Plants play a role in the environment, in food, beverage, and drug production, as well as human health. Written for the introductory, non-science major course, Plants & People outlines the practical, economical, and environmental aspects of plants' interaction with humans and the earth. Mauseth provides comprehensive coverage of plants in the environment – global warming, deforestation, biogeography – as well as the role plants play in food, fiber, and medicine.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Section 1 Plants Themselves
Chapter 2 Whole plants: Introduction to plant bodies, growth forms and life spans
Chapter 3 Cells, tissues and organs: The microscopic components of plant structure
Chapter 4 Basic metabolism, translocation of water and mineral nutrition
Chapter 5 Energy metabolism: Photosynthesis and respiration
Chapter 6 Genes Environment and Development
Chapter 7 Sexual and asexual reproduction: Gametes, spores and reproductive organs
Chapter 8 Genetics: Transferring information from generation to generation
Chapter 9 Adapting to changing environments: Evolution, diversification and systematics
Section 2 Plants, People, and the Biosphere
Chapter 10 Plant biogeography: The distribution of plants on drifting, changing continents
Chapter 11 Climate change: The roles of people, plants and carbon dioxide
Chapter 12 Agriculture and the biosphere
Section 3 Economic Botany
Chapter 13 Food plants: Plants that make our lives possible
Chapter 14 Spices and herbs: Plants that make eating fun
Chapter 15 Plants as sources of medicines, drugs and psychoactive compounds
Chapter 16 Fibers, wood, and chemicals: Plants that clothe and house us
Chapter 17 Ornamental plants: Plants that refresh us
Chapter 18 Algae and fungi: Close (and not-so-close) relatives of plants