Green Kingdom

Ben Dark

Most of life on Earth is plant. And yet the half a million species of plant alive today are a minuscule fraction of those that have ever existed. The true story of the plant kingdom's almost inconceivable variety and ingenuity is to be found in the past. From the arrival of the first plants on land 484 million years ago to the globe-spanning diversity of flora we know today, 'Green Kingdom' traces the evolution of plant life across eons and continents, reanimating the lost worlds that shaped its course and dramatically expanding our vision of what it means to be a plant. Through the stories of sixteen plant families, from the humble bog moss to the exquisite adaptations of the orchid, we witness how plant life colonised land, pioneered leaves, recruited fungi, invented wood, sunk roots, formed seeds, manipulated animals and ultimately came to dominate our planet.

Author(s): Dark, Ben
Binding: Hardback
Date of Publication: 29/10/2026
Pagination: 384 pages
Series: N/A
Imprint: The Bodley Head
Published By: Vintage Publishing
Book Classification: Trees, wildflowers & plants: general interest|Evolution|Botany & plant sciences|The Earth: natural history: general interest|The environment
Dimensions: 242 x 165 x 36
Weight: 685
ISBN13\EAN\SKU: 9781847928337