How do some plants live for thousands of years? Which adaptations and evolutionary strategies allow them to thrive in some of the harshest places on the planet for so long-and so well?
Renowned plantsman, author, and longtime botanical garden designer Christopher Woods takes readers on a popular science exploration of twenty-three of the world's most amazing species, seeking answers to these questions by explaining their incredible survival mechanisms. Woods emphasizes how human cultures have interacted with plants over time and what we may, critically, be able to learn from them about sustainability in extreme climates. Some species will be familiar to readers, while some are outright surprising-such as the aptly named Welwitschia mirabilis, which lives happily in the Namib Desert for up to two thousand years, although many of those years receive zero precipitation.
With over two hundred color images and lively, accessible text, In Botanical Time highlights fascinating facts about each charismatic plant, encouraging conservation for these species and leading us toward larger lessons about the rapidity with which humans have caused-and are causing-species to adapt.
| ISBN: | 9781645023159 |
| Publication date: | 7th April 2026 |
| Author: | Christopher Woods |
| Publisher: | Chelsea Green Publishing an imprint of Rizzoli |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 238 pages |
| Primary Genre | Nature and the natural world: general interest |
| Other Genres: |
How do some plants live for thousands of years? Which adaptations and evolutionary strategies allow them to thrive in some of the harshest places on the planet for so long-and so well?
Renowned plantsman, author, and longtime botanical garden designer Christopher Woods takes readers on a popular science exploration of twenty-three of the world's most amazing species, seeking answers to these questions by explaining their incredible survival mechanisms. Woods emphasizes how human cultures have interacted with plants over time and what we may, critically, be able to learn from them about sustainability in extreme climates. Some species will be familiar to readers, while some are outright surprising-such as the aptly named Welwitschia mirabilis, which lives happily in the Namib Desert for up to two thousand years, although many of those years receive zero precipitation.
With over two hundred color images and lively, accessible text, In Botanical Time highlights fascinating facts about each charismatic plant, encouraging conservation for these species and leading us toward larger lessons about the rapidity with which humans have caused-and are causing-species to adapt.
In Botanical Time features in the following genres: Gardening, Nature and the natural world: general interest, Popular Science, Trees, wildflowers and plants: general interest, Applied ecology, Conservation of the environment
In Botanical Time is available in Hardback
In Botanical Time was written by Christopher Woods and published by Chelsea Green Publishing an imprint of Rizzoli
In Botanical Time has 238 pages
£28.80
