Reviews and recommendations from Scientific American
Join Our Community of Science Lovers!
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
Pollination Power by Heather Angel University of Chicago Press, 2016 ($40)
Photographer Angel has traveled the world to document how plants attract pollinators. Her mesmerizing images showcase magenta hibiscus trumpets in Hawaii, stubbly Arabian starflower stamens and pollen-covered bees in Tajikistan, as well as beetles, butterflies and birds swooping in to feed. Angel's words highlight the various ways flowers communicate with such creatures. For instance, some plants change color to signal that their pollen is ready, and others open and close petals with precise timing to allow and deny entry. The photographs and text are all tied together in a gorgeous large-format book.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
