"This book aims at explaining the meaning, accentuation, and derivation of the generic, trivial, and varietal names of plants mentioned in current British floras ..." Intro.

This plant glossary includes all descriptive terms used in floras, plant field guides and monographs. This is an essential companion for anyone working with plant descriptions, plant identification keys, floras, monographs and field guides. In this second edition 4,500 botanical terms are described with accompanying illustrations, including a new section on vegetation terms and an updated colour section.'Catnip for the garden geek...this fascinating, authoritative volume may seduce even the most casual browser.'The New York Times, 27 May 2010

A particularly versatile reference work for all those needing a guide to botanical terminology and plant structure.

This beautifully illustrated glossary comprises over 2400 terms commonly used to describe vascular plants. The majority are structural terms referring to parts of plants visible with the naked eye or with a x10 hand lens, but some elementary microscopical and physiological terms are also included, as appropriate. Each term is defined accurately and concisely, and whenever possible, cross referenced to clearly labelled line drawings made mainly from living material. The illustrations are presented together in a section comprising 127 large format pages, within which they are grouped according to specific features, such as leaf shape or flower structure, so allowing comparison of different forms at a glance. The illustrations therefore provide a unique compilation of information that can be referred to independently of the definitions. This makes the glossary a particularly versatile reference work for all those needing a guide to botanical terminology and plant structure.