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Re: Latin names

At 20:59 04/05/97 -0700, you wrote:
>ok, I belong to three plant lists and you've finally convinced me I need to
>learn the latin names.  I didn't think I'd ever care but you have a
>convert.:)  So now the question is books.  I went to Barnes and Noble
>tonight and found a couple that were pricy but nice and I'd like opinions.
>One was a huge copy of Taylors.  Lots of pictures lots of names.  I like
>it.  The other was The American Hort Encyclopidia.  Again pricey but I
>thought neat.  Lots of pictures to go with the latin and common names.  For
>me personaly I think I would get more out of learning these if I could
>associate it with pictures of plants.  Especially in the cases of the
>plants I'm already familur with.  Does anyone have any other suggestion?
>Any comments on the two books I did find?  Any comments greatfully welcome.
>
>Robin
>robin@jetcity.com
>


Hello Robin,

Congratulations on your desire to go to the root of the matter and get into
plant latin names!  May I share my experience as a plant scientist with
you? First, if you're at a beginner stage and just want to explore, you may
not need to go bankrupt on buying pricey encyclopedias.  Following are two
"cheaper" ways to get into things... small guides and Web resources.
Second, I humbly predict that your interest in botanical latin will soon
converge with one on plant classification or taxonomy.  When I started out
in botany, I found it highly rewarding to associate not only the latin and
common names of plants, but also to get a feel for the relationships among
the plants... which plants are closely related and why.  Any encyclopedia
on botanical latin is bound to be organized following some kind of
taxonomical grouping anyway, so it's a logical way to approach things.  And
as a bonus, you'll begin to see the plant world in a much more organized
and fascinating perspective.  Links will appear between plant structure and
function that you never even suspected (sorry my passion is making me ramble).

In terms of books, I can suggest two terrific introductory titles, if you
want to get started without ruining your budget.  I suppose the books you
mentionned are all excellent, but maybe a basic introductory guide, but I
think these will serve just as well (at least for starters), at a fraction
of the price.  

Therefore may I recommend:

1)	A.J. Coombes. 1985.  Dictionary of Plant names - Botanical names and
their common name equivalents.  210 pages, hardcover, ONLY $10.95 (don't
pass this one up!  It's great).  (Catalogue quote:  "wonderfully useful and
surprisingly complete, this little book includes common name
cross-references, pronunciation, geographical distribution, and name
origins, all at a bargain price").

2)	J.P. Baumgardt. 1982. How to identify flowering plant families - a
practical guide for Horticulturists and plant lovers.  269 pages, $22.95
(Quote from catalogue :  "a handy guide that uses flower structure to
illustrate the common elements of genera found in more than 100 important
families")

Both these books are distributed by Timber Press. They have a home page and
take orders directly on the Net:
http://www.timber-press.com/index.html

Timber press' catalogue also includes other references on botanical latin,
which I haven't personally explored.  You might want to take a look if you
are looking for more in-depth references.


Also, here are some wonderful Web resources any serious plant lover should
explore.  My picks are:

Flowerbase (excellent searchable database for pictures... you can search by
names in several languages, including english and latin):
http://www.flowerbase.com/

The Families of flowering plants :
http://muse.bio.cornell.edu/delta/angio/www/index.htm

Vascular plant family photos:
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/carr/pfamilies.htm

Also, you might like to browse on the sites of some plant taxonomy courses.
The two following sites are excellent, with great content, links, and
pictures:

http://www.inform.umd.edu:8080/PBIO/pb250/lect.html
http://www.isc.tamu.edu/FLORA/tfphome1.html


I hope this gets you off on a good start.  Have fun learning!  What a
fascinating world we live in !    :-)

Denise


********************************************************
Denise Tousignant, M.Sc., Conseillere scientifique
Pepiniere forestiere de St-Modeste, 
410 rue Principale, St-Modeste, Quebec GOL 3W0 Canada
tel.: 418-862-5511  FAX: 418-862-0564
********************************************************
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