Weeds [electronic resource] : how vagabond plants gatecrashed civilisation and changed the way we think about nature / Richard Mabey.

Weeds [electronic resource] : how vagabond plants gatecrashed civilisation and changed the way we think about nature / Richard Mabey.

9781847652843 (electronic book)
1847652840 (electronic book)
184668076X
9781846680762

London : Profile, 2010.

English

1 online resource (xi, 324 pages) : illustrations

SB611 .M33 2010eb

"Ever since the first human settlements 10,000 years ago, weeds have dogged our footsteps. They are there as the punishment of'thorns and thistles'in Genesis and, two millennia later, as a symbol of Flanders Field. They are civilisations'familiars, invading farmland and building-sites, war-zones and flower-beds across the globe. Yet living so intimately with us, they have been a blessing too. Weeds were the first crops, the first medicines. Burdock was the inspiration for Velcro. Cow parsley has become the fashionable adornment of Spring weddings. Weaving together the insights of botanists, gardeners, artists and poets with his own life-long fascination, Richard Mabey examines how we have tried to define them, explain their persistence, and draw moral lessons from them. One persons weed is another's wild beauty."--Publisher website.

U.S. ed. published by HarperCollins in 2010 as Weeds : in defense of nature's most unloved plants

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Access limited to authorized users.

Description based on print version record.

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