S. L. Kochhar – författare

This book offers an up-to-date account of important crops grown worldwide. It provides detailed discussion on the history of plant exploration, migration, domestication and distribution, and crop improvement. The text starts with the origin and diversification of cultivated plants, followed by discussion on tropical, subtropical and temperate crops that are sources of food, beverages, spices and medicines, as well as plant insecticides, timber plants and essential oil-yielding plants. The genetic and evolutionary aspects of different plants and their health benefits are highlighted. The book covers topics dealing with biodiversity conservation, petro-crops, ethnobotanical studies, and important sub-tropical and temperate plants that have commercial importance. The significance of major plant species under each category is described in detail. Illustrated with numerous well-labelled line diagrams and pictures, this book will be useful for students of botany, food and nutrition, forestry, agriculture, horticulture, plant breeding and environmental science.

This comprehensive text on flowering trees of tropical gardens discusses some new species of trees, including Adansonia digitata, Monodora myristica, Flacourtia montana, Balanites aegyptiaca, Bursera serrata, Commiphora wightii and Semecarpus anacardium. The text covers more than 200 of the most striking and widespread trees alongside closely related genera and species (both native and exotic) commonly encountered in the tropical climate. It includes more than 700 high resolution coloured photographs, depicting different facets including growth habit, morphological details of stem, leaves, flowers and fruits. The different tree species are organized according to Bentham and Hooker's system of classification of seed plants. The book discusses many aspects of trees including common and botanical names together with synonyms, taxonomic families, etymology (how trees have derived their names), phenology, their native place, geographical distribution, mythological notes, religious significance and economic importance. The text is useful for graduate students and academic researchers in the field of life sciences.