Cabaret of Plants

The Cabaret of Plants is a rich, sweeping work of botanical history by the illustrious naturalist Richard Mabey. Plants have been central to human experience not just as sources of food and medicine but also as objects of worship, actors in creation myths, and symbols of war and peace and of life and death. Mabey explores forty different plant species, taking readers from the Himalayas to Madagascar to the Amazon to our own backyards. Through the work of the likes of da Vinci, Wordsworth, Darwin, and van Gogh, Mabey recounts how papyrus changed communication, how the olive branch came to represent peace, and how the lotus flower is influencing new technology. Here too are the stories of our abiding love of and dependence on acorns, daffodils, cocoa beans, and orchids. The Cabaret of Plants is the magnum opus of one of our great naturalists and a masterful exploration of the complex relationship between humans and the natural world.

Cabaretul Plantelor este o opera bogata si cuprinzatoare de istorie botanica a ilustrului naturalist Richard Mabey. Plantele au fost esentiale pentru experienta umana nu doar ca surse de hrana si medicamente, ci si ca obiecte de cult, actori ai miturilor creatiei si simboluri ale razboiului si pacii si ale vietii si mortii.