In Defense of Plants: An Exploration into the Wonder of Plants by Matt Candeias

In Defense of Plants: An Exploration into the Wonder of Plants Reviews

• 
  Isabelle reads a book a day because she has no friends

  I have a newfound passion for all things plants after an amazing botany professor opened my eyes to the natural world. I mean, sure, I’ve always loved flowers, but now I really love flowers. And weeds. And the giant green things that grow on trunks.
  This book had been on my TBR a year before this, so apparently I have always had an interest, but I chose the perfect time to read it—I deeply understood things I never would have thought twice about otherwise. This could have influenced my opinion, true, but I am pretty sure the book is just incredible on its own. I highly recommend this as reading for anyone even slightly interested in botany, as it will introduce you to the most astonishing aspects of many plants, and is just plain fun. 5/5 stars, would reread.
• 
  jrendocrine

  DNF
  
  This reads as the author's paean to Himself. The 2 chapters I managed to get through didn't translate the wonder of plants but how wonderful it is that the author thinks they are wonderful. Alongside his obsessive obsessions (one paragraph used the word obsession maybe 3 or 4 times, pats self on back) we hear his significant other gives him a plant, he has a need to plant, he needs weird plants - His neediness is palpable.
  
  2. The writing is high florid without nuance.
  
  Summary: self promotion, scant content.
  Then again, I could only bear 2 chapters, maybe it gets better?
  Thunk.
• 
  Anne Jordan-Baker

  I loved this book from beginning to end. Who knew a book about plants would have no dull moments?! I’m inspired to learn more about the plants where I live and those I encounter in my travels, and I will be helping our small urban yard to grow local plants. One of the best books I’ve read in a long time.
• 
  Monique

  "Getting and sharing articles and memes on the internet isn't going to lift us out of impending ecological disaster, but getting up and doing something can"
  
  I wish I could have read this book 15 years ago. For a long time I whined about my state (Kansas), feeling that other regions of the US were so much more exciting. I was interested in edible gardens, house plants and herbalism. Matt mentions in the book that one does not need to travel to witness the wonder and beauty of botany and plant ecology. I want everyone to hear this argument and to be encouraged to interact with their surroundings in a responsible manner.
  
  The "In Defense of Plants" podcast can lean towards science-heavy topics. I assume the targeted audiences for the book and the podcast are two different groups. Anyone even casually interested in plants or nature could make it through this book without feeling overwhelmed by jargon or complex concepts. Like other reviews have mentioned, this books content is easily to "digest" while still being exciting enough to keep one turning pages. My only gripe is that I wish it had more photos. About every third page a species would be mentioned and I'd find myself reaching for a device to use a search engine for photos of specimens.
• 
  Amanda Mueller

  3.5 stars. While I agree with other reviews that Candeias's acceptance of his own anthropomorphic tendencies while being critical of others is... *annoying,* he redeems himself in my eyes when he draws a connection between the "nature-exsists-for-human-use" teachings of western religions, and the unremorseful exploitation of the planet. True, the book would be much improved with color photos. I believe this was likely skipped due to financial constraints. Overall I am very supportive of the authors work, including the podcast and am glad I have purchased and read this book.
• 
  Sivasothi N.

  Discover the battle by plants to survive.
  
  Matt’s research job at graduation was to restore a post-mining landscape, but this was hampered by a lack of fundamental knowledge about the ecology of plants. An endangered species of butterfly depended on it but he could not simply just scatter seeds.
  
  Fascinated by how much there was to learn, but how badly neglected plants were, Matt Candeias embarked on a career in plant ecology research and education.
  
  Want to save wildlife? Get to know a little about plants – dispersal, reproduction, mutualism, parasitism, carnivory and habitat restoration. It was enjoyable and relaxing and I read a chapter at a go amidst a stressful and very busy period.
  
  Matt takes a holistic evolutionary-ecological approach so you realise principles. There naturally is a US-emphasis but he’s tried to be global, and anyway, the principles apply to all.
  
  I love that urges us at the end to not despair over the depressing news over social media but to act now, locally and to embrace the opportunity each small patch of land offers towards habitat restoration.
  
  He has a podcast by the same name, with more than 300 episodes to relish.
• 
  JMA

  3.5 stars. The authors love of plants is infectious. He takes you on a journey across a wide spectrum of topics by describing his own love with different species and types of plants.
  
  Negative points for the pictures being black and white and for his apparent distaste for modern world - though several of his points are valid.
• 
  Kiddinek

  In Defense of Plants might just be my favourite plant blog, so I was very excited to read this book. It's a charming look at some of the weird and wonderful plants we share a world with, and encourages readers to think about how they can help preserve native species and ecosystems.
• 
  Ari

  If you have even a passing interest in nature, you will probably enjoy this book. Candeias concisely packed an impressive amount of fascinating information in to this short book—all while carefully avoiding jargon. A great read!
• 
  Ashton B

  I preferred Candeias' podcast episodes to this book, but it was still an informative and interesting book about his personal experiences with plants as well as a survey of some pretty neat types of plants
• 
  ItalianWith AShotgun

  Beginning two chapters were a bore fest and painful to get through.
  
  Middle had some cool facts about the actual plants which is why I gave this two stars.
  
  Tbh the author is just boring. If I didn't already love plants.... the writing in this book may have made me apathetic to them :/
• 
  Elizabeth Conlon

  This book is a great read solely for the interesting and accurate descriptions of weird plants and their ecology-- perfect for a quick introductory read or as a resource for case studies for teaching botany.
  
  I value all the work the author has done towards botany outreach and science communication, but I did not love his writing (it was an engaging and quick read though).
  
  Favorite parts were chapters 2 & 3, about pollination (of course).
• 
  Norjak

  mostly an intro to plants via interesting/exotic examples.
• 
  Paul Norwood

  I'm not much of a podcast or blog reader, so I was glad to see this book come out, and I pre-ordered it from my local bookstore to support the author. The book pretty much achieves exactly what the author sets out to do, which is to communicate his love of plants through stories and vignettes. The organization and writing are decent, and the book itself is cute, if made of cheap paper that quickly absorbed humidity. The biggest issue I had was that much of the topic is visual, and the illustrations were awful. Botanical illustration has an illustrious history and is a field with many talented people, but the book is illustrated with only one decent engraving (cover art), of an epiphytic orchid which is re-used as frontispiece to each chapter. Otherwise there are many full-page color photos that are unfortunately printed in black and white, which means they are just weird blackish-grayish blobs that make no sense unless you've already seen the thing in color and can mentally make sense of the photos. The author and editor should have made a decision to pull the majority of the photos before publication, or replace them with real black-and-white photos or engravings.
  I appreciated how the author was not afraid to include pretty advanced research into the book, and how he respects the reader by not repeatedly going back over topics. Some diagrams may have been nice, but that's just a quibble...
• 
  Bob Comparda

  An informative read, although still just barely touching the surface, on the world of plants and what makes them so amazing. The author writes in the final chapter about how his goal of the book is to just raise interest in plants in the hopes that you'll pass that interest along and people all around your community can start to care about the conservation of native plants. There were some good examples of different ways that we depend, or other animals depend on very specific plants in order to exist, and how the existence of those specific plants can be very fragile. Also some good examples of how plants pollinate and repopulate themselves, and how humans, or often times invasive plant species can make it hard for native plants to do those things which results in their population dying out. It's important for us to be aware of how we effect the planet, and if we want to continue to exist we need to make sure the things we need to exist are also safe and sound, like native plant species that keep our ecosystems functioning right. I was already aware of all of this but this book was a perfect reminder, and I also learned some cool facts I didn't know before. I would recommend this book to anybody but especially somebody who is maybe not aware of how important plants are to our own continued existence.
• 
  Sue Burke

  “Plants are nothing like us, which is part of the reason why I like them so much.”
  
  That quote comes from Chapter 5, The Fight for Survival, in which author Matt Candeias describes how plants try to fight each other by growing taller than other plants or poisoning the ground to keep away competitor plants. They try to fight off herbivores (like us) by growing thorns, drenching themselves with toxins, or using chemicals to convince caterpillars to eat each other rather than the plant they’re on (yikes!).
  
  Plants are wonderful and creepy. Most of the book describes what they do with lively details, but the opening two chapters tell how the author became interested in plants, and the last chapter describes the problems plants face, which are uncontrolled habitat degradation and destruction. If nature is like an analog clock, plants are the gears that make it work, and we are wantonly smashing the gears. Candeias offers some mitigating suggestions and, in the meantime, encourages us to enjoy the plants in our neighborhoods. He’s trying not to be gloom and doom, but I’m not sure that’s enough to make our future livable.
  
  The book is educational and, except for the last chapter, fun to read. Color illustrations would have improved it, though, or even better quality black-and-white photos.
  
  You might also enjoy the author’s ongoing podcasts at In Defense of Plants, https
• 
  Peggy West

  Plants in the wild...doing wild things. What's better than that? This book is full of curious stories for the naturalist, gardener or just plain nature lover. From shooting seed pods to walking palms...it's a circus of plant performers. The final chapter provides sage advice for keeping our wild spaces wild...so these plants can continue to grow and evolve despite us. Well researched and written, although it leans towards exotic habitats and could have been richer on stories about North American natives.
• 
  Kathy

  Matt has a great blog and podcast by the same name, which is how I learned about his book. The book is packed with fun stories about plants and plant ecology. The book reads like a script to a film, and would adapt really well to that format. I wish that the photos in the book could have been printed in full color; black and white photos did not work well. However, there are some beautiful illustrations in the book. Anything promoting plant conservation is worth reading in my opinion!
• 
  Miguette

  I wasn’t going to read this as I listen to the podcast, and it just seemed like a project or promotional thing. Maybe it is somewhat, but really it’s a primer and a good one at that.
  
  I’m glad I picked this up. I have strong opinions on plants and frankly I’m a bore. I was reading this and saying “yes! Exactly!!” out loud.
  
  
  It’s not thorough- it’s a brief survey just touching on a few of the author’s favorite topics. It’s a quick read.