The Cultural History of Plants [Hardcover]

Sir Ghillean Prance (Co-editor), Mark Nesbitt (Co-editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0415927463 | ISBN-13: 978-0415927468 | Edition: 1

The Cultural History of Plants is the most important book published on the spread and exploitation of plants in over a century. Written by acknowledged experts in their fields, this valuable reference will be useful for both scholars and general readers. It is both botanical and cultural, describing the role of plants in social life, regional customs, the arts and natural landscapes. There are over 1000 plant entries in the form of concise histories, 200 maps and 600 black and white illustrations. The A to Z entries cover food and flowering plants as well as those used for textiles, perfume and drugs, and include bibliographic information. Appendices include lists of protected species, plant collection sites, a glossary and a chronology of plant migration.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This volume covers all aspects of plant cultivation and migration. The text includes an explanation of plant names and a list of general references on the history of useful plants."
-"SciTech Book News, March, 2005
"This study in ethno-botany will serve programs in anthropology, history, biology, and agriculture."
-"Lawrence Looks at Books, Gale Reference Reviews, April, 2005
"The distinguished authors have gathered much valuable information into this book... Each chapter provides many references to the literature... Highly recommended."
-"Choice, May, 2005

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (October 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415927463
• ISBN-13: 978-0415927468
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,183,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recensione Cultural History of Plants (in Italiano), September 8, 2007

By 

Lidia Zitara "Lidia Zitara" (Calabria, Italia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cultural History of Plants (Hardcover)

l titolo di questo volume purtroppo mette fuori strada. Si sarebbe portati a pensare di trovare una piccola miniera di informazioni sulla storia delle piante, sugli usi che attorno a loro si sono sviluppati, di storie, miti e curiosità picole e grandi. L'opera è estremamente interessante e di grande pregio scientifico, ma purtroppo è poco "sugosa", proprio dal punto di vista storico e culturale. Si tratta infatti di un volume piuttosto poco incline all'aneddotica, ma anzi rigorosamente scientifico, che divide le piante per categorie (noci, semi, alberi, piante tintorie, tessili, profumate, ornamentali, ecc.) e le affronta in maniera piuttosto semplice, riportando il numero ed i nomi delle specie (le più importanti), le date in cui le piante sono state importate in Europa (gli autori sono inglesi) e qualche informazione più o meno generica. La sezione "ornamentali" è davvero scoraggiante, mentre le piante cosiddette "utili" sono trattate in maniera più completa ed accattivante. La base scientifica di questo libro è molto solida, gliautori sono tutti professori universitari o giù di lì, e Ghillean prance è l'architetto che ha ideato l'Eden Project. Purtroppo il prezzo dell'opera è molto alto, dai 140 Euro in su, anche perchè è di recente pubblicazione (2005).

Da Compagnia del Giardinaggio, sito italiano per appassionati.

Lidia Zitara

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The last plant, January 27, 2006

By 

Reader from Yellow River - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cultural History of Plants (Hardcover)

It's inevitable people made room for plants. Most mammals make their own vitamin C. But people can't. They need plants. So it's also inevitable people took up farming, for balanced, one-stop diets. It meant time to build homes near such basic crops as barley and wheat in the Middle East and West Asia; maize in the Americas; rice in East Asia; and sorghum in sub-Saharan Africa. It meant time to develop civilizations there, and along the Mediterranean. It meant time to grow plants, not just to eat, but for flavor, look, and smell.

Plants spread outside their native range by wind, water, birds and animals. They spread faster and further by people. They spread with trade. They spread with people visiting and taking what they liked. They spread with people moving and bringing something familiar to new homes. They spread with war. For example, 1,700 years ago, barbarians took over Rome until a ransom was paid in peppers.

Contributing writers cover alcohol, caffeine and sweeteners; fragrants; fruits; grains; herbs and vegetables; materials such as latex, oils, poisons and waxes; medicinals; natural fibers and dyes; nuts, pulses, and seeds; ornamentals; psychoactives; roots and tubers; spices; and woods. Each chapter lists the best-known plant examples. Each tells where they started and where they are now.

My favorite chapters are on fragrants; fruits; herbs and vegetables; and ornamentals. Partly it's finding out how many aren't natives. Partly it's because a sentence appeals to me as a Virginia Tech-trained master gardener. It says farming makes life possible. But flower-, fruit- and vegetable-growing makes life something people lead.

THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF PLANTS is a surprise. It deals with science. But the writing's easy to read. Editors Sir Ghillean Prance and Mark Nesbitt et al do well with many facts and some guesses. They give clear examples, good index, and helpful references. I'd have liked more pictures. But what's there works. As do the main points. First, the last place to find natives is becoming their native homes. Some fit into new homes. Without native diseases and pests, many take over. Invasives will kill 30-47% of all plants in 50 years. Two, wild plants take a beating from cultivated plants. But it's best to keep a plant's full range of cultivated and wild forms. Third, different forms of a cultivated and a wild plant take a beating. But it's best to keep the full range of a cultivated and a wild plant. That works against mass disaster, such as the potato famine in 19th-century Ireland. Of many crops, people grew potatoes. Of potatoes, they grew one kind. So the blight wiped out all. Fourth, there's no getting away from what Virginia Tech master gardening calls the wildlands-urban interface of where nature and people meet. They've actually been more in each other's faces since people stopped grazing and started growing their own food.