Human uses of plants

Last updated

Grapes being trodden to extract the juice and made into wine in storage jars. Tomb of Nakht, 18th dynasty, Thebes, Ancient Egypt Tomb of Nakht (13).jpg
Grapes being trodden to extract the juice and made into wine in storage jars. Tomb of Nakht, 18th dynasty, Thebes, Ancient Egypt

Human uses of plants include both practical uses, such as for food, clothing, and medicine, and symbolic uses, such as in art, mythology and literature. Materials derived from plants are collectively called plant products.

Contents

Edible plants have long been a source of nutrition for humans, and the reliable provision of food through agriculture and horticulture is the basis of civilization since the Neolithic Revolution. Medicinal herbs were and still remain to be the key ingredients of many traditional medicine practices, as well as being raw materials for some modern pharmaceuticals. The study of plant uses by native peoples is ethnobotany, while economic botany focuses on modern cultivated plants. Plants are also used as feedstock for many industrial products including timber, paper and textiles, as well as a wide range of chemicals.

Ornamental plants give millions of people pleasure through gardening, and floriculture is a popular pastime among many. Viticulture and winemaking can provide both culinary and economic values to society. In art, mythology, religion, literature and film, plants play important roles, symbolising themes such as fertility, growth, purity, and rebirth. In architecture and the decorative arts, plants provide many themes, such as Islamic arabesques and the acanthus forms carved on to classical Corinthian order column capitals.

Context

Culture consists of the social behaviour and norms found in human societies and transmitted through social learning. Cultural universals in all human societies include expressive forms like art, music, dance, ritual, religion, and technologies like tool usage, cooking, shelter, and clothing. The concept of material culture covers physical expressions such as technology, architecture and art, whereas immaterial culture includes principles of social organization, mythology, philosophy, literature, and science. [1] This article describes the many roles played by plants in human culture. [2]

Practical uses

As food

Harvesting oats Harvest Time - geograph.org.uk - 747095.jpg
Harvesting oats

Humans depend on plants for food, either directly or as feed for domestic animals. Agriculture deals with the production of food crops, and has played a key role in the history of world civilizations. Agriculture includes agronomy for arable crops, horticulture for vegetables and fruit, and forestry for timber. [3] About 7,000 species of plant have been used for food, though most of today's food is derived from only 30 species. The major staples include cereals such as rice and wheat, starchy roots and tubers such as cassava and potato, and legumes such as peas and beans. Vegetable oils such as olive oil provide lipids, while fruit and vegetables contribute vitamins and minerals to the diet. [4]

In industry

Timber Timber DonnellyMills2005 SeanMcClean.jpg
Timber

Plants grown as industrial crops are the source of a wide range of products used in manufacturing, sometimes so intensively as to risk harm to the environment. [5] Nonfood products include essential oils, natural dyes, pigments, waxes, resins, tannins, alkaloids, amber and cork. Products derived from plants include soaps, shampoos, perfumes, cosmetics, paint, varnish, turpentine, rubber, latex, lubricants, linoleum, plastics, inks, and gums. Renewable fuels from plants include firewood, peat and other biofuels. [6] [7] The fossil fuels coal, petroleum and natural gas are derived from the remains of aquatic organisms including phytoplankton in geological time. [8]

Structural materials and fibres from plants are used to construct dwellings and to manufacture clothing. Wood is used not only for buildings, boats, and furniture, but also for smaller items such as musical instruments, hand tools, and sports equipment. Wood is pulped to make paper and cardboard. [9] Cloth is often made from cotton, flax, ramie or synthetic fibres such as rayon and acetate derived from plant cellulose. Thread used to sew cloth likewise comes in large part from cotton. [10]

A physician preparing an elixir, from an Arabic version of Dioscorides's pharmacopoeia, 1224 Folio Materia Medica Dioscurides Met 13.152.6 (cropped).jpg
A physician preparing an elixir, from an Arabic version of Dioscorides's pharmacopoeia, 1224

Plants are a primary source of basic chemicals, both for their medicinal and physiological effects, and for the industrial synthesis of a vast array of organic chemicals. [11]

In medicine

Many hundreds of medicines are derived from plants, both traditional medicines used in herbalism [12] [13] and chemical substances purified from plants or first identified in them, sometimes by ethnobotanical search, and then synthesised for use in modern medicine. Modern medicines derived from plants include aspirin, taxol, morphine, quinine, reserpine, colchicine, digitalis and vincristine. Plants used in herbalism include ginkgo, echinacea, feverfew, and Saint John's wort. The pharmacopoeia of Dioscorides, De Materia Medica , describing some 600 medicinal plants, was written between 50 and 70 AD and remained in use in Europe and the Middle East until around 1600 AD; it was the precursor of all modern pharmacopoeias. [14] [15] [16]

For chemicals

Pesticides derived from plants include nicotine, rotenone, strychnine and pyrethrins. [17] Plants such as tobacco, cannabis, opium poppy, and coca yield psychotropic chemicals. [18] Poisons from plants include atropine, ricin, hemlock and curare, though many of these also have medicinal uses. [19]

In gardening

The white garden at Sissinghurst The white garden - geograph.org.uk - 301085.jpg
The white garden at Sissinghurst

Thousands of plant species are cultivated for aesthetic purposes as well as to provide shade, modify temperatures, reduce wind, abate noise, provide privacy, and prevent soil erosion. Plants are the basis of a multibillion-dollar per year tourism industry, which includes travel to historic gardens, national parks, rainforests, forests with colorful autumn leaves, and festivals such as Japan's [20] and America's cherry blossom festivals. [21]

There are also art forms specializing in the arrangement of cut or living plants, such as bonsai, ikebana, and the arrangement of cut or dried flowers. Ornamental plants have sometimes changed the course of history, as in tulipomania. [22]

In science

Barbara McClintock (1902-1992), a pioneering cytogeneticist who studied the mechanism of inheritance using maize Barbara McClintock (1902-1992) shown in her laboratory in 1947.jpg
Barbara McClintock (1902–1992), a pioneering cytogeneticist who studied the mechanism of inheritance using maize

Basic biological research has often been done with plants. In genetics, the breeding of pea plants allowed Gregor Mendel to derive the basic laws governing inheritance, [23] and examination of chromosomes in maize allowed Barbara McClintock to demonstrate their connection to inherited traits. [24] The plant Arabidopsis thaliana is used in laboratories as a model organism to understand how genes control the growth and development of plant structures. [25] NASA predicts that space stations or space colonies will one day rely on plants for life support. [26]

Scientific advances in genetic engineering led to developments in crops. Genetically modified crops introduce new traits to plants which they do not have naturally. These can bring benefits such as a decrease in the use of harmful pesticides, by building in qualities such as insect resistance and herbicide tolerance. [27]

Living structures

Two living root bridges in Meghalaya state, India Living root bridges, Nongriat village, Meghalaya2.jpg
Two living root bridges in Meghalaya state, India

The ability of trees to graft is occasionally exploited by tree shaping to create living root bridges in Meghalaya and Nagaland states in India and on the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia. The aerial roots of rubber fig trees, Ficus elastica , are used to form suspension bridges across mountain streams. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]

Symbolic uses

In art

Botanical illustration of Dimorphorchis lowii by Walter Hood Fitch, 1864 Dimorphorchis lowii (Renanthera lowii) - Curtis' 90 (Ser. 3 no. 20) pl. 5475 (1864).jpg
Botanical illustration of Dimorphorchis lowii by Walter Hood Fitch, 1864

Plants appear in art, either to illustrate their botanical appearance, [33] or for the purposes of the artist, which may include decoration or symbolism, often religious. For example, the Virgin Mary was compared by the Venerable Bede to a lily, the white petals denoting purity of body, while the yellow anthers signified the radiant light of the soul; accordingly, European portraits of the Virgin's Annunciation may depict a vase of white lilies in her room to indicate her attributes. Plants are also often used as backgrounds or features in portraits, and as main subjects in still lifes. [34] [35]

Capitals of ancient Egyptian columns decorated to resemble papyrus plants. Luxor, Egypt Luxor, West Bank, Ramesseum, column top decorations, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg
Capitals of ancient Egyptian columns decorated to resemble papyrus plants. Luxor, Egypt

Architectural designs resembling plants appear in the capitals of Ancient Egyptian columns, which were carved to resemble either the Egyptian white lotus or the papyrus. [36] Ancient Greek columns of the Corinthian order are decorated with acanthus leaves. [37] Islamic art, too, makes frequent use of plant motifs and patterns, including on column capitals. These designs became increasingly elaborate and stylised, appearing as complex arabesque and geometric motifs in objects such as the Ardabil Carpet and ten-pointed Persian ceramic star tiles, influencing the decorative arts in the Western world in such forms as the Rococo and later the Arts and Crafts movement. [38] [39] [40]

In literature and film

The 1962 film of John Wyndham's 1951 science fiction novel The Day of the Triffids depicted aggressive and seemingly intelligent plants. Dayofthetriffids.jpg
The 1962 film of John Wyndham's 1951 science fiction novel The Day of the Triffids depicted aggressive and seemingly intelligent plants.

Both real and fictitious plants play a wide variety of roles in literature and film. [41] Plants' roles may be evil, as with the triffids, carnivorous plants with a whip-like poisonous sting as well as mobility provided by three foot-like appendages, from John Wyndham's 1951 science fiction novel The Day of the Triffids , and subsequent films and radio plays. [42] J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth makes use of many named kinds of plant, including the healing herb athelas [43] the yellow star-flower elanor which grows in special places such as Cerin Amroth in Lothlórien, [44] and the tall mallorn tree [45] of the elves. Tolkien names several individual trees of significance in the narrative, including the Party Tree in the Shire with its happy associations, [45] and the malevolent Old Man Willow [46] in the Old Forest. [47] Trees feature in many of Ursula K. Le Guin's books, including the forest world of Athshe and the Immanent Grove [48] on Roke in the Earthsea series, to such an extent that in her introduction to her collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters, she admits to "a certain obsession with trees" and describes herself as "the most arboreal science fiction writer". [49] James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar features a giant tree named Hometree, the sacred gathering place of the humanoid Na'vi tribe; the interconnected tree, tribe and planet are threatened by mining: the tribe and the film's hero fight to save them. [50] Trees are common subjects in poetry, including Joyce Kilmer's 1913 lyric poem named "Trees". [51] [52] Flowers, similarly, are the subjects of many poems by poets such as William Blake, Robert Frost, and Rabindranath Tagore. [53]

In mythology and religion

The Ash Yggdrasil, the World tree of Norse mythology, depicted by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine, 1886 The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine.jpg
The Ash Yggdrasil , the World tree of Norse mythology, depicted by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine, 1886

Plants figure prominently in mythology and religion, where they symbolise themes such as fertility, growth, immortality and rebirth, and may be more or less magical. [54] [55] Thus in Latvian mythology, Austras koks is a tree which grows from the start of the Sun's daily journey across the sky. [56] [57] A different cosmic tree is Yggdrasil, the World tree of Norse mythology, on which Odin hung. [58] [59] Different again is the barnacle tree, believed in the Middle Ages to have barnacles that opened to reveal geese, [60] a story which may perhaps have started from an observation of goose barnacles growing on driftwood. [61] Greek mythology mentions many plants and flowers, [62] where for example the lotus tree bears a fruit that causes a pleasant drowsiness, [63] while moly is a magic herb mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey with a black root and white blossoms. [64]

The mandrake is hallucinogenic and its roots can resemble a human figure, so it has long been used in magic, and is still used in contemporary paganism such as Wicca and Odinism. [65] Tabernanthe iboga is used as a hallucinogenic in Gabon by secret societies for initiation ceremonies. [66] Magic plants are found, too, in Serbian mythology, where the raskovnik is supposed to be able to open any lock. [67] [68] [69] In Buddhist symbolism, both the lotus and the Bodhi Tree are significant. The lotus is one of the Ashtamangala (eight auspicious signs) shared between Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, representing the primordial purity of body, speech, and mind, floating above the muddy waters of attachment and desire. [70] The Bodhi Tree is the sacred fig tree under which the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment; the name is also given to other Bodhi trees thought to have been propagated from the original tree. [71]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biotechnology</span> Use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products

Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjoram</span> Perennial herb

Marjoram is a cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub with sweet pine and citrus flavours. In some Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano, and there the names sweet marjoram and knotted marjoram are used to distinguish it from other plants of the genus Origanum. It is also called pot marjoram, although this name is also used for other cultivated species of Origanum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbal tea</span> Beverage made from infusing or decocting plant material in hot water

Herbal teas, also known as herbal infusions and less commonly called tisanes, are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water; they do not usually contain any true tea. Often herb tea, or the plain term tea, is used as a reference to all sorts of herbal teas. Many herbs used in teas/tisanes are also used in herbal medicine and in folk medicine. Some herbal blends contain true tea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cashew</span> Species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae

Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree Anacardium occidentale, in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as 14 metres, but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to 6 m (20 ft), prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields. The cashew nut is edible and is eaten on its own as a snack, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. The nut is often simply called a 'cashew'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caraway</span> Type of spice

Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin, is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renewable resource</span> Natural resource that is replenished relatively quickly

A renewable resource is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of time in a human time scale. When the recovery rate of resources is unlikely to ever exceed a human time scale, these are called perpetual resources. Renewable resources are a part of Earth's natural environment and the largest components of its ecosphere. A positive life-cycle assessment is a key indicator of a resource's sustainability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essential oil</span> Hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An essential oil is essential in the sense that it contains the essence of the plant's fragrance—the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived. The term "essential" used here does not mean indispensable or usable by the human body, as with the terms essential amino acid or essential fatty acid, which are so called because they are nutritionally required by a living organism.

<i>Prunus mume</i> East Asian tree species

Prunus mume is a Chinese tree species classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus subgenus Prunus. Its common names include Chinese plum,Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. The flower, long a beloved subject in the traditional painting and poetry of Sinospheric countries, is usually called plum blossom. This distinct tree species is related to both the plum and apricot trees. Although generally referred to as a plum in English, it is more closely related to the apricot. In East Asian cuisine, the fruit of the tree is used in juices, as a flavouring for alcohol, as a pickle, and in sauces. It is also used in traditional medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbal medicine</span> Study and use of supposed medicinal properties of plants

Herbal medicine is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phytochemical</span> Chemical compounds produced by plants

Phytochemicals are chemical compounds produced by plants, generally to help them resist fungi, bacteria and plant virus infections, and also consumption by insects and other animals. The name comes from Greek φυτόν (phyton) 'plant'. Some phytochemicals have been used as poisons and others as traditional medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medicinal plants</span> Plants or derivatives used to treat medical conditions in humans or animals

Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curry tree</span> Species of flowering plant

The curry tree or Bergera koenigii, is a tropical and sub-tropical tree in the family Rutaceae, native to Asia. The plant is also sometimes called sweet neem, though M. koenigii is in a different family from neem, Azadirachta indica, which is in the related family Meliaceae.

<i>Nelumbo nucifera</i> Species of aquatic flowering plant

Nelumbo nucifera, also known as sacred lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often refers to members of the family Nymphaeaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herb farm</span>

A herb farm is usually a farm where herbs are grown for market sale. There is a case for the use of a small farm being dedicated to herb farming as the smaller farm is more efficient in terms of manpower usage and value of the crops on a per acre basis. In addition, the market for herbs is not as large as the more commercial crops, providing the justification for the small-scale herb farm. Herbs may be for culinary, medicinal or aromatic use, and sold fresh-cut or dried. Herbs may also be grown for their essential oils or as raw material for making herbal products. Many businesses calling themselves a herb farm sell potted herb plants for home gardens. Some herb farms also have gift shops, classes, and sometimes offer food for sale. In the United States, some herb farms belong to trade associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mugwort</span> Genus of flowering plants used as herbs

Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus Artemisia. In Europe, mugwort most often refers to the species Artemisia vulgaris, or common mugwort. In East Asia the species Artemisia argyi is often called "Chinese mugwort" in the context of traditional Chinese medicine, Ngai Chou in Cantonese or àicǎo (艾草) in Mandarin. Artemisia princeps is a mugwort known in Korea as ssuk (쑥) and in Japan as yomogi (ヨモギ). While other species are sometimes referred to by more specific common names, they may be called simply "mugwort" in many contexts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural chemistry</span> Agricultural sub-discipline of applied chemistry

Agricultural chemistry is the chemistry, especially organic chemistry and biochemistry, as they relate to agriculture. Agricultural chemistry embraces the structures and chemical reactions relevant in the production, protection, and use of crops and livestock. Its applied science and technology aspects are directed towards increasing yields and improving quality, which comes with multiple advantages and disadvantages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple</span> Fruit that grows on a tree

An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree. Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus Malus. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Eurasia and were introduced to North America by European colonists. Apples have religious and mythological significance in many cultures, including Norse, Greek, and European Christian tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant</span> Kingdom of photosynthetic eukaryotes

Plants are the eukaryotes that form the kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water, using the green pigment chlorophyll. Exceptions are parasitic plants that have lost the genes for chlorophyll and photosynthesis, and obtain their energy from other plants or fungi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human uses of living things</span> Topic in biology and culture

Human uses of living things, including animals plants, fungi, and microbes, take many forms, both practical, such as the production of food and clothing, and symbolic, as in art, mythology, and religion. The skills and practices involved are transmitted by human culture through social learning. Social sciences including archaeology, anthropology and ethnography are starting to take a multispecies view of human interactions with nature, in which living things are not just resources to be exploited, practically or symbolically, but are involved as participants.

References

  1. Macionis, John J.; Gerber, Linda Marie (2011). Sociology. Pearson Prentice Hall. p. 53. ISBN   978-0137001613. OCLC   652430995.
  2. Shoemaker, Candice A. (1994-08-02). "Plants and Human Culture". Journal of Home & Consumer Horticulture. 1 (2–3): 3–7. doi:10.1300/j280v01n02_02.
  3. "The Development of Agriculture". National Geographic. 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  4. "Food and drink". Kew Gardens. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  5. "Industrial Crop Production". Grace Communications Foundation. 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  6. "INDUSTRIAL CROPS AND PRODUCTS An International Journal". Elsevier. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  7. Cruz, Von Mark V.; Dierig, David A. (2014). Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts. Springer. pp. 9 and passim. ISBN   978-1-4939-1447-0.
  8. Sato, Motoaki (1990). Thermochemistry of the formation of fossil fuels (PDF). The Geochemical Society.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  9. Sixta, Herbert, ed. (2006). Handbook of pulp. Vol. 1. Winheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH. p. 9. ISBN   978-3-527-30997-9.
  10. "Natural fibres". Discover Natural Fibres. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  11. "Chemicals from Plants". Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Archived from the original on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2016. Note that the details of each plant and the chemicals it yields are described in the linked subpages.
  12. Tapsell LC, Hemphill I, Cobiac L, et al. (August 2006). "Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future". Med. J. Aust. 185 (4 Suppl): S4–24. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2006.tb00548.x. hdl: 2440/22802 . PMID   17022438. S2CID   9769230.
  13. Lai PK, Roy J; Roy (June 2004). "Antimicrobial and chemopreventive properties of herbs and spices". Curr. Med. Chem. 11 (11): 1451–60. doi:10.2174/0929867043365107. PMID   15180577.
  14. "Greek Medicine". National Institutes of Health, USA. 16 September 2002. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  15. Hefferon, Kathleen (2012). Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN   9780199873982.
  16. Rooney, Anne (2009). The Story of Medicine. Arcturus Publishing. p. 143. ISBN   9781848580398.
  17. Duke, S.O. (1990). Janick, J.; Simon, J.E. (eds.). "Natural pesticides from plants". Advances in New Crops: 511–517.
  18. "Psychoactive Substances: A Guide to Ethnobotanical Plants and Herbs, Synthetic Chemicals, Compounds and Products" (PDF). Health Service Executive, Ireland. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  19. Long, Scott. "Natural Products -- Plants". South West Oklahoma State University. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  20. Sosnoski, Daniel (1996). Introduction to Japanese culture . Tuttle. p.  12. ISBN   978-0-8048-2056-1. hanami
  21. "History of the Cherry Blossom Trees and Festival". National Cherry Blossom Festival: About. National Cherry Blossom Festival. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  22. Lambert, Tim (2014). "A Brief History of Gardening". British Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  23. Blumberg, Roger B. "Mendel's Paper in English".
  24. "BARBARA McCLINTOCK:A Brief Biographical Sketch". WebCite. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  25. "About Arabidopsis". TAIR. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  26. "Engineering Life". NASA. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  27. Wolfenbarger, L. L.; Phifer, P. R. (2000-12-15). "The Ecological Risks and Benefits of Genetically Engineered Plants". Science. 290 (5499): 2088–2093. Bibcode:2000Sci...290.2088W. doi:10.1126/science.290.5499.2088. PMID   11118136. S2CID   2094394.
  28. Lewin, Brent (November 2012). "India's living Bridges". Reader's Digest Australia. pp. 82–89. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012.
  29. "Living Root Bridge in Laitkynsew India". www.india9.com. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  30. "Living Root Bridges of Nagaland India – Nyahnyu Village Mon District | Guy Shachar". guyshachar.com. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  31. "Baduy Tribe". Ruby Mangunsong. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  32. Grundhauser, Eric. "West Sumatra, Indonesia Jembatan Akar". Atlasobscura.
  33. Antheunisse, Max (2009). "About". Plant Illustrations. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  34. "Botanical Imagery in European Painting". Metropolitan Museum of Art . Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  35. Raymond, Francine (12 March 2013). "Why botanical art is still blooming today". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  36. Wilkinson, Richard H. (2000). The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson. pp.  65–66. ISBN   978-0-500-05100-9.
  37. Lewis, Philippa; Darley, Gillian (1986). Dictionary of Ornament . New York: Pantheon. p. not cited. ISBN   9780394509310.
  38. "Plant motifs in Islamic art". Victoria and Albert Museum. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  39. Macarthur, John (2013). The Picturesque: Architecture, Disgust and Other Irregularities. Routledge. p. 6. ISBN   978-1-134-95697-5.
  40. Kirkham, Pat; Weber, Susan (2013). History of Design: Decorative Arts and Material Culture, 1400?2000. Yale University Press. pp. 201–. ISBN   978-0-300-19614-6.
  41. "Literary Plants". Nature Plants. 1 (11): 15181. 2015. doi: 10.1038/nplants.2015.181 . PMID   27251545.
  42. "Top 10: evil plants from films". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 June 2016.[ dead link ]
  43. The Fellowship of the Ring , I 12 "Flight to the Ford".
  44. The Fellowship of the Ring , II 6 "Lothlórien".
  45. 1 2 The Return of the King , VI 9 "The Grey Havens".
  46. The Fellowship of the Ring , I 6 "The Old Forest".
  47. Hazell, Dinah (2007). The Plants of Middle-Earth: Botany and Sub-Creation. Kent State University Press. ISBN   978-0-87338-883-2.
  48. Le Guin, Ursula K. (2001). Tales from Earthsea . Harcourt. p.  59. ISBN   978-0-15-100561-1.
  49. Freedman, Carl Howard (2008). Conversations with Ursula K. Le Guin. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 12–13. ISBN   978-1-60473-094-4.
  50. Cameron, James. "Avatar" (PDF). Avatar Screenings. Fox and its Related Entities. p. 25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  51. "Poetry". Spirit of Trees. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  52. "Tree Poems". Poem Hunter. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  53. "Flower Poems". Poem Hunter. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  54. "Plants in Mythology". Myth Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  55. Leitten, Rebecca Rose. "Plant Myths and Legends". Cornell University Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  56. Ķencis, Toms (2011). "The Latvian Mythological space in scholarly Time" (PDF). Archaeologia Baltica. 15 (15): 144–157. doi:10.15181/ab.v15i1.28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  57. Vīķe-Freiberga, Vaira (2005). "Saule". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 12 (2nd ed.). Thomson Gale. pp. 8131–8135.
  58. [[Ursula Dronke|Dronke, Ursula (Trans.)]] (1997). The Poetic Edda: Volume II: Mythological Poems. Oxford University Press. p. 7. ISBN   978-0-19-811181-8.
  59. Davidson, Hilda Ellis (1993). The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe. Routledge. p. 69. ISBN   978-0-203-40850-6.
  60. "Barnacle Goose". The Medieval Bestiary. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  61. Beatrice White (1945). "Whale-hunting, the barnacle goose, and the date of the "Ancrene Riwle". Three notes on Old and Middle English". The Modern Language Review . 40 (3): 205–207. doi:10.2307/3716844. JSTOR   3716844.
  62. "Flora 1: Plants of Greek Myth". Theoi. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  63. Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. Lotus tree. p. 526.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  64. Wikisource-logo.svg  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Moly". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 681. cites: Homer, Odyssey, x. 302–306.
  65. John Gerard (1597). "Herball, Generall Historie of Plants". Claude Moore Health Sciences Library. Archived from the original on 2012-09-01. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
  66. Pope, Harrison G. (1969-04-01). "Tabernanthe iboga: an African narcotic plant of social importance". Economic Botany. 23 (2): 174–184. doi:10.1007/BF02860623. ISSN   0013-0001. S2CID   34302143.
  67. Стойнев, Анани; Димитър Попов; Маргарита Василева; Рачко Попов (2006). "Костенурка". Българска митология. Енциклопедичен речник (in Bulgarian). изд. Захари Стоянов. p. 165. ISBN   978-954-739-682-1.
  68. Старева, Лилия (2007). Български магии и гадания (in Bulgarian). Труд. pp. 243–244. ISBN   978-954-528-772-5.
  69. Раденковић, Љубинко (2000–2001). Расковник у кругу сличних биљака (in Serbian). Slavic Gate. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
  70. Anderson, E.N.; Pearsall, Deborah; Hunn, Eugene; Turner, Nancy (2012). Ethnobiology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 602. ISBN   978-1-118-01586-5.
  71. Gethin, Rupert (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press. p.  22. ISBN   978-0-19-289223-2.