Books for Learning Plants
These books are selected from my library. Although I live in the tropics now and that slant is apparent in this list, do not ignore all the tropical books just because you live someplace else. When I wanted to learn plant identification here in Panama, the book most helpful in getting me started was one written by a naturalist in Montana! I have reviewed it here: Book Review: Botany in a Day.
General Books on Plants
Flowering Earth, by Donald Culross Peattie
I read this book many years ago. I loved Peattie’s language and appreciation of the natural world but somehow lost my only copy in one of the many moves I made in my youth. I was delighted to find the book has been reprinted. His language may seem a little poetic to modern ears, but the appreciation of the natural world – the wonder and awe he had for it – comes through with as much muscle as ever
A Natural History of North American Trees, by Donald Culross Peattie
I was a little hesitant about buying this book because now that I live in the tropics, I was not sure I’d relate to North American Trees. Was I wrong! The descriptions are fascinating. I feel like I could easily distinguish every pine species he writes about, just through his words.
The Tree: A Natural History of What Trees Are, How They Live, and Why They Matter, by Colin Tudge
The title and subtitle would say it all. Tudge is a modern day Peattie, in my eyes.
In Praise of Plants, by Francis Hallé
Throughout this book Hallé chides us humans for our animal-bias. Even biologists try to make plant biology analogous to animal biology, and Hall? shows us, among other things, the many ways in which these analogies are not only false but ludicrous. Further, he demonstrates countless ways in which plants, over evolutionary time, have manipulated animals to help spread plant genes. I love this book. Hallé has a sense of humor along with his vast knowledge of plant biology, which he makes easily accessible to all the rest of us.
The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
Pollan presents at the beginning of this book the idea that plants may manipulate humans to aid plant gene dispersal. Unlike Hallé, to whom he does not refer, Pollan does not present us with satisfying arguments to support that idea. But Hallé is a biologist and Pollan is a gardener, and in the end Pollan’s stories are about humans and what humans do to plants, not the other way around. Nevertheless, the book is a good read, and the chapter on the potato and genetic engineering is worth the price of the book.
Reference Books
How Plants Get Their Names, by L.H. Bailey
A classic. Bailey loves words and conveys beautifully the interest anyone may have in naming plants. Includes wonderful appendices of genus and species names – with pronunciation marks for both genus and species and with translations for the species names.
The Plant-Book. A portable dictionary of the vascular plants. 2nd Ed., by D. J. Mabberley
A botanist I know said that if she had to restrict herself to one plant book, this would be it. You’ll want to become somewhat familiar with botanical terminology, though, before it’s of much use.
Plant Identification Books – General
Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification, by Thomas J. Elpel.
Designed for beginners in North America, but the principles apply to all plant identification, and many of the families are found here in Panama. Elpel’s book was a great help in getting me started, he knows how to introduce botanical terminology in plain English, and he has great mnemonics for remembering key characteristics of families.
How To Identify Plants, by H. D. Harrington.
A classic introduction to plant identification – excellent for students of botany – far more formal than Elpel’s approach (above). Indeed, if you read Elpel first, you might think learning plants is going to be more of a snap than it is, and if you read Harrington first, you might think learning plants is going to be much more difficult than it is. I have found the learning process to be in between these two in difficulty.
Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary, by James G. Harris and Melinda Woolf Harris.
A must-have book for anyone wanting to identify plants.
Hello! I like your website a lot… you have a broken link to the 19 basic botanic terms from the start learning plants page though, but the page can be accessed from the table on the right.
Do you know of any good online resources for learning the origin of botanical plant families and genera?
Thank you!
Thank you for commenting, ramsey.
I’ve checked the link you mentioned and it works for me. Hmm. Would you mind trying again and letting me know what happens?
What a great question about learning the origin of botanical plant genera and families! I’d start with the article on Linneaus in wikipedia and follow through on the references at the end. Also, here’s a link to a college-level syllabus that has a little bit of history in it: http://tinyurl.com/78f4ht. Maybe a search for “plant systematics” would bring up something – I haven’t tried it yet myself, but now that you’ve asked the question, I also want to do some digging. If I find anything of interest, I’ll pass it along.
I just glanced at your site, and I’m definitely going to be coming back to it. You’re doing excellent work.
Lovely website. I am interested in the “personalities” and types of myths associated with families. Do you know of anything like this?
Thanks
David
Hello David,
What an interesting question! No, I’m afraid I don’t know of such a book or other source, but I wish you luck in your query. It sounds neat.
Mary
I’m looking for a book with the botanical names and with a broken down way on how to pronouce it.( like phyllis—fil-lis)
Phyllis
Hello Phyllis,
Here’s one that I found on amazon – I haven’t seen it myself, so I don’t know how good it is, but the title suggests that it’s what you’re after: The home garden self-pronouncing dictionary of plant names [Paperback] Ralph Bailey (Author).
You might also find the website for Fine Gardening useful – you can listen to the pronunciation. Good luck!
Mary
Phyllis,
I edit Aroideana, the journal of the International Aroid Society, and have just declined a section in a paper that deals with botanical terms in the forthcoming volume which addressed pronunciation. Latin is spoken today following two or three formats, but in my view, rather than argue between these versions, I advise people to follow the pronunciation that would exist if a word were in their native tongue. It is true that we italicize botanical names because we regard latin as a foreign language, but in fact many of the names are already “common” names, and all could be treated as such. If the person to whom you are speaking wishes to correct you, listen politely and decide whether to accept the version proffered, then go ahead and use it or not. Who really cares, there is no right and wrong way.
Derek,
Thanks for your considered answer to Phyllis’s question. It’s perfect and really good to hear from a professional.
Mary
Great website. I am moving to Panama and looking for books to identify plants from that country. I am mostly interested in anything edible (herbs, fruit, vegetable, etc but also beautiful flowering plants as well. I realize your focus is Botany but was wondering if you have come across any good gardening or plant identification books in English that relate to Panama. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Hi Carmen,
The best all-around book that I can think of is the one by Zuchowski: Plants of Costa Rica. I know the title says Costa Rica and not Panama, but we’re very close and the plants don’t recognize our geographical borders. This book covers edible, medicinal, and otherwise humanly useful plants, and talks about that, as well as helping you identify the beautiful native plants.
Good luck with your move!
Mary
Hello.. i m searching for a book which contain all the species information of certain families like Euphorbiaceae, Rosaceae, Malvaceae, etc..
Please advise me something which can guide me for finishing my project..
Hello Drishya,
Wow! Each of the families you named have thousands of species. You’d need a book for each family, I would think. However, I fully understand your question because I had the same one when I started studying the plants here in Panama. So far, what I’ve found most useful is to look for monographs on the family. Many of these monographs were published years ago and are now available online.
When I want to learn about a family, I go to Botanicus.org. There I search for the family and then, among the options listed, I look for titles like “Flora of Panama.” You’d of course look for monographs from your area. These monographs can be downloaded and you’ll find they cover all the species known in that family at the time of writing. They also include keys to help you decide which species you have in hand.
Once you’ve reached the species level, then you can go back out to other sources online and learn whether the species name has changed and other details that have been learned since the writing of the original monograph.
I hope this helps, and I wish you great luck with you wonderful endeavor.
Mary
hello i am interested in learning about plant taxonomy, plant morphology. I want to be able to distinguish plants from one another. I am interested in phytochemicals and synthesizing.
Jonathan – That’s quite an ambitious plan. I don’t know how much you already know about plants, so I’ll give a couple of suggestions for different possible backgrounds.
If you’re just starting out, go for “Botany in a Day.” It introduces you to plant terms and to the concept of plant families, which you’ll rely on greatly for understanding plant taxonomy. Also, this book has quite a bit of information on the chemical compounds found in plants.
If you already have a good grasp of the fundamentals of botany, then jump right into an advanced textbook on systematics. I like the one by Michael G. Simpson called “Plant Systematics.” Another one, called “Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetic Approach” by Walter S. Judd and others, has a little more emphasis on molecular information although the focus is on understanding the evolution of plants rather than on phytochemicals in general.
Good luck with your studies. It’s a fascinating field.