Table of Contents
Step Inside Mr. Plant Geek's World of Plants 6
Plants Behaving Badly 10
The fastest aquatic fly trap Aldrovanda vesiculosa 12
The most painful plant Dendrocnide moroides 16
The pyromaniac plant Dictamnus olbus var. purpureas 20
The vegetarian carnivore Nepenthes ampulloria 24
The great pollen catapult Stylidium graminifolium 28
A thorny relationship Vachellia cornigera 32
A plant intent on murder Dionaea muscipula 36
The noisiest plant Hura crepitans 40
Mistaken Identity 44
The flowering menace Aristolochia salvadorensis 46
A plant from another world Calceolaria uniflora 50
The plant that's a total quack Caleana major 54
The most kissable plant Palicourea elata 58
The creepiest of all fungi Xylaria polymorpha 62
The forest's hidden gem Pollia condensata 66
The plant hiding in plain sight Lithops species 70
The flower that rocks my world Anguloa clowesii 74
Greater Good 78
Grow your own tea break Camellia sinensis 80
The most wearable plant Gossypium hirsutum 84
The chocolate tree Theobroma cacao 88
The plant that's full of beans Coffea arabica 92
A status symbol Ananas comosus 96
The original bar snack Arachls hypogaea 100
The tree with some bounce Hevea brasiliensis 104
A tough nut to crack Anacardium occidentale 108
Superheroes 112
A crop worth grafting for Solanum tuberosum + Solanum melongena 114
The greatest dancer Codariocalyx motorius 118
The plant that can come back from the dead Selaginella lepidophylla 122
The flavor-bending berry Synsepalum dulcificum 126
The largest of all seeds Lodoicea maldivica 130
A blooming marvel Amorphophallus titanium 134
Nature's oldest-living tree Pinus longaeva 138
The smallest flowering plant Wolffia globosa 142
The world's largest flower Rafflesia arnoldii 146
The luckiest tree Wollemia nobilis 150
X-Rated 154
The colony of nudists Orchis italica 156
The fungus that could flip you one Clathrus archer! 160
The vulva vine Clitoria ternatea 164
The plant with balls Gomphocorpus physocarpus 168
A brazen exhibitionist Phallus impudicus 172
The shooting fruit Ecballium elaterium 176
Bibliography 180
Index 184
Acknowledgments 190
