Introduction: Utility and beauty

Transformers : settling down, tending the fields. Wheat, barley, lentil, pea : founder foods of the fertile crescent ; Rice, millets, soybean, grams : Asian assets ; Maize, beans, squash : the 'three sisters' of the Americas ; Potato, sweet potato, groundnut, quinoa : South American heirlooms ; Sorghum, yams, cowpea : staples south of the Sahara ; Taro, breadfruit : fuelling Oceania ; Alfalfa, oat : speed the chariot and the plough ; Olive : the quintessential oil ; Grape : In vino veritas

Taste : beyond the bare necessities. Saffron : the spice of conspicuous consumption ; Nutmeg, cloves, pepper : riches of the Indies ; Chilli peppers : some like it hot ; Garlic, onion, shallots, leek : hellfire and brimstone? ; Brassicas : eat your greens ; Asparagus : a delicacy ancient and modern ; Hop : the bitter in beer ; Tomato : the love apple

Heal and harm : getting the balance right. Poppy : pleasure, pain and addiction ; Cinchona, artemisia : fighting malaria ; Rauvolfia : ancient Ayurvedic drug ; Coca : stimulant and nerve blocker ; Strychnos : medicine as poison ; Rhubarb : potent purge to 'superfood' ; Willow : tree of sorrow and pain reliever ; Citrus : vitamins and zest ; Aloe : the succulent and its healing gel ; Mexican yam : making 'the pill' ; Madagascar periwinkle : delicate flower, powerful treatment

Technology and power : the material world. Cedar of Lebanon : foundation of the Phoenician empire ; Oak : might and majesty ; Yew : Medieval longbows, modern medicine ; Flax : linen and lino ; Hemp : textiles and old rope ; Cotton : clothing the world ; Bamboo : versatility and strength in a stem ; Mahogany : furniture timber of choice

Cash crops : making it pay. Tea : tips of a global trade ; Coffee : waking up the world ; Sugar cane : the slave trade's sweetener ; Chocolate : food of the gods ; Tobacco : the sot weed factor ; Indigo, woad : searching for true blue ; Rubber : Amazonia's precious latex ; Banana : the world's favourite fruit ; Oil palm : economics versus the environment

Landscape : plant aesthetics on the grand scale. Larch : stately conifers of the northern forests ; Redwoods : titans of the tree world ; Saguaro cactus : icon of the wild west ; Silver tree fern : shining Maori symbol ; Eucalyptus : Australia's signature tree ; Rhododendron : flowering mountains ; Mangroves : between land and sea

Revered and adored : from the sacred to the exquisite. Lotus : sacred flower of purity and rebirth ; Date palm : bread of the desert ; Frankincense : the odour of sanctity ; Pomegranate : fertility, abundance, renewal ; Apple : fruit of temptation and eternal life ; Chinese plum or Japanese apricot : herald of spring ; Rose : flower of love ; Tulip : a mania for a bulb ; Orchids : strange and beautiful blooms ; Peony : flower of riches and honour

Wonders of nature : the extraordinary plant world. Baobab : the upside-down tree ; Welwitschia : strange desert phenomenon ; Giant waterlily : 'a vegetable wonder' ; Pitcher plant : caught in a trap ; Rafflesia : the biggest bloom ; Sunflower : nature's inspiration ; Ginkgo : the great survivor.