About this item

Seeds are nature's consummate survivors. The next time you admire a field of waving green grassland or a stunning grove of acacia, stop to consider how it got that way - often against incredible odds. Seeds can survive freezing temperatures and drought. They can pass through our digestive systems without damage and weather a trip across the ocean, hitching a ride on marine debris. They can even endure complete desiccation, a feat taken to extraordinary lengths by the date palm, a seed from which was recovered from the palace of Herod the Great was germinated after some two thousand years. The Book of Seeds takes readers through six hundred of the world's seed species, revealing their extraordinary beauty and rich diversity. Each page pairs a beautifully composed photo of a seed - life-size, and, in some cases, enlarged to display fine detail - with a short description, a map showing distribution, and information on conservation status.