Author(s): Robbin C. Moran

Natural History

From the curator of ferns at the New York Botanical Garden comes a meticulously researched, soundly organized, and entertainingly written treatise on the biology of one of nature's loveliest--and often most misunderstood--plants. Ferns, for all their cool beauty and exotic allure, are anomalies of the plant world because of their distinctive form of reproduction, by spore rather than seed. Moran examines this and other essential processes in a scholarly manual that sets forth in a single volume the wealth of material usually accessible only through intricate research. As opposed to field guides focusing primarily on identification, this history explains the unique life cycle and explores the evolutionary adaptations that have occurred throughout the species' 340-million-year history. Exhibiting a storyteller's flair, Moran opens each chapter with an engaging vignette or anecdote to instantly engage the reader, thus elevating what could be a pedantic discourse into an enjoyable discussion.