The Kew Plant Glossary: An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms - Second Edition, Paperback

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.

About the Author:

Henk Beentje is a botanist based in the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His many books include Conservation Checklist of the Trees of Uganda, Field Guide to the Mangrove Trees of Africa and Madagascar, and Field Guide to the Palms of Madagascar. He served as the editor of the decade-spanning Flora of Tropical East Africa series, also from Kew.