New Book: A Selection of Plants for Greening of Waterways and Waterbodies in the Tropics

Generous: it's the word that stands out for me in describing this wholesome book. It is like the life-giving rain that falls down on us here in the tropics - loads of it and no holding back. The completeness to which related subjects are treated seamlessly in this book underscore the genuine effort of the main author (Bio-chemist Dr Jean W.H. Yong) and his research team to tell all there is to know and understand by bringing out the essential sciences - chemistry, biology, ecology, environmental science and engineering - in a simple crystal-clear language that any layman can wade through without trepidation. In fact, this book should bring you knee and chest deep in intimacy with the living system of water bodies.

So, go buy this book and dive in. Nature has and still is giving us so much good stuff (some stuff we only give names to not so long ago, such as bio- or phyto-remediation) that you ought to be grateful for. It is the stuff of Life we need to understand and to cherish.

Footnote: The scope of this book is truly one hard act to be replaced. Many beautiful drawings and diagrams accompany the text. Plants are sufficiently represented and photographed, but like any compendium, it is never exhaustive. Here below is the beautiful Water Balsam or Marsh Henna - Hydrocera triflora. It is a naturalized aquatic plant of Singapore rarely found today.