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The sex life of plants is taken far from the dry textbook and into a lush world of colour and improbably complex shapes
BBC Wildlife

Stunning! 
Nature

Reveals their alien looks and truly saucy nature 
The Guardian

A visual feast 
Country Life

This book is the result of an artist's and a scientist's shared fascination with the perfect design of organisms too small to be seen without a microscope - pollen grains, which are enclosed beyond the accessible beauty of the flower until the moment of release. They are then carried by wind, water, or animal vectors to achieve their purpose, procreation. Pollen is ubiquitous; in childhood we all learn a little of plant reproduction and the role of the bee, but few people are aware of the astonishing diversity of the structure of pollen grains, although these tiny and extraordinary forms have fascinated the scientifically curious since the 17th century.

Starting with a clear explanation of the structure and form of pollen, the authors go on to examine the remarkable events from pollination to fertilisation, and the many ways in which pollen impacts unseen on our lives. All of this is interwoven with a stunning selection of original images by the authors, interpreting this magical world in a way that no other book on the subject has ever done.

This new edition is updated with additional illustrations and a new section on the honeybee.

About the Authors:
Botanist Madeline Harley PhD, FLS is Head of the Palynology Unit (Jodrell Laboratory) at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. She is recognised internationally for her work, which is mainly concerned with the study of pollen characteristics in the field of flowering plant relationships and evolution; she is particularly interested in the pollen of palms. She has authored and co-authored more than sixty scientific research articles, and her research results have been presented at many international conferences.

Visual artist Rob Kesseler is a professor at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. He has a long career of working with plants as a source of inspiration for his work. In 2001 he was appointed National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts Fellow at Kew, where he has since been working with microscopic plant material. His work has been shown in museums and galleries in the United Kingdom and Europe, with recent solo exhibitions at The Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and The City Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke; he has also created a series of huge pollen banners for Kew Gardens, which hung in the woodland areas.

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Of related interest: Seeds: Time Capsules of Life

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