Plants In Action

Accompanying CD-ROM includes 600 figures, tables and color plates from the book Plants in action which can be used for the production of color transparencies or for projections in lectures.

The Plants in action unit is an ideal way to link science with literacy in the classroom. Students' beliefs about flowering plants will be challenged as they work through hands-on activities.

The plant hormone ethylene plays a prominent role among several intrinsic and extrinsic factors that control growth and physiology of plants. Its biological activity was discovered over a century ago. However, extensive studies on its mode of action came later. This book brings into focus the recent developments on the biochemical, physiological, and molecular basis for ethylene action in plants.

Learn how medicinal plants work from the chemical level upward Understanding Medicinal Plants: Their Chemistry and Therapeutic Action is designed to teach the chemical concepts necessary to understand the actions of medicinal plants to people who are intimidated by chemistry. This beautifully illustrated, accessibly written guide explores the molecules of medicinal plants and the pharmacology behind their actions on the human body. The book will be valuable to non-science majors, biology majors, interested scientists of different disciplines, and practitioners and students of herbalism and complementary medicine. Understanding Medicinal Plants covers the essentials, including: understanding the symbolism of chemical structure bonding—and predicting useful properties important plant compounds isolation and purification of plant molecules drug delivery and action in the human body the chemistry of antioxidants identification of plant molecules Interest in alternative medicine and herbal products has never been higher than it is now. Understanding Medicinal Plants aims for the middle ground between technical manuals for highly trained individuals and books for the general public that may oversimplify the material. This introductory work provides you with a wealth of suggested reading materials, tables, figures, and illustrations. Three case studies illustrate specific plant drugs and their molecular constituents. This resource also provides an extensive glossary for easy reference. In Understanding Medicinal Plants, you will find a lexicon of medicinally important chemical families found in plants to help you identify and understand the role of constituents such as: alkaloids flavonoids coumarins glycosides amino acids lignans tannins and many more Understanding Medicinal Plants enriches your knowledge of the science behind herbalism and increases your savvy as a consumer of herbal products. This sourcebook will help you better understand the debates about the regulation of medicinal plants and related health care policy debates. With this book, you will be able to interpret media hype about medicinal plants with greater confidence.

The Action Plant is a radical new way of looking at plants as sensitive moving creatures, more like primitive animals than vegetables, and is based on a wealth of research, brought together in one place for the first time. Paul Simons examines the animal-like behaviour of plant movements and shows that movements are not peculiar to a famous few 'weird' species. Many leaves can search for light like miniature satellite dishes tracking the sun, insects can be bludgeoned into cross-pollination, and one fungus seems to have the habits of a triffid by spearing passing creatures with a harpoon. But the book is not simply a catalogue of these extraordinary natural phenomena. Simons reveals that all plants have a 'muscle' and nerve-like system which they and the animal kingdom evolved from ancient one-celled creatures. The revelation that these seemingly simple creatures have sensors, signals and motors all rolled into one cell shows that 'nervousness' is probably universal to almost all living things.