This is a discovery book about plants. It is for students In the first section, introduction to plants, there are sev of botany and botanical illustration and everyone inter eral sources for various types of drawings. Hypotheti ested in plants. Here is an opportunity to browse and cal diagrams show cells, organelles, chromosomes, the choose subjects of personal inter. est, to see and learn plant body indicating tissue systems and experiments about plants as they are described. By adding color to with plants, and flower placentation and reproductive the drawings, plant structures become more apparent structures. For example, there is no average or stan and show how they function in life. The color code dard-looking flower; so to clearly show the parts of a clues tell how to color for definition and an illusion of flower (see 27), a diagram shows a stretched out and depth. For more information, the text explains the illus exaggerated version of a pink (Dianthus) flower (see trations. The size of the drawings in relation to the true 87). A basswood (Tifia) flower is the basis for diagrams size of the structures is indicated by X 1 (the same size) of flower types and ovary positions (see 28). Another to X 3000 (enlargement from true size) and X n/n source for drawings is the use of prepared microscope (reduction from true size). slides of actual plant tissues.

A particularly versatile reference work for all those needing a guide to botanical terminology and plant structure.

Did you know that the smell of sassafras blowing offshore convinced Columbus he was near land? Or that the American sycamore, which has the largest tree trunk in the eastern forest, can live for 500 to 600 years? Or that in the period before the American Revolution, patriots designated a sycamore tree in each colony as a "Liberty Tree" -- a meeting place for plotting against the British? These facts are just a few of thousands you'll find inBotanica North America, an encyclopedia of the wonderfully diverse North American native plants by noted Canadian garden writer Marjorie Harris. This charming compendium is filled with more than 420 entries that provide essential information on each plant's physical attributes, natural history, common uses, and ethnobotany. There are also fascinating, often surprising anecdotes about plants you won't find anywhere else. From the Eastern forest to the desert, this beautifully written volume roves across the continent exploring how climate and plant life have affected, aided, and inspired us, from the first Native Americans to North Americans living in the twenty-first century: "The lonely majesty of a wind-swept jack pine has inspired generations of poets and painters," Harris writes. "These trees endure in spite of terrible weather . . . a jack pine forest has a dense, closed canopy with an understory of cherry, blueberry, hazels, bracken, and sweet fern along with trailing arbutus." Comprehensive and engaging, Botanica North America is also filled with lush photographs of plants in their natural habitat and insightful quotes from a variety of gardening experts and amateurs, from naturalist Rachel Carson to famed conservationist John Muir. Here is a reference no gardener or environmentalist should be without.

The ideal reference for students of botany and horticulture, gardeners, and naturalists. The diverse external shapes and structures that make up flowering plants can be bewildering and even daunting, as can the terminology used to describe them. An understanding of plant form—plant morphology—is essential to appreciating the wonders of the plant world and to the study of botany and horticulture at every level. In this ingeniously designed volume, the complex subject becomes both accessible and manageable. The first part of the book describes and clearly illustrates the major plant structures that can be seen with the naked eye or a hand lens. The second part focuses on how plants grow: bud development, the growth of reproductive organs, leaf arrangement, branching patterns, and the accumulation and loss of structures. Aimed at students of botany and horticulture, enthusiastic gardeners, and amateur naturalists, it functions as an illustrated dictionary, a basic course in plant morphology, and an intriguing and enlightening book to dip into.

New Dorothea L. Leonhardt Foundaton (Andrea C. Harkins), Bass Foundation, Ruth Andersson May, Mary G. Palko, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Margret M. Rimmer, Mike and Eva Sandlin.