1st Edition

The Aliveness of Plants The Darwins at the Dawn of Plant Science

By Peter Ayres Copyright 2008
    242 Pages
    by Routledge

    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    The Darwin family was instrumental in the history of botany. Their experiences illustrate the growing specialization and professionalization of science in the nineteenth century. The author shows how botany escaped the burdens of medicine, feminization and the sterility of classification and nomenclature to become a rigorous laboratory science.

    Chapter 1 Green Threads across the Ages: A Brief Perspective on the Darwins' Botany; Chapter 2 The Fortunes of the Darwins; Chapter 3 The Misfortunes of Botany; Chapter 4 Erasmus Darwin's Vision of the Future: Phytologia; Chapter 5 Charles Darwin's Evolutionary Period; Chapter 6 Charles Darwin's Physiological Period; Chapter 7 Charles Darwin, Francis Darwin and Differences with Von Sachs; Chapter 8 Francis Darwin, Cambridge and Plant Physiology; Chapter 9 Francis Darwin, Family and His Father's Memory; Chapter 10 Fortune's Favourites?; Chapter 11 Where Did the Green Threads Lead? The Botanical Legacy;

    Biography

    Ayres, Peter