The Triumph of Seeds (46 page)

Pollinators, caffeine affect on,
148–149

Polo, Marco (explorer),
130

Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR),
48

Pomegranate,
182–183
,
186

Potter, Beatrix (author),
115
,
116 (fig.)

Prairies, native,
20
,
21 (photo)

Predators

of bats,
180

of seed-eaters,
119–120

Predators of seeds

birds,
123–125

rodents,
113–123

seed poisons and,
172–175

Preservation bias,
60

Price, Richard (writer),
154

Prickly-pear cactus,
190

Primary root,
13

Protein

in almonds,
44

complete,
37–38

in seeds,
47–48

Pteridosperm,
57

Punnett Square,
76
,
80

Quandong,
186

Quince,
187

Radiation of species,
188

Rape seed,
45

Rat poison,
171

Rats,
113–114
,
116–118
,
121–122
,
123 (photo)
,
174

Ray grass,
27

Recessive allele,
76

Reformation,
152

Ribosome inactivating proteins,
165
,
168

Rice,
36

importance in Asian diets,
21–22

viable lifespan of seed,
98

Ricin,
165–168
,
170
,
172–174

Robespierre (politician),
154

Rock rose,
91

Rodents,
113–123

coumarin effect on,
174

evolution,
114

predators of seeds,
113–123

seed dispersal by,
114–115
,
117
,
120
,
174–175

Roman Re/files/02/90/54/f029054/public/Empire

grains in,
29–30
,
30 (fig.)

pepper ransom,
131

Siege of Masada,
83–85

Root

embryonic,
13

primary,
13

Rosary peas,
167–168

Rose mallow,
94

Rumi (poet),
81

Russian wheat aphid,
101

Rye,
21–22
,
28

Sacks, Oliver (neurologist),
48

Sallon, Sarah (scientist),
87–89

Santos-Dumont, Alberto (aviation pioneer),
206

Scatter-hoarding,
120

Schultz, Howard (businessman),
155

Sea Monkeys,
99–100

Seed banks,
96–110

Beal Bottles,
95

destruction of,
105–106

international (Svalbard),
103–104

National Seed Bank,
96–98
,
106

number of,
104

Seed Savers Exchange,
107–108

soil,
93–94

value of,
100–101
,
106–107

Vavilov’s,
104–105

Seed catalogs,
108–109

Seed coat,
10
,
16
,
17
,
92
,
114
,
188
,
190
,
198

Seed defense

caffeine,
146–149

capsaicin,
136–139

poisons,
172–175

from rodents,
114–121
,
118 (fig.)
,
175

Seed fern,
57–58

Seed leaves.
See
Cotyledons

Seed plants, evolution of,
56–69

Seed Savers Exchange,
107–108
,
213

Seed shadow,
199

Seeds

components of,
10
,
11 (fig.)
,
16

definitions of,
16

future of,
211–215

Selective breeding,
75

Semiplumbeous Hawk,
119

Shakespeare, William (writer),
165

Shrimp, brine,
99–100
,
100 (photo)

Sicarii (Jewish rebels),
83–85

Silk tree,
88

Silva, Flavius (Roman general),
83–85

Slate (coffeehouse),
156–160
,
191

Slavery,
202
,
205

The Sleeper Awakes
(Wells),
93

Slugs,
73
,
76

Snake River,
34–36

Soapwort,
168

Soil seed bank,
93–94

Solowey, Elaine (agricultural expert),
86–89

Sorghum,
21–22
,
28
,
97–98
,
102
,
102 (fig.)

Soybeans, lecithin from,
48–49

Sperm,
63–64
,
66–67
,
71

Spices,
129–134

Spike moss,
64 (fig.)
,
65–66

Split peas,
37

Spore plants,
51
,
56–57
,
58 (photo)
,
59 (fig.)
,
60
,
63
,
65
,
71
,
214

Spores,
51
,
63–66
,
64 (fig.)
,
71

Squirrels

almendro
seed predation,
6
,
116
,
118–119
,
175
,
180

marula nuts from elephant fecal piles,
190

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
(Potter),
115
,
116 (fig.)

St. Thomas, Augustinian Monastery of,
71
,
122

“Staff of life,”
22

Stalin, Joseph (Soviet leader),
104–105

Star grass,
27

Starbucks,
155

Starch, in seeds,
25
,
38
,
45
,
47

Stealth Bomber,
208–209
,
208 (fig.)

Stout, Mark (historian),
162–163

Strait, David (anthropologist),
125–127

Strawberries,
186
,
189

Strychnine,
164–165

Sugars,
25
,
40
,
45

Suicide, at Siege of Masada,
85

Suicide tree,
165

Sumac,
91

Suspended animation analogy,
93

Svalbard seed vault,
103–104

Swift, Jonathan (writer),
153

Tagua nut palm,
48

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
(Potter),
115
,
116 (fig.)