NOVA: First Flower DVD

I use this video as a teaching tool for Master Gardener claes during the botany segment. I've used the teaching materials when doing presentations for middle school students when asked to be a guest speaker as a Master Gardener. This has been one of my favorite programs created by pbs.

This is a good portrayal of the hunt for the ancestral first flower by the plant kingdom. It explains the basic problems between classical plant taxonomy/evolution with the findings of modern analyses. A good show for advanced secondary or early college level classes.

The film makers have produced an excellent view of plant evolution research. It is refreshing to see a quality production on a group of organisms often neglected in todays isolated and anthropocentric society. The blending of floristic, phenetic, molecular, and paleobotanical techniques provides a wonderful example of the complementarity vital for advancing scientific knowlege. I strongly recommend this as a great teaching tool for both the information on angiosperm evolution as well as the process of science. My only reservation lies in the exageration of the competitive dimension of the research groups and some of the rather kitschy imagery such as the tumbling pastel pollen grains. I will attribute this to artistic license and it may actually be necessary for popular appeal.

This is a wonderful documentary for those interested in science. It reads like a detective story, how flowering plants made their appearance on the planet and changed the world. The fact that most of us take flowers for granted (making up most of the foods we eat today) makes this a real eye opener. The evolutionary process couldnt be more elucidated as insects and flowers have combined forces to conquer the world with success. I strongly recommend this to both laypeople and science enthusiasts alike.

This had sentimental significance in that my mom was gravely ill when we watched this together and we both loved it. Nova is great!

Great video - has a lot of information. SHould be a must for horiculture classes.