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An entertaining rendition of the botanical and cultural history of carnivorous plants.
Carnivorous plants are a unique group, possessing modified leaves to trap, kill and consume small creatures. As a result, they are often depicted as killers in films and literature, yet some regard them as exotic and beautiful specimens to collect and display. In this abundantly illustrated and highly entertaining book, Dan Torre describes the evolution, structure and scientific background of carnivorous plants. He also shows how these plants – singular, arresting, beautiful yet deadly – have inspired our imagination and been represented in art, literature, cinema, animation and popular culture.
Introduction
1 The Natural History of Carnivorous Plants
2 More than Just a Meal
3 A Remarkable Discovery
4 Attack of the Killer Plants
5 Magnificent Carnivores
6 Collecting, Growing and Conserving Carnivorous Plants
Timeline of Carnivorous Plants
References
Further Reading
Associations and Websites
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Dan Torre is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Design at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. He is an avid grower and collector of cacti, and author of Cactus.
"Dan Torre takes you from Ed Wood to Pokémon, from surrealistic art to synergistic relationships between bats and plants, all without missing a beat. This is one of those books that takes an already fascinating topic – animal-eating plants – and makes it even more exciting, more weird and endlessly fascinating."
– Tim Entwhistle, Director and Chief Executive, Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria, Australia
"It is rare to find a book that can reveal new information or provide a significantly different perspective to a topic that the reader thinks they are familiar [...] The author, in bringing up topics unfamiliar to me, inspired me to investigate topics more fully, revealing whole worlds of which I was not aware. The sign of a good non-fiction book is to provide information that the reader does not know, and allow a deeper understanding of a given topic. Carnivorous Plants by Dan Torre is one of the few books that provides sound information and interweaves various fields of knowledge that would not normally come together creating a body of work that is comprehensive. The style is easily accessible and ultimately readable and entertaining."
– Associate Professor Randall W. Robinson, Victoria University Melbourne
