The Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants [Hardcover]

D. J. Mabberley (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521414210 | ISBN-13: 978-0521414210 | Publication Date: June 28, 1997 | Edition: 2

The Plant-Book is widely accepted as an essential reference text for anyone growing or writing about plants. In over 20,000 entries this comprehensive dictionary provides information on every family and genus of seed-bearing plant (including gymnosperms) plus ferns and other pteridophytes, combining taxonomic details with invaluable information on English names and uses. In this new edition each entry has been updated to take into consideration the most recent literature and over 2,500 new entries have been added, ensuring that The Plant-Book continues to rank among the most practical and authoritative botanical texts available.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Plant-book is now widely established as a classic botanical work and an essential reference for any person, professional or amateur...recommended as an essential and modern reference for anyone interested in botany."
New Zealand Journal of Botany

"No one working seriously with living vascular plants should be without a copy."
Choice

"Send your congratulations to Mabberley by purchasing a copy. It may encourage him to produce a third edition."
P. Mick Richardson, Plant Science Bulletin

"This book is an extremely valuable reference for researchers in plant biology, and perhaps even more for those in other fields involving plants. The compact format of the book adds to its value, making it a portable reference."
Neal M. Williams, The Quarterly Review of Biology

"This is first and foremost a reference for taxonomists and is a most handy and useful book for horticulturists wishing a comprehensive single volume for taxonomic inquiry. The book contains an incredible amount of information and is a credit to the perseverance and work of Dr. Mabberly."
Allan M. Armitage, HortScience

"The 858 thin (but strong) pages, the hard cover, and the small dimensions (23.5 x 12 x 3.5 cm) of this second edition make this book the true portable, practical, and most updated reference manual on today's market, and I recommend it to any person interested in plants."
Brittonia

"D.J. Mabberley and his wondrous Plant-Book...being all encompassing and indispensable, the botanical equivalent of Johnson's Dictionary"
Tim Flannery, The New York Review

Book Description

In over 20 000 entries this comprehensive dictionary provides information on every family and genus of flowering plant (including gymnosperms) plus ferns and other pteridophytes, combining taxonomic details with invaluable information on English names and uses. In this new edition each entry has been updated to take into consideration the most recent literature and over 2 500 new entries have been added, ensuring that The Plant-Book continues to rank among the most practical and authoritative botanical texts available.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 874 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (June 28, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521414210
• ISBN-13: 978-0521414210
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 4.7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,693,786 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A review is superfluous, July 9, 2000

By 

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

This review is from: The Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants (Hardcover)

This book does not need a review. Anybody who is involved in plants, other than the garden kind, knows full well that this is an essential reference. Quite up to date too, which is pretty amazing in view of the pace that science sets. There is an enormous mass of data in here, printed on very thin paper, making for a very handy book that will fit a spot near where you need it, which is likely to be often.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My most used reference book, November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants (Hardcover)

As a graduate student in ecology I often encounter unfamiliar genera in the literature, and a quick peek in Mabberley gives me enough taxonomic grounding to keep plowing ahead. By constantly referring to this book, I have greatly improved my knowledge of plant relationships.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just the Best!, July 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Plant-Book: A Portable Dictionary of the Vascular Plants (Hardcover)

I purchased this reference a few years ago. Once I received it and began using it, I wondered how I'd ever gotten along without it. The author's British and so the dictionary's common names are more often "British" than "American", but it is still the handiest plant dictionary I have. It is a little larger than pocket size, but it is still small enough to be held comfortably in one hand.