Search results for ""author margareta séquin""
Royal Society of Chemistry The Chemistry of Plants and Insects: Plants, Bugs, and Molecules
Have you ever wondered how plants attract certain insects, or how insects communicate with each other? This book explains the natural chemical compounds that determine the fascinating interactions between plants and insects providing a gentle and absorbing introduction to organic chemistry that is highly relevant to everyday life and to the natural world. Specific organic compounds and intriguing chemistry determine whether insects are keen on feeding on plants or avoid certain plants altogether. Some insects have learned to use plant compounds as their own defences, and some plants use digestive processes to use insects as nutritional supplements. Plant-insect interactions are vital for our food supply, for pollination of orchards or detrimentally in insect infestations of crops, as well as in applications like silk production. By the author of the popular book, The Chemistry of Plants: Perfumes, Pigments, and Poisons, this book benefits from Margareta Séquin’s vast experience leading field trips and seminars to botanical gardens and nature reserves, and teaching chemistry to beginners. Organic chemistry is often seen as a challenging, sometimes abstract field. This book makes chemistry exciting and accessible for readers interested in a deeper understanding of the natural world. The book is organized according to the increasing complexity of compounds introduced, and so it also serves as a useful teaching aid for undergraduate chemistry or biology courses, and as a supplementary text for students in plant sciences, ecology, and entomology, and in horticultural programs.
£27.99
Royal Society of Chemistry The Chemistry of Plants: Perfumes, Pigments and Poisons
Why are some plants so important to humans? The chemistry of the plants has a lot to do with it! The plant world offers a fascinating way to explore basic chemistry concepts. The spectacular variety of colors, fragrances and other characteristics of plants are driven by the seemingly subtle differences in the structure and properties of organic compounds. Well-known flowers, like daffodils and narcissus, are examples of plants that provide ample perfumes, pigments and poisons as part of their intricate and fascinating chemistry. This second edition retains it accessibility, expanding on the first edition and combining scientific concepts with colorful pictures and stories in simple, clear language. Readers will find introductory information on some chemistry and plant biology. This prepares them for the more complex chemical structures that compose plant substances, many of them of vital importance to humans. The final chapter has been expanded, in particular the sections on medicinal plants and on genetic modification. The end-of chapter references have been thoroughly updated with articles, books, and relevant websites that illustrate the topics discussed. Dr Margareta Sequin, an organic chemist and plant enthusiast, has taught popular undergraduate college level courses on plant chemistry to non-chemistry majors and has led numerous field seminars for the general public. The comments and questions from these audiences and the topics that especially captured people's interest have greatly shaped this book. The Chemistry of Plants addresses an audience with little previous chemistry knowledge, but will appeal to the expert reader looking for an understanding of more complex plant compounds. It can be used both as a text to introduce organic chemistry as it relates to plants and as a text of reference for more advanced readers.
£32.40
