Made From Trees

Made From Trees

How do so many different types of plants exist on Earth, and how do they contribute to different ecosystems? Explore Japan's mountains, Florida's wetlands, Mexico's rainforests, and the Canary Islands in Demons in Eden: the Paradox of Plant Diversity, by Jonathan Silvertown.

By now you might believe that plants are pretty important to life on Earth. Plant fossils are used to reconstruct past climates on Earth and help us predict temperature and sea level rises during our current climate crisis. Read more in The Emerald Planet: How Plants Changed Earth's History, by David Beerling.

Plants in the Americas range from hardy Arctic grasses to towering rainforest trees and back to Antarctic shrubs. How did so many types of plants end up on two continents, and how did they shape the history of those places? Find out in A Natural History of the New World: The Ecology and Evolution of Plants in the Americas, by Alan Graham.