{"product_id":"a-natural-history-of-nettles-von-keith-g-r-wheeler","title":"A Natural History of Nettles","description":"\u003cp\u003eABOUT THE BOOK. Articles on nettles have been published in newspapers, magazines and books through the ages \u0026amp;\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethey often make the headlines. However, this is the first book ever published on them! There have been over a 100\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003emajor scientific papers written on the main nettle character of the book, the sub-cosmopolitan common stinging nettle\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(Urtica dioica) and at present it appears in some form or other I 80-100 journals per year. The main object of the book\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eis to bring this information to the general public in a readable and profusely illustrated form. The book contains 142 \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ephotos\/coloured line drawings, of these 52 full page composite illustrated pages made up of approximately 650 line figs \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand 550 photos (the vast majority are mine). The cost of colour printing is high so unfortunately the text contains \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eonly black and white versions but all illustrations are included in colour at high resolution (300 d.p.i.) on CD-ROM\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(PC only) on the inside back pocket of the book. The technical parts are written in a semi-scientific manner, so the \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003egeneral public, naturalists, botanists, students and scientists will find a lot to interest them. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFew have ventured to look at the nettle in close-up for fear of being stung! The beauty of its minute structure is revealed.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe small nettle and the extinct roman nettle have interesting stories. The latter was grown in Elizabethan flower \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003egardens as a fun nosegay! Three chapters are devoted to the stinging hair, its structure (one of the first objects looked at \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eby the early microscopists, Hooke and Leeuwenhoek), its mechanism of discharge (the marvelous micro-pipette with its \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ehypodermic needle) and its defense against cattle (vertebrate herbivores). Learn about the toxins and the stinging hair \u0026amp; \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003etheir symptoms; the tropical tormentors, the nettle trees of the Indo-Malayan area. The utility of the common nettle, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eas a food and famine fodder, fibre use and ersatz material in peace and war (WWI \u0026amp; WWII) is a fascinating story few \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eknow. The ecology of the nettle patch shows that this plant is of great importance to insects (particularly our vanessid\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebutterflies), larger animals fungi and other parasites. Learn about the growth requirements of this successful competitor \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eplant, its sex life (two sexes similar to humans), breeding strategy \u0026amp; evolution. Literary people have not neglected the \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enettle and it has much folklore because of its relationship with man throughout history. Read about nettles from other \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eplant families with attractive flower, that have come up with a stinging hair almost identical to our common nettle: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eunique exploding stamens, nettle-eating competitions, genetic engineering, as a medical panacea, capons, \u0026amp; much more!!!16\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"aw-variant-hidden-subtitle-div\" id=\"aw-variant-subtitle-9781412026949\"\u003e\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Autorenwelt Shop","offers":[{"title":"Softcover - 9781412026949","offer_id":58572420120901,"sku":"9781412026949","price":24.6,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0940\/0622\/files\/73461_e80edb0d-67ba-45e2-a9f3-2a9450425fd1.jpg?v=1784088376","url":"https:\/\/shop.autorenwelt.de\/products\/a-natural-history-of-nettles-von-keith-g-r-wheeler","provider":"Autorenwelt Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}