The reason for flowers : their history, culture, biology, and how they change our lives / Stephen Buchmann.

Includes bibliographical references.

Attracting attention -- Flowers and their ancestors -- The pollinators -- Pleasure gardens ancient and modern -- Flowers for eternity -- Best of show -- Arriving by jumbo jet -- Eating flowers -- A little dab behind the ear -- The secret language of flowers -- Flowers on the page -- Flower power: the meaning of flowers in art -- The flower and the scientist -- Good for what ails us: healing our bodies and minds -- Appendix 1: flower statistics -- Appendix 2: cooking with flowers: selected recipes -- Appendix 3: after bringing them home: caring for your cut flowers -- Appendix 4: online resources for wildflower and pollinator conservation organizations.

An exploration of the roles flowers play in the production of our foods, spices, medicines, and perfumes reveals their origins, myriad shapes, colors, textures and scents, bizarre sex lives, and how humans-- and the natural world-- relate and depend upon them.

"Flowers, and the fruits that follow, feed, clothe, sustain, and inspire all humanity. They have done so since before recorded history. Flowers are used to celebrate all-important occasions, to express love, and are also the basis of global industries. Americans buy ten million flowers a day and perfumes are a worldwide industry worth $30 billion dollars annually. Yet, we know little about flowers, their origins, bizarre sex lives, or how humans relate and depend upon them. Stephen Buchmann takes us along on an exploratory journey of the roles flowers play in the production of our foods, spices, medicines, perfumes, while simultaneously bringing joy and health. Flowering plants continue to serve as inspiration in our myths and legends, in the fine and decorative arts, and in literary works of prose and poetry. Flowers seduce us--and animals, too--through their myriad shapes, colors, textures, and scents. And because of our extraordinary appetite for more unusual and beautiful 'super flowers, ' plant breeders have created such unnatural blooms as blue roses and black petunias to cater to the human world of haute couture fashion. In so doing, the nectar and pollen vital to the bees, butterflies, and bats of the world, are being reduced. Buchmann explains the unfortunate consequences, and explores how to counter them by growing the right flowers. Here, he integrates fascinating stories about the many colorful personalities who populate the world of flowers, and the flowers and pollinators themselves, with a research-based narrative that illuminates just why there is, indeed, a Reason for Flowers."--Publisher's description.