San Antonio College Library

Heavily armored, indigestible and even poisonous, plants pose problems for some of our biggest predators. David Attenborough explores why eating plants is one of the greatest challenges for the planet's mammals, and how herbivores have adapted to plant defenses. Learn how the tapir of the South American jungle visits secret clay licks in search of a natural antidote, the pika of the Canadian Rockies exploits poisons as a natural preservative, and...

Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species shook the scientific world and far beyond. Yet it was his next book, devoted entirely to orchids, which filled in gaps and firmed up his revolutionary ideas. Orchids have an ethereal beauty, whether growing hundreds of feet up in a misty rainforest or along the verges of busy suburban roads. But their exotic flowers are shaped for just one purpose: to draw in pollinators.

Featuring author, journalist, activist, and professor Michael Pollan, and based on his best-selling book, this program takes viewers on an eye-opening exploration of the human relationship with the plant world - seen from the plants' point of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species - the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato - evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control....

This program focuses on the mechanisms and benefits of plant hybridization. By observing cross-pollination techniques on tomatoes and day lilies, students will be able to replicate or even find new applications for this technology. Hybridization can invigorate plant varieties, and it is also a natural way to create entirely new kinds of plants. By breeding plants from closely related parents, we can improve disease resistance and modify the color,...

This program covers many manual sowing techniques, as well as the use of semiautomatic and fully automatic vacuum seeders. It explores the advantages seeds have and studies genetic variation, hybrids, seed anatomy, stages of germination, harvesting, winnowing, and threshing techniques. It discusses the many special germination requirements, such as scarification, stratification, overcoming chemical inhibition, seed dormancy, and quiescence. It also...

Grafting is a well-known method of improving crop performance of long-lived, woody plants like fruit and nut trees, roses, and grapes. Grafting is also used commercially to improve vegetable crops. This program demonstrates the principles and mechanics of grafting by using fast-growing annual vegetables. It explains the techniques of approach grafting and cleft grafting; teaches terms and definitions for grafting; and shows how to select suitable...

This program is an informative, close-up look at the many practical asexual propagation methods that can be used to reproduce plants. It shows descriptive step-by-step examples that demonstrate the different types of vegetative propagation methods, including division, layering, bulbs, and underground structures such as rhizomes and tubers. These propagation techniques give quick results and also provide an excellent laboratory for the study of plant...

From hardwood cuttings to hardening off, this program shows students the tools, processes, and methods used by professional propagators to successfully grow plants from cuttings. It presents many examples of stem-cuttings, leaf-cuttings, and root-cuttings and offers specific examples of hardwood, semi-hardwood, softwood, and herbaceous cuttings. The program explores plant anatomy, growing environments, transplanting and growing on, rooting principles,...

Grains and legumes feed half of the world's growing population and also make fascinating subjects for propagation. This program covers propagation methods for the major cereal crops (including "The Big Three"), as well as legume crops, such as soybeans, peanuts, and lentils. It shows harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and grinding techniques with both hand tools and modern machines. By following the program's step-by-step procedures, students will...

Many animals have evolved chemicals to enhance their chance of survival: some scorpions literally drug their potential mates, others use their poisons to defend or to kill. The world of venoms and poisons, the apparatus designed to deliver them, and the strategies that animals employ to use them most effectively is a rich and varied example of natural selection and evolution in action.