The Botany of Desire looks to be an interesting read. Have just gone through the introduction and the premise is that rather than plants, animals, etc. being domesticated by us humans for our convenience and use, it is these other living things that have evolved in order to attract humans to propigate their species.
Take for example, the tulip, one of the four subjects being covered in the book. The tulip exudes such beauty and elements desired by humans. From the knife-edeged petals, to the shape of the bloom, and perhaps to its genital-like bulbs, as I vividly remember reading in a book whose title now eludes me. These bulbs were being smuggled across countries and borders by huamns, tied to their waist resembling genitalia (there was a wonderful story behind it all - about how a woman with such genitalia was mistaken for a man and a love affair ensued - perhaps it was a book from Winterson); so that humans could breed and cross breed them and multiply the species' population. If one thinks about it, would it be on the part of the tulip's behavior to develop such beauty so that a human might be enticed to desire, to posses, thus inadvertently cutting down forests and creating more space for them to grow and multiply? It's an interesting theory and I can't wait to bite into the narrative and discover the juicy four parts of desire.
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