When writing of the world's oldest cultivar, the subject should be approached with respect.The book is organically structured:Botanical studies naturally grow into genetic & cytological expression, and then into opium as an herbal, agricultural commodity,and its relative alkaloid content analyzed.Then physiological, anatomical, & other studies are explored.
The biosynthesis & physiology of the poppy is examined without prejudice, as is the relative content of the economically valuable alkaloids are compared.Kapoor then evaluates the properties of morphine and other alkaloids that alieve chronic human pain.This book, for anyone who wants to discover the nature and goodness of a universally misunderstood plant, is essential.Written without bias or ideology, I could not recommend a modern work better suited to enlightening one of the gentle & benevolent qualities of "God's own Medicine".

Far too technical
This is probably a wonderful book if you are seriously into pharmacology and a closet scientist on the side. If you are looking for a book that will tell you how to grow or harvest opium keep looking. If on the other handyou like to look at drawings of the DNA structures of the individual drugisotopes found in opium(and believe me there are alot!) then buy it. ... Read more

Product Description
533 pages. ... Read more

Product Description
In a mythical world where time is a liquid that falls as rain upon the land, young Shanleya paddles her canoe out to the tree islands to learn the plant traditions of her people. Each island is home to a separate family of plants and an unforgettable Guardian with lessons to teach about the identification and uses of those plants.Shanleya's Quest is a truly unique educational book that presents botanical concepts and plant identification skills in an easy and fun metaphorical format for children as well as for adults who are young at heart.The book begins with a creation myth that parallels evolutionary concepts, where life begins as bubbles in a puddle of soup under the radiance of Father Sun and the gentle glow of Mother Moon. The evolutionary tree of life becomes a literal part of the story, buried up to its branch-tips (the "islands") in an ocean of Time that just keeps getting deeper and deeper. This is the world that Shanleya explores by canoe, learning the essential characteristics of closely related plants on each island she visits.Readers young and old can join Shanleya's Quest, learning the patterns to correctly identify more than 45,000 species of plants to their proper families. The Quest will change the way you see the world, enabling you to experience nature in a new and magical way that you probably never imagined possible.Written by outdoor educator Thomas J. Elpel, author of Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. Wonderfully illustrated by Gloria Brown, who blended botanical accuracy with fantasy to produce artwork that both captivates and educates! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Introducing young readers to the complex and diverse world of plant life
Shanleya is a young girl who lives in a world where Time is a liquid that falls as rain. When Shanleya paddles her canoe out to the "Tree Islands" to learn the plant traditions of her people, she learns that each island is home to a separate family of plants, and encounters an unforgettable Guardian with lessons to teach her about the identification and uses of those plants. A mythic, fairytale-like picturebook story for young readers, Shanleya's Quest: A Botany Adventure For Kids Ages 9 To 99 is as entertaining as it is thoughtful and thought-provoking, introducing young readers to the complex and diverse world of plant life -- and how to correctly identify various species of plants. There are even bits of sage advice along the way such as "In our national parks it is illegal to pick flowers. Please leave them for others to enjoy!". Deftly written by Thomas Elpel (whose informative text is enhanced with the artwork of Gloria Brown), Shanleya's Quest is confidently recommended for school and community library collections.
... Read more