Practical Botany for Gardeners
Over 3,000 Botanical Terms Explained and Explored
224 pages
|
200 color plates
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7 x 9
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© 2013
- Contents
- Review Quotes
Table of Contents

Contents
How to use this book
A short history of botany
Chapter 1: The Plant Kingdom
Algae
Mosses and liverworts
Lichens
Ferns and their relatives
Gymnosperms: conifers and their relatives
Angiosperms: flowering plants
Monocotyledons versus dicotyledons
Plant naming and common names
Plant families
Genus
Species
Hybrids and cultivars
Chapter 2: Growth, Form, and Function
Plant growth and development
Buds
Roots
Stems
Leaves
Flowers
Seeds
Fruit
Bulbs and other underground food storage organs
Chapter 3: Inner Workings
Cells and cell division
Photosynthesis
Plant nutrition
Nutrient and water distribution
Plant hormones
Chapter 4: Reproduction
Vegetative reproduction
Sexual reproduction
Plant breeding—evolution in cultivation
Chapter 5: The Beginning of Life
Development of the seed and fruit
Seed dormancy
Seed germination
Sowing and saving seeds
Seed saving
Chapter 6: External Factors
The soil
Soil pH
Soil fertility
Soil moisture and rainwater
Nutrients and feeding
Life above ground
Chapter 7: Pruning
Why prune?
Pruning trees
Pruning for size and shape
Pruning for display
Chapter 8: Botany and the Senses
Seeing light
Sensing scent
Scent as an attractant
Feeling vibrations
Chapter 9: Pests, Diseases, and Disorders
Insect pests
Other common pests
Fungi and fungal diseases
Viral diseases
Bacterial diseases
Parasitic plants
How plants defend themselves
Breeding for resistance to pests and diseases
Physiological disorders
Index
Bibliography
Credits and websites
Botanists and Botanical Illustrators
Gregor Johann Mendel
Barbara McClintock
Robert Fortune
Prospero Alpini
Richard Spruce
Charles Sprague Sargent
Luther Burbank
Franz and Ferdinand Bauer
Matilda Smith
John Lindley FRS
Marianne North
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
James Sowerby
Vera Scarth-Johnson OAM
A short history of botany
Chapter 1: The Plant Kingdom
Algae
Mosses and liverworts
Lichens
Ferns and their relatives
Gymnosperms: conifers and their relatives
Angiosperms: flowering plants
Monocotyledons versus dicotyledons
Plant naming and common names
Plant families
Genus
Species
Hybrids and cultivars
Chapter 2: Growth, Form, and Function
Plant growth and development
Buds
Roots
Stems
Leaves
Flowers
Seeds
Fruit
Bulbs and other underground food storage organs
Chapter 3: Inner Workings
Cells and cell division
Photosynthesis
Plant nutrition
Nutrient and water distribution
Plant hormones
Chapter 4: Reproduction
Vegetative reproduction
Sexual reproduction
Plant breeding—evolution in cultivation
Chapter 5: The Beginning of Life
Development of the seed and fruit
Seed dormancy
Seed germination
Sowing and saving seeds
Seed saving
Chapter 6: External Factors
The soil
Soil pH
Soil fertility
Soil moisture and rainwater
Nutrients and feeding
Life above ground
Chapter 7: Pruning
Why prune?
Pruning trees
Pruning for size and shape
Pruning for display
Chapter 8: Botany and the Senses
Seeing light
Sensing scent
Scent as an attractant
Feeling vibrations
Chapter 9: Pests, Diseases, and Disorders
Insect pests
Other common pests
Fungi and fungal diseases
Viral diseases
Bacterial diseases
Parasitic plants
How plants defend themselves
Breeding for resistance to pests and diseases
Physiological disorders
Index
Bibliography
Credits and websites
Botanists and Botanical Illustrators
Gregor Johann Mendel
Barbara McClintock
Robert Fortune
Prospero Alpini
Richard Spruce
Charles Sprague Sargent
Luther Burbank
Franz and Ferdinand Bauer
Matilda Smith
John Lindley FRS
Marianne North
Pierre-Joseph Redouté
James Sowerby
Vera Scarth-Johnson OAM
Review Quotes
Boston Globe
"For anyone who has been horrified by the lopsided life that remains after a bout of pruning, gardening writer Geoff Hodge has some gentle advice: Pruning is both an art and a science. You’ll be better equipped to take on the challenge after reading the chapter on pruning in Practical Botany for Gardeners. . . . Botanical illustrations on almost every page add a decorative touch, and profiles of botanical artists pay tribute to those who make plants come alive on the page."
Denver Post
"A gentle guide to the green world . . . organized precisely how a nonbotanist would need it done. Chapters introduce the plant kingdom and how botanists classify it; tackle growth, form and function; and take you inside a plant to understand how its cells, nutrition and hormones actually function. Others explore reproduction, soil, pests and disorders. . . It’s a beautiful book."
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Biological Sciences: Botany | Natural History
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