The Names of Plants is a handy two-part reference for the botanist and amateur gardener. The book begins by documenting the historical problems associated with an ever-increasing number of common names of plants and the resolution of these problems through the introduction of International Codes for both botanical and horticultural nomenclature. It also outlines the rules to be followed when plant breeders name a new species or cultivar of plant. The second part of the book comprises an alphabetical glossary of generic and specific plant names, and components of these, from which the reader may interpret the existing names of plants and construct new names. For the third edition, the book has been updated to include explanations of the International Codes for both Botanical Nomenclature (2000) and Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (1995). The glossary has similarly been expanded to incorporate many more commemorative names.

From the reviews of previous editions: ‘The introductory section is a lucid and lively account of a sometimes complex topic. The list of terms is largely comprehensive and the translations clear. Obviously a work which will prove particularly valuable for botanical and horticultural collections, this will also be of interest in some language collections as evidence of how a ‘dead’ language can be resuscitated and so survive, adapting to specialist needs.’

Source: Reference Reviews

‘It is lucid, concise, neither patronising nor lofty, and just the right book for those who are overawed by, or hostile to, a very reasonable means of communication.’

Desmond Meikle Source: The Kew Magazine

‘ … a thoroughly scholarly work which also manages to maintain enough of the common touch to appeal to a wide variety of readers. The glossary, especially, is a treasure house of precise information as well as odd facts which range the world as the plant hunters once did.’

Source: Herald Express

‘… thoroughly recommended as a scholarly and carefully produced guide to plant names and meanings.’

Source: Countryside

‘… entertaining as well as informative.’

M. S. Gosden Source: Journal of Biological Education

‘The entire book is written in such a way that a person with limited botanical background can understand it, yet it does not come across as trivial or boring to the professional … The book is excellent.’

William J. Crins Source: The Canadian Field-Naturalist

‘A remarkably useful and interesting little book … should be on the bookshelf of every biologist.’

Source: Biological Conservation

‘… this book is an essential reference source, enabling a greater appreciation of the origins and definitions of some of the words in our own language, as well as satisfying our curiosity about the meanings of the names that we apply to plants, and often providing us with additional descriptive information helpful in taxonomy.’

Terence A. Smith Source: Annals of Botany