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Distributed for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Kew Plant Glossary

An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms - Second Edition

Second Edition

Distributed for Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The Kew Plant Glossary

An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms - Second Edition

Second Edition

If asked to describe a plant, many of us would have to resort to basic descriptors such as vague shapes or simple colors. But for those who work and write in the plant world, there are thousands of terms available for crafting the perfect characterization. A pear’s shape can be called pyriform, while lemon’s form is prolate. A petal might range from caesious (pale blue-grey or -green) to ceraceous (pale cream) to cinerous (ash grey). And the autumnal spread of fallen leaves is called, elegantly, leaf litter.

The Kew Plant Glossary is a comprehensive guide to the myriad of terms used in the identification and conservation of plants. This new edition adds more than four hundred new entries, including a vegetation-type section, bringing the total to 4,905 botanical terms and seven hundred illustrations. The terms are clearly explained, many with basic line drawings to further clarify a description. Henk Beentje consulted a host of botanical works as well as colleagues working in the field to create a glossary that is clear, easy to use, and free of confusion. He notes terms that are easily mixed up with others and points out phrases that are considered outside common usage.

This is an essential companion for anyone who finds themselves searching for the right word when writing about plants, who needs to clearly identify the pieces of their work, or who just wants to talk more authoritatively about the plants they love.

192 pages | 700 line drawings | 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 | © 2015

Biological Sciences: Botany


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Reviews

“Have you ever wondered what the term pyriform means? Or have you considered the function of an elaiosome? How about describing a seed as exalbuminous? If so, then this is the book for you! The Kew Plant Glossary is a fantastic little book for the botanist.”

School Science Review

Table of Contents

Introduction
Acknowledgements
Bibliography and websites used
Glossary

            Symbols
            Suffixes
            Prefixes
            Abbreviations
            Botanical terms (incorporating 716 blocks with over 730 images)
            Grouped terms
                        Three-dimensional shapes – plate 1
                        Two-dimensional shapes – plates 2-4
                        Division and branching – plates 5-6
                        Arrangement and direction – plates 7-9
                        Surfaces – plates 10-12
                        Roots – plate 13
                        Stems and roots – plate 14
                        Position, direction, buds and growth – plate 15
                        Stems: shoots, outgrowths – plate 16
                        Leaves – plates 17-18
                        Inflorescences – plates 19-21
                        Flowers – plates 22-24
                        Fruits and seeds – plates 25-27
                        Specialised terms for selected groups – plates 28-31
                        Basic cladistic/phylogenetic concepts – plate 32
                        The Raunkiaer system – plate 33
                        Tree bark types – plate 34
            Vegetation terms
            Colour terms



 

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