A Botanist’s Vocabulary: 1300 Terms Explained and Illustrated
Susan K. Pell and Bobbi Angell
Exactly what it says on the cover, A Botanist’s Vocabulary defines and illustrates 1300 botanical terms from abaxial (lower surface) to zygomorphic (having a single plane of symmetry). The definitions are short, clear and to the point while the excellent line drawing clearly illustrates many of the terms.
It was fun as I randomly flipped through the book, learning new things on every page. In fact, though, this book shines as a reference book — a gardening dictionary — that sits close to where you do your other reading. Having it at hand as you flip through plant and seed catalogs and other gardening books, gives you an instant resource for those unknown and/or unusual terms you sometimes come across in your reading. Sure, you can always “Google it”, but there is something to be said for the convenience of reaching out and having the answer at your fingertips.
A Botanist’s Vocabulary is for anyone who wants to expand their botanical knowledge beyond a few, well known, Latin names and dig deeper into the world of botany and horticulture. It could also be of great use when you are trying to identify or “key out” an unknown plant both in your garden and in the wild. I know that for myself, reading and working through plant identification keys is fraught with unknown and unusual terms that often stop you in your tracks, so adding A Botanist’s Vocabulary could certainly ease your way to figuring out just what that new plant is.
As usual, I checked out my copy of A Botanist’s Vocabulary from my local library — my typical way of reading new books and deciding whether I want to add them to my own personal collection. There is, after all, a hard physical limit on how many books you can have in your living space. You might be able to find a “review” copy there, too. Regardless of how you read it, though, I highly recommend you give it some of your attention. I think you will be amply rewarded by the new knowledge you find there.
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