{"title":"Stephen A. Harris","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStephen A. Harris\u003c\/strong\u003e offers a captivating exploration of the botanical world, blending scientific insight with artistic appreciation. His works delve into the history, beauty, and cultural significance of plants, making complex subjects accessible and engaging for readers interested in \u003cem\u003eScience \u0026amp; Nature\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eArts \u0026amp; Culture\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFrom examining transformative species to celebrating iconic gardens and flowers, Harris’s books provide a rich resource for those passionate about \u003cem\u003eHome \u0026amp; Garden\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eEducation \u0026amp; Reference\u003c\/em\u003e. His approach uncovers the profound impact of plants on history and human life, inviting deeper understanding and appreciation.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"50-plants-that-changed-the-world-by-stephen-harris-9781851246526","title":"50 Plants that Changed the World","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHave you ever stopped to think about how your morning cappuccino came to be? From the coffee bush that yielded the beans, to the grass for the cattle or perhaps the soya that produced the milk, plants are an indispensable part of our everyday life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBeginning with some of the earliest uses of plants, Stephen Harris takes us on an exciting journey through history, identifying fifty plants that have been key to the development of the western world, discussing trade, imperialism, politics, medicine, travel, and chemistry along the way. There are plants here that have changed landscapes, fomented wars, and fuelled slavery. Others have been the trigger for technological advances, expanded medical knowledge, or simply made our lives more pleasant.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePlants have provided paper and ink, chemicals that could kill or cure, vital sustenance, and stimulants. Some, such as barley, have been staples from earliest times; others, such as oil palm, are newcomers to western industry.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe remain dependent on plants for our food, our fuel, and our medicines. As the wide-ranging and engaging stories in this beautifully illustrated book demonstrate, their effects on our lives continue to be profound and often unpredictable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46735172731116,"sku":"9781851246526","price":59.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3021133482847.jpg?v=1755235359"},{"product_id":"what-have-plants-ever-done-for-us-by-stephen-a-harris-9781851244478","title":"What Have Plants Ever Done for Us?","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen did the British Government become the world's largest drugs pusher? What tree is frequently used to treat cancer? Which everyday condiment is the most widely traded spice on the planet?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePlants are an indispensable part of our everyday life. From the coffee bush and grass for cattle which give us milk for our cappuccinos to the rubber tree which produces tyres for our cars, our lives are inextricably linked to the world of plants.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTaking us on a chronological journey, Stephen Harris identifies fifty plants that have been key to the development of the Western world, discussing trade, politics, medicine, travel and chemistry along the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePlants have provided paper and ink, chemicals that could kill or cure, vital sustenance and stimulants. Some, such as barley, have been staples from earliest times; others, such as oil palm, are newcomers to Western industry. Moreover, with time, uses change: beets, which have been used variously as a treatment for leprosy, source of sugar and animal feed, are now showing potential as biofuels. What may the future hold for mandrake or woad?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe remain dependent on plants for our food, our fuel and our medicines. Their effects on our lives, as the stories in this wide-ranging and engaging book, \u003cem\u003eWhat Have Plants Ever Done for Us?\u003c\/em\u003e, demonstrate, continue to be profound, and often unpredictable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46852633067756,"sku":"9781851244478","price":54.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/25c0e478a3f37ee7a23ec9a17ed6b596.jpg?v=1759168993"},{"product_id":"catesbys-natural-history-by-stephen-a-harris-9781851246397","title":"Catesby's Natural History","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMark Catesby was an eighteenth-century naturalist and artist whose work on the natural history of North America and the Caribbean still has resonance today. During the course of several perilous trips, he collected specimens and made extensive observations in the field, gathering material that would eventually become \u003ci\u003eThe Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands\u003c\/i\u003e, featuring 220 elaborate and distinctive hand-coloured plates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWidely appreciated in their time, Catesby's stunning illustrations, with their striking combinations of animals and plants, together with the first-hand observations he made, catalysed interest in the natural history of Colonial America and established his work as a key reference for the scientific understanding of natural history. As an artist, Catesby meticulously recorded the environment, sifting fact from fiction about the lives of the plants and animals he observed. As a collector, he introduced many living plants to Britain, thereby changing European gardens forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis beautiful book, which reproduces all the plates, shows how Catesby's practical field experience shaped his work in all areas. Whether through the now-extinct species he recorded or the cultural changes he witnessed, his research continues to be relevant, demonstrating the vulnerability and fragility of the natural world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46854214353132,"sku":"9781851246397","price":115.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3019843482847.jpg?v=1759237657"},{"product_id":"sunflowers-by-stephen-a-harris-9781780239262","title":"Sunflowers","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSunflowers are the most recognisable members of the world's largest family of plants, Asteraceae, which includes lettuce, chrysanthemums, asters, dahlias, and weeds. The sunflower family is found in almost all habitats, from the driest deserts through grasslands and the tallest mountains to urban wastelands, and includes more than 32,000 species. The family has become a part of our literary and visual cultures, inspiring artists such as Vincent van Gogh, and is used by advertisers to promote countless products. It produces hugely popular and economically valuable ornamental flowers, as well as familiar flavourings such as tarragon and artemisia. Additionally, sunflowers are used in the production of antimalarial drugs, artificial sweeteners, insecticides, and fish poisons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunflowers\u003c\/i\u003e unravels the interplay between the biology of sunflowers and human cultures over the last 6,000 years. It explores our fascination with the family and how our uses of the plants have changed over millennia. Illustrated with many rarely seen images of the sunflower family, this beautiful volume will appeal to those looking for a new, surprising perspective on familiar flowers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46854880559340,"sku":"9781780239262","price":39.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781780239262.jpg?v=1759258035"},{"product_id":"roots-to-seeds-by-stephen-a-harris-9781851245611","title":"Roots to Seeds","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince 1621, and the foundation of the Oxford Botanic Garden, Oxford has built up an outstanding collection of plant specimens, botanical illustrations, and rare books on plant classification, collecting, and plant biology. These archives, and the living plants in the Garden, are integral to the study of botany in the University.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eRoots to Seeds\u003c\/em\u003e profiles the botanists and collections that have helped transform our understanding of the biology of plants over the past four centuries, focusing on plant classification, experimental botany, building botanical collections, agriculture, forestry, and botanical education. Highlights include a selection of Ferdinand Bauer's renowned illustrations for \u003cem\u003eFlora Graeca\u003c\/em\u003e—an extraordinarily lavish and detailed eighteenth-century botanical publication of plants found in the Eastern Mediterranean—and rare plant specimens from the herbaria, such as Fairchild's Mule (the first artificially created hybrid plant).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTogether with seventeenth-century herbals, elegant garden plans, plant models, and fossil slides, these items from the archives all help to tell the story of botanical science in Oxford and the intrepid botanists who devoted themselves to the essential study of plants.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47341063831788,"sku":"9781851245611","price":89.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3011983482847.jpg?v=1772182774"},{"product_id":"oxford-botanic-garden-arboretum-by-stephen-a-harris-9781851244652","title":"Oxford Botanic Garden \u0026 Arboretum","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOxford Botanic Garden \u0026amp; Arboretum\u003c\/em\u003e is the oldest surviving botanic garden in Britain and has occupied its site in central Oxford since 1621. Conceived as a place to grow medicinal plants, born in the turmoil of civil war and nurtured during the restoration of the monarchy, the garden has, unsurprisingly, a curious past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy tracing the work and priorities of each of the garden's keepers, this book explores its importance as one of the world's oldest scientific plant collections. It tells the story of the planting of the garden by its first keeper, Jacob Bobart, and his son, together with how they changed the garden to suit their own needs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe story develops during the eighteenth century as the garden grew exotic plants under glass and acquired a fine succulent collection but then experienced a downturn under the stewardship of the eccentric Professor Humphrey Sibthorp (famous for giving just one lecture in thirty-seven years).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, the narrative throws light on the partnership of gardener William Baxter and academic Charles Daubeny in the early nineteenth century, which gave the garden its glasshouses and ponds and contributed to its survival to the present day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis generously illustrated book is the first history of the garden and arboretum for more than a century and provides an essential introduction to one of Oxford's much-loved haunts.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47597478183148,"sku":"9781851244652","price":49.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/146db969ba643dd7e6f296fb04f0e72e.jpg?v=1777958731"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/stephen-a-harris.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}