Book picks similar to
Succulent And Xerophytic Plants Of Madagascar by Werner Rauh
madagascar
plants
island-biogeo-reads
Barnheart: The Incurable Longing for a Farm of One's Own
Jenna Woginrich - 2011
Poignant offbeat observations on learning to farm by trial and error punctuate the story of her quest to find a permanent home for herself and her livestock: chickens, geese, sheep, ducks, rabbits, a goat, and a turkey. Alone and on a shoestring budget, Woginrich takes on cranky neighbors and small-town politics without ever losing her trademark humility or comedic style.
How to Be a Moonflower
Katie Daisy - 2021
In this lavishly illustrated book, New York Times-bestselling artist Katie Daisy explores the mystery and magic of the nighttime. Join her on a journey from dusk to dawn, complete with quotes, poems, meditations, field guides to different nocturnal flora and fauna, and charts that map out the cosmos. From night-blooming flowers to cozy campfires, from moon baths to meteor showers, Katie Daisy's lush illustrations capture the beauty that comes to life in the darkness.BELOVED AUTHOR: Known for her lush, painterly artwork and love of the natural world, NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling author Katie Daisy has 112K followers on Instagram, where you will find frequent posts featuring her vibrant illustrations.A CELEBRATION OF NATURE: Nature-lovers and plant-appreciators will find much to admire in this book. Illustrating everything from the phases of the moon to fluttering moths, Katie Daisy has a knack for capturing the very best this magical world has to offer.EXPLORE THE WONDERS OF NIGHT TIME: The nighttime offers time for reflection, exploration, and adventure. This book will help you make the most of those mystical, after-dark hours and observe the hidden wonders that come to life at nightDELUXE PACKAGE: Featuring a tactile two-piece case with silver metallic ink on the spine and back cover, How to Be a Moonflower makes a beautiful gift for the people in your life who look to art and illustration for creative encouragement, self-exploration, and mindfulness.Perfect for:• Fans of Katie Daisy's artwork and previous book HOW TO BE A WILDFLOWER• free spirits• art and nature lovers• tarot readers and moon worshippers
The Berenstain Bears Grow-It!
Stan Berenstain - 1996
The Do-It! section includes instructions for the propagation of numerous food plants in water and/or soil, plus some simple plant science.
Things That Are
Amy Leach - 2012
In a series of essays that progress from the tiniest earth dwellers to the most far flung celestial bodies—considering the similarity of gods to donkeys, the inexorability of love and vines, the relations of exploding stars to exploding sea cucumbers—Amy Leach rekindles a vital communion with the wild world, dormant for far too long. Things That Are is not specifically of the animal, the human, or the phenomenal; it is a book of wonder, one the reader cannot help but leave with their perceptions both expanded and confounded in delightful ways.
Lab Girl
Hope Jahren - 2016
Her first book is a revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also so much more. Lab Girl is a book about work, love, and the mountains that can be moved when those two things come together. It is told through Jahren’s stories: about her childhood in rural Minnesota with an uncompromising mother and a father who encouraged hours of play in his classroom’s labs; about how she found a sanctuary in science, and learned to perform lab work done “with both the heart and the hands”; and about the inevitable disappointments, but also the triumphs and exhilarating discoveries, of scientific work.Yet at the core of this book is the story of a relationship Jahren forged with a brilliant, wounded man named Bill, who becomes her lab partner and best friend. Their sometimes rogue adventures in science take them from the Midwest across the United States and back again, over the Atlantic to the ever-light skies of the North Pole and to tropical Hawaii, where she and her lab currently make their home.
Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control
Jessica Walliser - 2013
Her profiles, on the insects that fight pests and the best plants for attracting them, offer clear, practical tips.” —Martha Stewart Living Say goodbye to common pests like spider mites, aphids, and leafhoppers just by planting a beautiful garden full of the right flowers and herbs! In Attracting Beneficial Bugs, organic gardening expert Jessica Walliser provides an accessible guide to selecting, placing, and caring for plants that will invite beneficial insects into your garden to do the dirty work of pest control for you. You’ll learn which plants lure in pest-eating predators and how to design a beautiful garden that provides for these beneficial bugs throughout the year.
Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow-Lives of Plants
Fez Inkwright - 2021
“If you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland In both history and fiction, some of the most dramatic, notorious deaths have been through poisonings. Concealed and deliberate, it’s a crime that requires advance planning and that for many centuries could go virtually undetected. And yet there is a fine line between healing and killing: the difference lies only in the dosage! In Botanical Curses and Poisons, Fez Inkwright returns to folkloric and historical archives to reveal the fascinating, untold stories behind a variety of lethal plants, witching herbs, and funghi. Going from A to Z, she covers everything from apple (think of the poisoned fruit in “Snow White”) and the hallucinogenic angel’s trumpet to laurel, which emits toxic fumes, to oleander (a deadly ornamental shrub), with each plant beautifully illustrated by the author herself. This enthralling treasury is packed with insight, lore, and the revealed mysteries of everyday flora—including the prevalence of poisoning in ancient Rome, its use in religion and magic, and common antidotes—making this perfect for gardeners, writers, folklorists, witches, and scientists alike!
Poisons: From Hemlock to Botox to the Killer Bean of Calabar
Peter Macinnis - 2004
Poisons permeate our world. They are in the environment, the workplace, the home. They are in food, our favorite whiskey, medicine, well water. They have been used to cure disease as well as to incapacitate and kill. They smooth wrinkles, block pain, stimulate, and enhance athletic ability. In this entertaining and fact-filled book, science writer Peter Macinnis considers poisons in all their aspects. He recounts stories of the celebrated poisoners in history and literature, from Nero to Thomas Wainewright, and from the death of Socrates to Hamlet and Peter Pan. He discusses the sources of various poisons-from cyanide to strychnine, from Botox to ricin and Sarin gas-as well as their detection. Then he analyzes the science of their action in the body and their uses in medicine, cosmetics, war, and terrorism. With wit and precision, he weighs such questions as: Was Lincoln's volatility caused by mercury poisoning? Was Jack the Ripper an arsenic eater? Can wallpaper kill? For anyone who has ever wondered and been afraid to ask, here is a rich miscellany for your secret questions about toxins.
Hot Ice
Nora Roberts - 1987
. . or survivors. Reckless Whitney MacAllister possesses all the wealth and beauty every woman dreams of. Streetwise Douglas Lord has the good looks and quick wits to be a success at his chosen profession: larceny. She has the cash and the connections. He has the stolen documents leading to a fabulous hidden fortune. It is a business proposition, pure and simple.But the race to find the treasure, from Manhattan to Madagascar, is only part of the game. For their fierce and dangerous attraction to each other soon threatens to overwhelm them—unless their merciless and shadowy rivals kill them first.
The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More
Arin Murphy-Hiscock - 2017
She embraces the power of nature; she draws energy from the Earth and the Universe; she relies on natural objects like stones and gems to commune with the land she lives off of; she uses plants, flowers, oils, and herbs for healing; she calls on nature for guidance; and she respects every living being no matter how small.In The Green Witch, you will learn the way of the green witch, from how to use herbs, plants, and flowers to make potions and oils for everyday healing as well as how crystals, gems, stones, and even twigs can help you find balance within. You’ll discover how to find harmony in Earth’s great elements and connect your soul to every living creature. This guide also contains directions for herbal blends and potions, ritual suggestions, recipes for sacred foods, and information on how to listen to and commune with nature. Embrace the world of the green witch and discover what the power of nature has in store for you.
Cannabis: A History
Martin Booth - 2003
Some fear it is dangerous and addictive, while others feel it should be decriminalized. Whatever the viewpoint, cannabis incites debate at every level, and the effect it has on every corner of the globe is undeniable.In this comprehensive study, Martin Booth crafts a tale of medical advance and religious enlightenment; of political subterfuge and law enforcement; of cunning smugglers, street pushers, gang warfare, writers, artists, and musicians. And above all, Booth chronicles the fascinating process through which cannabis became outlawed throughout the Western world, and the effect such legislation has had on the global economy.
The Seed Keeper
Diane Wilson - 2021
Until, one morning, Ray doesn't return from checking his traps. Told she has no family, Rosalie is sent to live with a foster family in nearby Mankato--where the reserved, bookish teenager meets rebellious Gaby Makespeace, in a friendship that transcends the damaged legacies they've inherited.On a winter's day many years later, Rosalie returns to her childhood home. A widow and mother, she has spent the previous two decades on her white husband's farm, finding solace in her garden even as the farm is threatened first by drought and then by a predatory chemical company. Now, grieving, Rosalie begins to confront the past, on a search for family, identity, and a community where she can finally belong. In the process, she learns what it means to be descended from women with souls of iron--women who have protected their families, their traditions, and a precious cache of seeds through generations of hardship and loss, through war and the insidious trauma of boarding schools.Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors.
Ganja Yoga: A Practical Guide to Conscious Relaxation, Soothing Pain Relief, and Enlightened Self-Discovery
Dee Dussault - 2017
Today, there is a quiet but growing conversation within the Western yoga community about the potential role of cannabis for modern seekers pursuing a spiritual path. Now, certified yoga instructor Dee Dussault takes this ancient practice mainstream. Ganja Yoga isn’t just mixing cannabis and exercise; it is a ceremony that makes conscious relaxation an intentional ritual that can be enhanced with practice—a lifestyle to help you create a more harmonious and stress-free world.For some contemporary yoga adherents, marijuana can deepen awareness, acceptance, connection, and relaxation during practice. As state laws loosen and the stigma surrounding marijuana dissipates, cannabis is increasingly seen as a legitimate supplement to increased health and wellbeing. Ganja Yoga explains how to set up a sacred space that allows you to use this relaxing substance with yoga for enlightenment (or at least some awesome stretching and meditation).Dee walks you through the considerations and best practices for introducing cannabis into your yoga practice, or infusing yoga into your smoking routine. But it’s not about being stoned out of your head—as Dee says, it’s like adding spice to your food. In Ganja Yoga, she explains how to:Reap the benefits of profound relaxationAssume an altered state in a safe, energizing wayDeepen the spiritual practice of yogaReconnect with the body using ancient techniquesSelect the best setting, time, method of consumption, strains, poses, and breathing techniques to ensure an excellent experienceWhether you want to practice in a class or in the privacy of your own home, Ganja Yoga is your key to reaching a new spiritual high.
Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
Dan Koeppel - 2007
Americans eat more bananas than apples and oranges combined. In others parts of the world, bananas are what keep millions of people alive. But for all its ubiquity, the banana is surprisingly mysterious; nobody knows how bananas evolved or exactly where they originated. Rich cultural lore surrounds the fruit: In ancient translations of the Bible, the 'apple' consumed by Eve is actually a banana (it makes sense, doesn't it?). Entire Central American nations have been said to rise and fall over the banana. But the biggest mystery about the banana today is whether it will survive. A seedless fruit with a unique reproductive system, every banana is a genetic duplicate of the next, and therefore susceptible to the same blights. Today's yellow banana, the Cavendish, is increasingly threatened by such a blight -- and there's no cure in sight. Banana combines a pop-science journey around the globe, a fascinating tale of an iconic American business enterprise, and a look into the alternately tragic and hilarious banana subculture (one does exist) -- ultimately taking us to the high-tech labs where new bananas are literally being built in test tubes, in a race to save the world's most beloved fruit.
Live Green: 52 Steps for a More Sustainable Life
Jen Chillingsworth - 2019
We recycle, try to reduce our waste and plastics, choose organic food when shopping, eat less meat, and opt for environmentally friendly cleaning products. Yet we often wish we were doing more and it can be overwhelming to know where to start. Live Green is a practical guide of 52 tips and changes you can make to your home and lifestyle over the course of a year. Tackling all areas of your life from home and garden, your cleaning routine, food, fashion, natural beauty, and Christmas, this book has all the ingredients to help you achieve a more sustainable existence. Learn how to modify your daily habits to rid yourself of environmental guilt and rediscover the pleasures of living a slower and simpler life. From creating your own eco-friendly cleaning products and improving your natural beauty regime to creating a capsule wardrobe and composting – discover how to get the most out of life by living more intentionally. Live simply. Live Green.