The Names of Plants [Paperback]

David Gledhill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0521523400 | ISBN-13: 978-0521523400 | Edition: 3

This book documents the historical problems associated with an ever-increasing number of commonly-named plants and the resolution of these problems through the introduction of International Codes for both botanical and horticultural nomenclature. The second part of the book comprises an alphabetical glossary of generic and specific plant names and their components, from which the reader may interpret the existing names of plants and construct new names. The third edition includes explanations of the International Codes for both Botanical Nomenclature (2000) and Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (1995). The expanded glossary incorporates many more commemorative names. Previous Edition Hb (1989): 0-521-36668-2 Previous Edition Pb (1989): 0-521-36675-5

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...I judge a book, mostly, by how much I learn from it. And I learned a lot from this one." Systematic Botany

"The author has done an excellent job of creating a...very readable text...perfect for students...This small book holds an incredible amount of information...a handy reference for anyone learning about plants...Understanding the history behind the rules of nomenclature should help the professional, student, and gardener alike to comprehend why plants are named the way they are and why the names may change. I have already recommended the book to my classes in plant identification...It has been well received." Horticultural Science

Book Description

The Names of Plants is a handy two-part reference for the botanist and amateur gardener. The first section describes how a confusion of common names became replaced by internationally agreed Latin names and outlines the rules to be followed when a new species of plant is named. The second section comprises a glossary of plant names from which the reader may interpret existing names and construct new names. The third edition has been updated to include recent additions to the rules for nomenclature and an expanded glossary.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 3 edition (November 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521523400
• ISBN-13: 978-0521523400
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,654,666 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful for browsing, August 26, 2008

By 

cosmobat "cosmobat" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Names of Plants (Paperback)

As a layman, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of every entry. However, this book seems to me to be full of information and quite well-researched. I wish the other reviewer here would give some example of the supposed inaccuracies. Perhaps the issue has arisen because etymology inevitably involves some guesswork, and is constantly being revised.

11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Truly horrible, May 2, 2003

By 

P. van Rijckevorsel (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Names of Plants (Paperback)

It is amazing that a publisher as prestigious as the Cambridge University Press allowed this to slip through. Didn't they think to have a qualified reviewer take a look at it? A browse through this book showed one grave error after another. How can anyone pretend to deal with nomenclature and not bother to check his writings with the Codes he writes about?

There is no point in discussing the merits of this book (if it has any) since there are so many errors that disqualify this. It should never have been allowed to reach print. Anybody interested in plants had better be warned against this. Give this a miss. If you do happen see any of its contents then don't believe anything in it, without checking against a reliable source.

For less money than this there is Stearn's Dictionary_of_plant_names_for_gardeners, which is not only an honest piece of work (I have yet to find even the most minute of errors) but also offers lots and lots more information. To put it mildly: if Gledhill's book were to be edited so as to eliminate the glaring errors then still Stearn's book would be five times better.