Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary [Paperback]

James G. Harris (Author), Melinda Woolf Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0964022168 | ISBN-13: 978-0964022164 | Edition: 2nd

Plant identification employs an extensive and complex terminology. Professional botanists often need several years in the field to master this terminology, and it presents a daunting obstacle to the student of botany.

The meaning of most botanical terms, however, is immediately apparent when an illustration is available. That is the purpose of this volume. Plant Identification Terminology provides over nineteen hundred clear illustrations of terms used in plant identification keys and descriptions. It also includes definitions for more than twenty-seven hundred taxonomic terms.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book will provide a helpful aid to students and others who need to learn our taxonomic language. -- The American Society of Plant Taxonomists Newsletter, July 1994

This wonderful little gem of a book is a must-have. -- Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Texas, Sept/Oct 1994

From the Publisher

Winner of the CHOICE Best Academic Books Award in its first edition, Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary has been dramatically improved. The book has been thoroughly reillustrated and includes more than 300 additional terms. The best book available on plant descriptive terminology is now even better.

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Spring Lake Pub; 2nd edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964022168
• ISBN-13: 978-0964022164
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Botany

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 90 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book available on the subject September 8, 2001

By John Richardson

Format:Paperback

The title says it all. This is an illustrated glossary to the terms you may encounter while identifying plants. It is beautifully illustrated and the definitions are clear and concise. The book takes much of the pain out of using an identification key and is tremendously useful for both professionals and students.

I disagree with a previous reviewer who characterized this book as "shallow" because it doesn't include detailed information about the terms included. That's kind of like labeling a dictionary as "shallow" because it doesn't provide encyclopedic entries. "Plant Identification Terminology" isn't intended to be a comprehensive guide to plant morphology.

This is a wonderful book at a surprisingly reasonable price and for its intended purpose it is the only game in town - nothing else even comes close.

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Valuable tool for a field ecologist June 22, 2002

By R. Miller

Format:Paperback

I am a plant community ecologist that prides myself in knowing many of the plants in the Intermountain West. However, myself and students are always finding new plants, especially as we move into new areas. My primary plant keys are the Intermountain Flora and Plants of the Pacific Northwest. Since I only key a couple months out of the year I forget many of the terms, needing a refresher as I start back out in the spring (my students call it winter death). My students and I find this book very useful and easy to use, particarly for beginning students. It is always with us in the field.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful & Necessary Companion November 3, 2006

By Corey Shane

Format:Paperback

This is the kind of book every beginning botanist ought to have. Directing an herbal medicine school, I teach people how to use a technical key, in our case "Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas." Having this book at hand means that my students don't have to memorize the 30 different ways that a leaf can be hairy -- pubescent, tomentose, scurfy, etc.

For those of us who aren't botany majors (and maybe some who are), having this book at your side while keying out a plant is indispensable. Can't think of another book like it.