How did the small poppy affect great empires and how did the sugar cane determine the course of trade in modern times? Why is the banana associated with "bananas" and genetically modified plants with Dr. Frankenstein? How do some plants manage to survive in temperatures of tens of degrees Celsius below zero, while others in almost absolute drought? Why are lilies and Chinese lotus associated with purity and innocence? What were the first plants to colonize the land and how might plants be in other habitable worlds? This book includes 37 short and long narratives about plants that have influenced history, and have been influenced by it, or about others whose exceptional performances stimulate the imagination not only of scientists but also of the wider public. Its reading requires only very basic knowledge of biology. The book is addressed to the curious reader who, armed with common sense and simple human curiosity, tries to perceive and understand the world that surrounds us. And plants provide the ideal opportunity for such an exciting adventure.