The Paradox of Plant Diversity

by Jonathan Silvertown

 

Jonathan Silvertown 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 rain forests of southeastern 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. He also reveals the ever-challenging threats to plant diversity posed by invasive species and by humans. Bringing the secret life of plants into more vivid focus than ever before, Demons in Eden is an impassioned exploration of modern plant ecology that unlocks the evolutionary mysteries of the natural world.