"The Book of Seeds takes readers through six hundred of the world's seed species, revealing their extraordinary beauty and rich diversity. Each page pairs a beautifully composed photo of a seed -- life-size, and, in some cases, enlarged to display fine detail-- with a short description, a map showing distribution, and information on conservation status. The whole spectrum of seeds is covered here. There are prolific species like corn and less widely distributed species, like the brilliant blue seeds of the traveler's palm or the bird of paradise flower, aptly named for its distinctive orange coiffure. There are tiny seeds and seeds weighing up to forty pounds. And while seeds in all their shapes, sizes, and colors grant us sustenance, there are even some we would be wise to treat with caution, such as the rosary pea, whose seeds are considered more toxic than ricin."--Jacket.