A Portable Latin For Gardeners

This book is the perfect quick reference for working in the garden, shopping for plants, or conducting botanical research. The 1,500 terms are grouped by categories, making it easy to quickly find words related to color, size, form, habitat, scent, taste, and time.

Since Latin became the standard language for plant naming in the eighteenth century, it has been intrinsically linked with botany. And while mastery of the classical language may not be a prerequisite for tending perennials, all gardeners stand to benefit from learning a bit of Latin and its conventions in the field. Without it, they might buy a Hellebores foetidus and be unprepared for its fetid smell, or a Potentilla reptans with the expectation that it will stand straight as a sentinel rather than creep along the ground. An essential addition to the gardener’s library, this colorful, fully illustrated book details the history of naming plants, provides an overview of Latin naming conventions, and offers guidelines for pronunciation. Readers will learn to identify Latin terms that indicate the provenance of a given plant and provide clues to its color, shape, fragrance, taste, behavior, functions, and more. Full of expert instruction and practical guidance, Latin for Gardeners will allow novices and green thumbs alike to better appreciate the seemingly esoteric names behind the plants they work with, and to expertly converse with fellow enthusiasts. Soon they will realize that having a basic understanding of Latin before trips to the nursery or botanic garden is like possessing some knowledge of French before traveling to Paris; it enriches the whole experience.

RHS Practical Latin for Gardeners is a unique guide to plant binomials based on the bestselling RHS Latin for Gardeners. It contains 1,500 of the most useful and most widespread Latin names, organized into thematic chapters including Colour, Size, Form and Habitat. Each chapter is further subdivided into smaller groups, such as large plants and small plants. This allows gardeners to make new connections and discoveries in a way standard alphabetical lists don't permit. 'Behind the Name' feature boxes further increase the book's practical value, and a wide range of botanical watercolours ensure that it is beautiful as well as functional. This book includes a definition and pronunciation guide for each word, as well as a 16-page alphabetical index, so that it can still be used as a conventional dictionary of Latin names. And its handy, pocket-sized format makes it the perfect gift.

DIV For more than a decade, gardeners have been turning to a beautiful little hardcover book called Gardener's Latin, by Bill Neal. Neal understood that as Latin terms began appearing with increasing frequency on nursery tags and gardening catalogs, gardeners would need help. So he weeded through the Latin words that describe and distinguish among plants and flowers and compiled a volume of select, brief, clear definitions. Gardener's Latin leads us down the path from abbreviatus to zonatus, turning aside here and there along the way for little-known horticultural facts and fables and the wisdom of gardeners from Virgil to Vita Sackville-West.“/DIV>

How did the delphinium get its name? Which parts of the body lend their names to auriculas and orchids? Who are the gentian, lobelia and heuchera named after? Why are nasturtiums and antirrhinums connected? What does an everlasting pea have to do with Indian miniature paintings? These are some of the questions answered in Peter Parker's adventurous exploration of the mysteries of Botanical Latin. Evolved over many centuries and often thought to belong to the rarefied world of scholars and scientists, this invented language is in fact a very useful tool for everyday gardening. It allows us to find our way around nurseries; it sorts out confusions when two plants have the same English name; and it gives us all kinds of information about how big or small a plant will grow, what shape or colour it will develop, and what habitat it prefers. In his lively survey, Parker agues that Botanical Latin is not merely useful, but fun. The naming of plants draws upon geography, social and medical history, folklore, mythology, language, literature, the human body, the animal kingdom and all manner of ancient beliefs and superstitions. The book, beautifully illustrated with old woodcuts, explains how and why plants have been named, includes handy lists of identifying adjectives, and takes the reader down some of the stranger byways of human endeavour and eccentricity.

This beautifully illustrated guide unlocks the mysteries of botanical Latin explaining what plant names mean and the descriptive clues they conceal.

A handy, pocket-sized and unique guide, an ideal companion for use in the garden or when out and about selecting new plants.

To garden seriously, you can't escape plant nomenclature, but once you understand what certain key words mean, species names are demystified.