"Following on the successes of two previous dictionary projects, the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names and the CRC World Dictionary of the Grasses, Umberto Quattrocchi has undertaken this dictionary of economically important plants.... He has done for these plants what was so admirably done in his other works—brought the vast and scattered literature on plant names, and in this case, too, their uses, into coherent order so that the inquisitive scholar can get a foothold." —From the Foreword, Donald H. Pfister, Harvard University and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts The CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology provides the starting point for better access to data on plants used around the world in medicine, food, and cultural practices. The material found in the five volumes has been painstakingly gathered from papers of general interest, reports and records, taxonomic revisions, field studies, herbaria and herbarium collections, notes, monographs, pamphlets, botanical literature, and literature tout court. It includes sources available at various natural history libraries, floras and standard flora works, local floras and local histories, nomenclatural histories, and the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Much more than a dictionary, the book provides the names of thousands of genera and species of economically important plants, concise summaries of plant properties, and appropriate observations about medicinal uses. Drawing from a tremendous range of primary and secondary sources, it is an indispensable time-saving guide for all those involved with botany, herbal medicine, pharmacognosy, toxicology, medicinal and natural product chemistry, and agriculture.

"Following on the successes of two previous dictionary projects, the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names and the CRC World Dictionary of the Grasses, Umberto Quattrocchi has undertaken this dictionary of economically important plants ... He has done for these plants what was so admirably done in his other works-brought the vast and scattered literature on plant names, and in this case, too, their uses, into coherent order so that the inquisitive scholar can get a foothold."--The Foreword, Donald H. Pfister, Harvard University and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts T.

"Following on the successes of two previous dictionary projects, the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names and the CRC World Dictionary of the Grasses, Umberto Quattrocchi has undertaken this dictionary of economically important plants ... He has done for these plants what was so admirably done in his other works-brought the vast and scattered literature on plant names, and in this case, too, their uses, into coherent order so that the inquisitive scholar can get a foothold."--The Foreword, Donald H. Pfister, Harvard University and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts T.

"Following on the successes of two previous dictionary projects, the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names and the CRC World Dictionary of the Grasses, Umberto Quattrocchi has undertaken this dictionary of economically important plants ... He has done for these plants what was so admirably done in his other works-brought the vast and scattered literature on plant names, and in this case, too, their uses, into coherent order so that the inquisitive scholar can get a foothold."--The Foreword, Donald H. Pfister, Harvard University and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts T.

"Following on the successes of two previous dictionary projects, the CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names and the CRC World Dictionary of the Grasses, Umberto Quattrocchi has undertaken this dictionary of economically important plants ... He has done for these plants what was so admirably done in his other works-brought the vast and scattered literature on plant names, and in this case, too, their uses, into coherent order so that the inquisitive scholar can get a foothold."--The Foreword, Donald H. Pfister, Harvard University and Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, Massachusetts T.

From the Foreword Umberto Quattrocchi has brought us some amazing and useful works through the various dictionaries that he has compiled. This time it is for two very important plant families the palms and the cycads that are synthesized here in these two volumes. Each entry is fascinating not just for the botany and full nomenclature of the plant species but for all the associated uses, folklore and interactions with other organisms. ...These entries are fascinating glimpses of natural history. ... Botanists, conservationists, ethnobotanists, anthropologists, geographers, bird watchers, naturalists, historians and those of many other disciplines will find these volumes a most valuable and useful resource. It is the sort of book that will be in frequent use in my library. ----- Professor Sir Ghillean Prance FRS, VMH, Former Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Following the same format as Umberto Quattrocchi’s highly praised and well-used previous works, The CRC World Dictionary of Palms: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology brings together the vast and scattered literature on palms and cycads to provide better access to information on these economically important plants. Each genus and species has a detailed morphological description and includes a list of synonyms and vernacular names in many languages. Bibliographies accompany each entry which are comprehensive, up-to-date and multi-lingual. The detailed information for every entry on habitats, economic uses, historical and biographical data, botanical exploration, and linguistics will be useful for any library involved with botany, herbal medicine, pharmacognosy, medicinal and natural product chemistry, ecology, ethnobotany, systematics, general plant science, agriculture or horticulture. Umberto Quattrocchi is the author of the bestselling CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names, winner of the prestigious Hanbury Botanical Garden Award. His most recent multi-volume work, CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants, received strong praise as being "... an unparalleled starting place—a tool of first resort for any thoughtful researcher. Quattrocchi and CRC have delivered a dictionary like no other, a learned finger pointing in the right direction." —John de la Parra, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from Economic Botany, Vol. 68, 2014