Economic Botany: A Comprehensive Study

Description

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. 01.0_pp_i_iv_Frontmatter 02.0_pp_v_vi_Dedication 03.0_pp_vii_xiv_Contents 04.0_pp_xv_xvi_Foreword 05.0_pp_xvii_xviii_Preface 06.0_pp_xix_xx_Acknowledgements 07.0_pp_1_19_Introduction 08.0_pp_20_63_Fibres_and_Fibre_Yielding_Plants 09.0_pp_64_140_Cereal_Crops 10.0_pp_141_166_Sugars_Starches_and_Cellulose_Products 11.0_pp_167_195_Legumes_or_Pulses 12.0_pp_196_236_Vegetable_Oils_and_Fats 13.0_pp_237_296_Fruits_and_Nuts 14.0_pp_297_364_Vegetables 15.0_pp_365_401_Spices_Condiments_and_Other_Flavourings 16.0_pp_402_424_Fumitory_and_Masticatory_Materials 17.0_pp_425_456_Beverages 18.0_pp_457_507_Wood_and_its_Uses 19.0_pp_508_529_Vegetable_Tannins_and_Dyestuffs 20.0_pp_530_542_Rubber 21.0_pp_543_566_Medicinal_Plants 22.0_pp_567_575_Insecticides_and_Herbicides 23.0_pp_576_614_Essential_Oil_Yielding_Plants 24.0_pp_615_626_Plant_Diversity_and_its_Conservation 25.0_pp_627_643_Petrocrops_Our_Future_Fuels 26.0_pp_644_650_Ethnobotany_An_Integrated_Approach 27.0_pp_651_656_References 28.0_pp_657_664_Index