“Short of Aphrodite, there is nothing lovelier on this planet than
a flower, nor more essential than a plant. The true matrix of
human life is the green sward covering mother earth. Without
green plants we would neither breathe nor eat. On the undersurface of every leaf a million movable lips are engaged in
devouring carbon dioxide and expelling oxygen. All together,
twenty-five million square miles of leaf surface are daily
engaged in this miracle of photosynthesis, producing oxygen
and food for man and beast.”

Secret Life of Plants