Weird Plants

Description: For the first time, this extraordinary compilation showcases weird, mysterious and bizarre plants from around the world. Plants trick, kill, steal and kidnap, and this unique book explores a fascinating world in which plants have turned the tables on animals. Author Chris Thorogood showcases these plant behaviours, the interrelationships among plants, the interdependencies between plants and animals, and the intrigue of plant evolution. All types of weird and sinister are featured in this book, from carnivorous plants that drug, drown and consume unsuspecting insect prey; giant pitcher plants that have evolved toilets for tree shrews; flowers that mimic rotting flesh to attract pollinating flies, and orchids that duplicitously look, feel and even smell like a female insect to bamboozle sex-crazed male bees.

Author Biography: Chris Thorogood is a botanist at the University of Oxford. He studied parasitic plant biology for his PhD at the University of Bristol where he then worked as a postdoctoral researcher. He currently studies the flora of the western Mediterranean basin and has a particular interest in parasitic plant speciation. He is the author of Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Western Mediterranean (Kew Publishing, 2016) which was shortlisted for the Garden Media Guild award in 2016, and co-author of Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of the Algarve (Kew Publishing, 2014).