American Nurseryman Publishing Co. 2006. The Pronouncing Dictionary of Plant Names. American Nurseryman Publishing Co. ISBN: 1-887632-58-1
A practical pocket guide to the pronunciation of over 3,000 plant names. This 93-page dictionary fits easily into a field bag, day bag, purse or pocket. Take this dictionary with you to exhibits, plant shows, gardening events or your local nursery.
Borror, Donald J. 1971. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms. Mayfield Publishing Company. ISBN: 0-87484-053-8
This book is geared specifically towards biological terms and scientific names. A must-have. There are other books written on root words. I am sure that they will be helpful as well. All that is needed, really, is a reference that helps artists breakdown words so that they can better understand the terms and descriptions used by botanists. Any resource that makes the terminology more digestible is a good resource.
Capon, Brian. 2005. Botany for Gardeners. Second edition. Timber Press. ISBN: 0-88192-655-8
Capon has turned an awful lot of botany into very digestible bits and this is exactly the type of accomplishment we like here at ArtPlantae.com. Capon takes readers on a tour of the inner workings of plants and on a tour of the gross morphological features of plants. He also discusses how plants adapt in different environments, how plants develop from seed and how plants reproduce. Capon’s writing style makes this book easy to read and very entertaining.
Coombes, Allen J. 1999. Dictionary of Plant Names. Timber Press. ISBN: 0-88192-294-3
Over 1,000 plant names are included in this book. Use this prononciation guide with Stearn (1996) and Borror (1971) to get a handle on pronouncing scientific names and to understand the meanings behind the names.
Eyewitness Visual Dictionaries. 1992. The Visual Dictionary of Plants. DK Publishing, Inc. ISBN: 1-56458-016-4
Beautiful photographs are labeled clearly in this book, whose objective is to introduce plant lovers to the anatomy and morphology of fungi, lichens, algae, seaweed, mosses, ferns, gynmosperms, and flowering plants.
Glimn-Lacy, Janice and Peter B. Kaufman. 1984. Botany Illustrated. International Thomson Publishing. ISBN: 0-412-07871-6
A guide which enables artists to learn the characteristics of selected plant families by coloring the line drawings in the book. Artists follow a prescribed color-coding system to learn the various parts of a plant. This paperback book is very expensive. However, artists will learn a lot by taking the time to work through this book. Artists should tackle one family at a time. If the family of the specimen you are holding in your hand is in this book, take a few moments to read about this family and to color the plant shown.
Glimn-Lacy, Janice and Peter B. Kaufman. 2006. Botany Illustrated. Second edition. Springer. ISBN: 978-0387-28870-3
A guide which enables artists to learn the characteristics of selected plant families by coloring the line drawings in the book. Artists follow a prescribed color-coding system to learn the various parts of a plant. Each page of text has been updated. The cost of this book is now much more palatable. This second edition is long overdue! [ArtPlantae Books]
Halsted, Caroline A. 1835. The Little Botanist or Steps to the Attainment of Botanical Knowledge. John Harris, St.Paul’s Church-Yard; John Cumming, Dublin; Waugh and Innes, and William Wilson, Edinburgh.
One of the true treasures in our collection is an introductory botany book that was published in 1835. This book is not a college text, but instead an introductory botany book for children. The botany lessons in this book are presented as a conversation between a mother and a young child. These conversations are modeled after actual conversations the author had with a nine-year old family friend.
Harris, James G. and Melinda Woolf Harris. 2001. Plant Identification Terminology – An Illustrated Glossary of Plant Identification Terminology. Spring Lake Publishing. ISBN: 0-9640221-6-8
This dictionary of botanical terms and illustrations is an invaluable reference for the botanical artist.
Heller, Ruth. 1983. The Reason for a Flower. Published in 1999 by Penquin Putnam Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0-698-11559-7
Heller introduces children to the concepts of pollination, seed development, seed dispersal, fruit development, food plants, herbivory, and flowerless plants (i.e., mushrooms). This book is a great gift for naturalists age 5 – 8.
L.H. Bailey Hortorium, Cornell University. 1976. Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada. Reprinted in 2000 by Barnes & Noble,Inc. ISBN: 0-7607-2116-5
An invaluable guide to the botanical artist. Since many artist draw cultivated plants, this work belongs on every artist’s bookshelf. Included in this book are plants cultivated in the U.S., Canada, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Artists will find the scientific names of “34,305 families, genera, and species, and a large number of subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars.” Not to mention descriptive information about each plant.
Stearn, William T. 1996. Stearn’s Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners. Timber Press, Inc. ISBN: 0-88192-556-X
Stearn explains the meaning of 6,000 plant names most likely to be encountered by gardeners and horticulturists. Each listing also includes the name of the plant family to which a plant belongs. Use this reference with Coombes (1999) and with Borror (1971).
