César Flores – författare

Wild Plants for a Sustainable Future is an output from The Useful Plants Project, managed by Kew’s Seed Conservation Department through the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership in Botswana, Kenya, Mali, Mexico and South Africa. Many inhabitants of these countries depend directly on natural vegetation for everyday needs such as food, medicine, fuel and building materials, and plants are faced with a range of threats that include climate change, over-exploitation, shortage of water, habitat loss and invasion of exotic species. The Useful Plants Project helps communities become better equipped to face such challenges by improving their livelihoods and using the surrounding resources in a more sustainable way. The book includes five chapters, compiled by experts from Botswana, Kenya, Mali, South Africa and Mexico. 110 species profiles are included, selected as being among the most important useful plants for the rural communities. Mostly thes are trees and shrubs, along with cacti, subshrubs, and perennial and annual herbs. Each species profile includes a description, information on taxonomy and nomenclature, fruits and seeds, distribution, habitat, uses, known hazards and safety, conservation status, seed conservation, propagation and trade. Illustrated throughout with images of the plants in the wild, associated habitats, seed morphology, and use in cultivation. Glossary of botanical and technical terms is included at the end of the book.

First published in English in 1970, the first chapter of the book is concerned with conditioned reactions. Jean François le Ny discusses ways in which conditioned reactions are acquired and the laws governing their function.The second contributor, Gérard de Montpellier, looks at different types of learning. The varying processes involved in both animal and human learning are considered, together with some general factors and mechanisms of learning. The third section of the book by Geneviève Oléron deals with the phenomenon of transfer. Among the topics included are the determination of transfer effects, transfer in perceptual-motor activities and explanations of transfer. In the final chapter, César Florès examines memory, forgetting and reminiscence. The discussion covers methodology, the influence of material, the role of practice, the part played by attitudes, motivation and emotive reactions in the memory process, as well as the importance of organisation of memory tasks on the part of the subject.