Plant Life

Abstract

This book tells the story of plant evolution, from its earliest origins as cyanobacteria and algae, through to the diversity that we see today. It discusses the main groups of plants, including bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), vascular spore-bearing plants (such as clubmosses, ferns and horsetails), gymnosperms (conifers and cycads) and angiosperms (flowering plants). To illustrate this diversity of form and function, eight groups of modern-day plants are discussed in detail, with key concepts such as symbiosis, photosynthesis and hybridisation being explained along the way. The book then looks at how humans have modified plants as a source of food, and concludes with the effect of mass extinctions on plant life, and the lessons that we might take from this as we face climate change and biodiversity loss today. Throughout, the latest ideas on the timing and the direction of plant evolution are discussed, with reference to the fossil record and especially to recent evidence from molecular studies. Last but not least, the whole volume is illustrated with over 150 diagrams and photographs illustrating key concepts and conveying the remarkable beauty of this fascinating aspect of life on Earth.