Pollen: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers

POLLEN: The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers

ROB KESSELER AND MADELINE HARLEY

This vividly imaged book unites science and art in a celebration of pollen. It reveals the essence of the grains necessary for plant propagation. Their intricate features are often too small to be viewed by the naked eye. Harley, an expert in pollen and plant evolution, explains how pollen varies among plant species, where pollen is located in the reproductive organs of flowers, and how pollen develops. She explores how pollen helps plants avoid self-fertilization and what the granules can reveal about the evolution of plants. Next, she explains the roles that bees, other insects, birds, other small animals, wind, and water play in dispersing pollen to create new plants. The book also reveals the aesthetics inherent in botanical images. Indeed, the book contains 190 full-color, unexpectedly dramatic images of pollen and reproductive plant structures. Firefly, 2006, 264 p., color images, hardcover, $60.00.

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