Scan barcode
A review by jo_king
Brilliant Green: The Surprising History and Science of Plant Intelligence by Stefano Mancuso, Alessandra Viola
4.0
A fascinating read that poses a number of yet-unanswerable questions and introduced some amazing concepts:
*p. 98 "There's a great deal of evidence to support this theory of the symbiotic origin of mitochondria."
*p. 104 "the gene regulating caryophyllene production has been reintroduced in modern varieties [of corn], after being borrowed from oregano."
*p. 111 discusses the concept of pollinators and site fidelity
*p. 153 "This multiplicity of nocturnal positions follows a general law: the leaves... show a common tendency to assume the same position at night that they had during germination."
Though I felt that some of the analogies were a bit repetitive, I appreciate that they bring more emotional resonance to complex abstract concepts. I also really enjoyed some of the wordplay:
p. 25: "We hope that reading this book will help plant some doubts on that score".
p. 55: "Rather, it's as if there are different languages with a common root: some meanings remain in all of them, while others are specific to different languages (and therefore to different species)."
p. 74 phonotropism analogies were fun: "Well, imagine that for plants the earth is a kind of twenty-four-hour disco." :)
*p. 98 "There's a great deal of evidence to support this theory of the symbiotic origin of mitochondria."
*p. 104 "the gene regulating caryophyllene production has been reintroduced in modern varieties [of corn], after being borrowed from oregano."
*p. 111 discusses the concept of pollinators and site fidelity
*p. 153 "This multiplicity of nocturnal positions follows a general law: the leaves... show a common tendency to assume the same position at night that they had during germination."
Though I felt that some of the analogies were a bit repetitive, I appreciate that they bring more emotional resonance to complex abstract concepts. I also really enjoyed some of the wordplay:
p. 25: "We hope that reading this book will help plant some doubts on that score".
p. 55: "Rather, it's as if there are different languages with a common root: some meanings remain in all of them, while others are specific to different languages (and therefore to different species)."
p. 74 phonotropism analogies were fun: "Well, imagine that for plants the earth is a kind of twenty-four-hour disco." :)