Product Description

Plant identification employs an extensive and complex terminology. Professional botanists often need several years in the field to master this terminology, and it presents a daunting obstacle to the student of botany.

The meaning of most botanical terms, however, is immediately apparent when an illustration is available. That is the purpose of this volume. Plant Identification Terminology provides over nineteen hundred clear illustrations of terms used in plant identification keys and descriptions. It also includes definitions for more than twenty-seven hundred taxonomic terms.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14598 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

From Library Journal
A useful glossary that clearly explains and illustrates myriad confusing terms likely to turn up in botanical reference sources.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
This comprehensive, illustrated guide to phytography, the descriptive terminology of plants, was designed as a companion to a textbook for students of botany. Noting that the glossaries of most textbooks are inadequate, and that other field guides include scientific terminology definitions, the Harrises created this handbook to easily convey the meaning of botanical terms with a simple illustration and a short descriptive note.

In alphabetical arrangement, part 1 details more than 2,400 commonly used terms in plant descriptions and identifications coordinated with more than 1,700 illustrations. Included are common usage, historical definition, and divergent usages of terms. No pronounciation guide is included. Part 2 includes terminology grouped in related areas, for example, roots (parts, shapes, types); stems (parts, types, forms); leaves (bases, apices, attachments); surfaces; inflorescences (parts, types, forms); flowers (symmetry, pollination systems, number of floral structure); and fruits (parts, type).

While Taxonomic Terminology of the Higher Plants by Henry Ira Featherly (Iowa State Univ. Press, 1954, reprinted 1965) is similar in scope, it does not include any illustrations. The line drawings enhance the potential usefulness of this reasonably priced handbook of taxonomic terms for both professional botantists and students. It is a recommended addition to both public and academic library botany collections.

Review
This book will provide a helpful aid to students and others who need to learn our taxonomic language. -- The American Society of Plant Taxonomists Newsletter, July 1994

This wonderful little gem of a book is a must-have. -- Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Texas, Sept/Oct 1994

Customer Reviews

Great for the advanced amateur
If you're an amateur trying to key out a strange plant -- and you've gone beyond the stage of using guides with sections on "plants with red flowers" to using more advanced guides, this book can help you cut through the forest of technical terms. It has the usual alphabetical listing of terms and definitions -- but what makes it work for me are the sections arranged by structure. For example, all the terms to describe leaves are collected in one well-illustrated section, as are terms describing flowers, roots, stems, surfaces, and other parts of the plant. The grouped illustrations make it really easy to figure out which term best describes your plant. The book would be best used in conjunction with a technical guide specific to the plants of your region.

The best book available on the subject
The title says it all. This is an illustrated glossary to the terms you may encounter while identifying plants. It is beautifully illustrated and the definitions are clear and concise. The book takes much of the pain out of using an identification key and is tremendously useful for both professionals and students.

I disagree with a previous reviewer who characterized this book as "shallow" because it doesn't include detailed information about the terms included. That's kind of like labeling a dictionary as "shallow" because it doesn't provide encyclopedic entries. "Plant Identification Terminology" isn't intended to be a comprehensive guide to plant morphology.

This is a wonderful book at a surprisingly reasonable price and for its intended purpose it is the only game in town - nothing else even comes close.

Valuable tool for a field ecologist
I am a plant community ecologist that prides myself in knowing many of the plants in the Intermountain West. However, myself and students are always finding new plants, especially as we move into new areas. My primary plant keys are the Intermountain Flora and Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Since I only key a couple months out of the year I forget many of the terms, needing a refresher as I start back out in the spring (my students call it winter death). My students and I find this book very useful and easy to use, particarly for beginning students. It is always with us in the field.