How the Rose Got Its Thorns: And Other Botanical Stories

Have you ever wondered why the rose has thorns and other flowers don’t; why the daffodil is the colour it is; or why some plants have shiny leaves and others matt?

How The Rose Got its Thorns reveals the inner workings of our favourite flowers and trees. Designed to help gardeners, both novice and experienced, better understand how plants grow, the book is easy to navigate – it is divided into 50 chapters, each one a story.

Accompanied by specially commissioned colour illustrations, each chapter explains the science behind how plants work and the extraordinary processes they have evolved: such as protecting themselves from predators using chemicals; attracting pollinators using scent, shape and colour; growing in low or high temperatures; their relationship with the wind; the size and pattern of their leaves; the distribution of their seeds and survival strategies; their relationship with insects; how they allocate their resources; and how they retain water efficiently.

This delightful and intriguing book offers readers an accessible way to better understand how our plants evolved into the species of today.