Hidden World: The Survival Systems of Plants. 2025. 488 p. Paper bd.

For millions of years, plants have managed to resist and defend themselves from a continuous onslaught of life-threatening events. What Kevin Tarner and Rachel Hughes reveal here are the creative and constantly changing methods plants call on to survive in the face of a world that often doesn’t want them to. Despite the daunting pressures of being eaten by other species and competing among themselves for water, sunlight, and pollinators, plants manage to survive by calling on a deep well of ingenious strategies.

Unsurprisingly, these tactics have not only affected the success of plants, but humans have also been impacted by them in our own passage through time. We have coexisted with, and even co-opted, plant defense, resulting in tremendous benefits for our species. Indeed, these adaptations are so intimately parallel to our daily lives that we often bump into them unwittingly. This can happen when we cook vegetables, add spices to our food, brew coffee, or smell plants we use for decoration. Such interactions provide opportunity to discuss just a few of the survival strategies Tarner and Hughes explore in Hidden World.