Ebook186 pages4 hours
Demons in Eden: The Paradox of Plant Diversity
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this ebook
At the heart of evolution lies a bewildering paradox. Natural selection favors above all the individual that leaves the most offspring—a superorganism of sorts that Jonathan Silvertown here calls the "Darwinian demon." But if such a demon existed, this highly successful organism would populate the entire world with its own kind, beating out other species and eventually extinguishing biodiversity as we know it. Why then, if evolution favors this demon, is the world filled with so many different life forms? What keeps this Darwinian demon in check? If humankind is now the greatest threat to biodiversity on the planet, have we become the Darwinian demon?
Demons in Eden considers these questions using the latest scientific discoveries from the plant world. Readers join Silvertown as he explores the astonishing diversity of plant life in regions as spectacular as the verdant climes of Japan, the lush grounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, the shallow wetlands and teeming freshwaters of Florida, the tropical rainforests of southeast Mexico, and the Canary Islands archipelago, whose evolutionary novelties—and exotic plant life—have earned it the sobriquet "the Galapagos of botany." Along the way, Silvertown looks closely at the evolution of plant diversity in these locales and explains why such variety persists in light of ecological patterns and evolutionary processes. In novel and useful ways, he also investigates the current state of plant diversity on the planet to show the ever-challenging threats posed by invasive species and humans.
Bringing the secret life of plants into more colorful and vivid focus than ever before, Demons in Eden is an empathic and impassioned exploration of modern plant ecology that unlocks evolutionary mysteries of the natural world.
Demons in Eden considers these questions using the latest scientific discoveries from the plant world. Readers join Silvertown as he explores the astonishing diversity of plant life in regions as spectacular as the verdant climes of Japan, the lush grounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, the shallow wetlands and teeming freshwaters of Florida, the tropical rainforests of southeast Mexico, and the Canary Islands archipelago, whose evolutionary novelties—and exotic plant life—have earned it the sobriquet "the Galapagos of botany." Along the way, Silvertown looks closely at the evolution of plant diversity in these locales and explains why such variety persists in light of ecological patterns and evolutionary processes. In novel and useful ways, he also investigates the current state of plant diversity on the planet to show the ever-challenging threats posed by invasive species and humans.
Bringing the secret life of plants into more colorful and vivid focus than ever before, Demons in Eden is an empathic and impassioned exploration of modern plant ecology that unlocks evolutionary mysteries of the natural world.
Author
Jonathan Silvertown
Jonathan Silvertown is professor of evolutionary ecology in the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of seven previous books.
Read more from Jonathan Silvertown
Dinner with Darwin: Food, Drink, and Evolution Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Long and the Short of It: The Science of Life Span & Aging Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Orchard Invisible: A Natural History of Seeds Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Comedy of Error: why evolution made us laugh Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Demons in Eden
Related ebooks
Brilliant Green: The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How the Earth Turned Green: A Brief 3.8-Billion-Year History of Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Weeds: In Defense of Nature's Most Unloved Plants Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kingdom of Plants: A Journey Through Their Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Extraordinary Insects: The Fabulous, Indispensable Creatures Who Run Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Taming Fruit: How Orchards Have Transformed the Land, Offered Sanctuary and Inspired Creativity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Forgotten Pollinators Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Air Plants: Epiphytes and Aerial Gardens Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Place of the Wild: A Wildlands Anthology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cabaret of Plants: Botany and the Imagination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Natural History of Shells Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alien Plants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Work of Nature: How The Diversity Of Life Sustains Us Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of Swamp & Bog: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern Freshwater Wetlands Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plant Families - How To Know Them Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLife on Earth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The History of the World in 100 Plants Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGods, Wasps and Stranglers: The Secret History and Redemptive Future of Fig Trees Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In Defense of Plants: An Exploration into the Wonder of Plants (Plant Guide, Horticulture, Trees) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pollination: The Enduring Relationship between Plant and Pollinator Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Revolutionary Genius of Plants: A New Understanding of Plant Intelligence and Behavior Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rebugging the Planet: The Remarkable Things that Insects (and Other Invertebrates) Do – And Why We Need to Love Them More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSurvivors: The Animals and Plants that Time has Left Behind (Text Only) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Trees in My Forest Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Science & Mathematics For You
Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Cliterate: Why Orgasm Equality Matters--And How to Get It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nikola Tesla: Imagination and the Man That Invented the 20th Century Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Big Book of Hacks: 264 Amazing DIY Tech Projects Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5No-Drama Discipline: the bestselling parenting guide to nurturing your child's developing mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fantastic Fungi: How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness, and Save the Planet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Systems Thinker: Essential Thinking Skills For Solving Problems, Managing Chaos, Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory with the Most Powerful Methods in History Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/52084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Psychology of Totalitarianism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Activate Your Brain: How Understanding Your Brain Can Improve Your Work - and Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Gulag Archipelago: The Authorized Abridgement Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Gulag Archipelago [Volume 1]: An Experiment in Literary Investigation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Free Will Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Science of Monsters: The Origins of the Creatures We Love to Fear Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Suicidal: Why We Kill Ourselves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oppenheimer: The Tragic Intellect Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rise of the Fourth Reich: The Secret Societies That Threaten to Take Over America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Crack In Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Demons in Eden
Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars
4/5
5 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Demons in Eden - Jonathan Silvertown
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1