Product Description

Hundreds of thousands of plants have been given botanical names of Latin form since Linnaeus instituted modern botanical nomenclature in 1753. Most of these plants interest only professional botanists; and no book of reasonable size can include more than a fraction of their names. However, gardeners work with fewer species, and the keen gardener comes to wonder at the meaning and origin of those Latin names with which he has become familiar. What useful information lies there? Of what interest are the personal names involved? What of the gardener’s particular pleasure, noted in the seventeenth century by William Cole, ‘to have the plants speaking Greek and Latin to him and putting him in mind of stories which otherwise he would never think of?

In this book Professor Stearn gives the meaning and origin of some 6,000 botanical names, selecting those most likely to be encountered by gardeners and horticulturists. No other single source provides so much etymological information for the gardener, much of it out of he way, all of it enlightened by a wealth of detail, the result of years of scholarship and original research by the distinguished author. Also listed are 3,000 of the most widely accepted vernacular names, cross-indexed to their correct botanical names, an invaluable reference for gardeners, writer, and historians. Both the dictionary sections are prefaced by learned and entertaining introductions. Plant classification and binomial nomenclature are explained, and there are notes on the structure and pronunciation of botanical Latin. Extensive bibliographies direct the reader to recommended sources for further inquiry.

Stearn’s Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners is a substantial revision of the author’s earlier work, A Gardener’s Dictionary of Plant Names, published in 1972 and itself an enlarged and extensively revised edition of the very much smaller work by A.W. Smith, A Gardener’s Book of Plant Names, published in 1963. The present book is dedicated to the memory of A.W. Smith, and will be an invaluable companion for the gardener for years to come – a book always at hand to be read, or dipped into for pleasure and entertainment, as well as instruction.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #263494 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 373 pages

From Library Journal
This volume updates and expands the 1972 Gardener's Dictionary of Plant Names by the same author, which in turn updated A.W. Smith's Gardener's Book of Plant Names (1963). You may want to keep the earlier volumes for their pronunciation guides, but definitely buy the new volume for its inclusion of 6000 botanical names, with definitions and derivations, plus 3000 common names, cross-referenced to their botanical names. This is indisputably the best dictionary of plant names available and is essential for botanical and horticultural libraries. Public libraries on a tight budget that already own Allen Coombes's Dictionary of Plant Names (Timber Pr., 1985) would be safe to pass; others may want to add it for its excellent chapter explaining how plants are named and why plant names change.
- Laura Lipton, Miller Horticulture Lib., Seattle
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Impressive." American Herb Association Quarterly Newsletter, 2003

"Provides an enormous range of truly fascinating etymological information." Southeastern Naturalist, July 2003

"Impressive."
—American Herb Association Quarterly Newsletter, 2003 (American Herb Association )

"Provides an enormous range of truly fascinating etymological information." Southeastern Naturalist, July 2003 (Southeastern Naturalist )

About the Author
William T. Stearn (1911–2001) was one of Britain's most eminent botanists. During a career based first at the Royal Horticultural Society, then at the Natural History Museum, Stearn wrote some 470 books, articles, and monographs, ranging from detailed studies of plant genera, through histories and biographies, to books on botanical taxonomy, many of which have become standard works of reference.

He served as librarian of the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Library, senior principal scientific officer in the Department of Botany, British Museum (Natural History), and visiting professor in the Department of Botany and Agricultural Botany, University of Reading. In 2000 he was awarded the Asa Gray Award, the highest award of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists.

Customer Reviews

Mature plant name dictionary
This is the work of the author of "Botanical Latin", the indispensable reference for those delving deeply into plant taxonomy. He is thus quite qualified to do what he did here: extensively revise "A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names" by A.W.Smith (1963, still available as a Dover reprint of 1997). Facts were checked, errors eliminated, additions made. The typography was modernised. The help in pronunciation limited to stressing syllables.

This book presents a wealth of information on plant names: it lists 6000 botanical names and 3000 vernacular names, in addition to quite a bit of background information. It is limited to plant names of importance to gardeners, but this is not so limiting as might be, since by this is meant "gardeners worldwide", including those on the Southern Hemisphere. Although I wish it were slightly longer, this book surely gives value for money.

Great Reference Book
excellent reference book - easily read and understood, even for the not-so-technical person - often has a brief paragraph giving the history or a definition of the botanical name

Dictionary of Plant Names
An execllent book for the serious gardener who wants to know more about the various plants.