Botanical Latin

I was given this book by a 'fellow plant person' as a helpful hand through grad 'skool'. I truly wish I'd had known about this book years ago when I starting to ID plants, lichens and mosses!! It would have made the process of learning a new language less intimidating! Knowing the definition of a root word is so important and applicable in areas outside of botany. - Knowing the meaning of a root word has been helpful to my English as a second langauge students. Don't let the word 'Latin' scare ya, this book is the dictionary. It is a tool not a great story unless you're into the development and history of language. It has come to be a great reference book, even my grad advisor is interested in it.

Ever wonder what those Latin botanical names actually mean? Well, this book will reveal it all. It's thick and heavy, but that's to be expected of such a thorough and exhaustive treatment of the subject. Not only are there dictionaries, but also chapters on grammar, syntax, and history, and even a section on Greek words in botanical Latin. Whether you're a professional botanist, a student, or a serious amateur, this learned tome will be a valuable reference book for your library.

As the quote says: "This book aims to provide a working guide to the special kind of Latin internationally used by botanists for the description and naming of plants." As such it has little or no competition and by itself sets the standard in the field.Obviously it is not a dictionary, nor is it about plant names. For those wanting to look up current plants and their taxonomic status there is the invaluable "The plant-book" by D.J.Mabberley. For the derivation of botanical names there is "Stearn's dictionary of plant names for gardeners" by this same W.T.Stearn. Another very commendable dictionary (for a related field) is "Composition of Scientific Words" by R.W.Brown.

This book is probably on nearly every professional botanist's bookshelf, and is considered THE definitive reference for its subject. But it's also a great reference for anybody who is serious about plants and wants to know what their names mean and how they got them. This most certainly is a reference book and not light reading. Nonetheless "Botanical Latin" also includes many interesting little tidbits, such as the derivation of Linnaeus's name (Linnaeus was the original name, and not a Latinization of Linné, as often thought). There is much more in this book than just vocabulary and grammar.

Stearn's Botanical Latin is one of those books that every botanist involved with nomenclature and scientific description needs - especially if you never learned Latin in school and even if you did. There's a well-thumbed copy on the shelf in your herbarium, but you'll learn more from having it within arm's reach at all times. His introduction to the history provides the context and background to the elements of traditional nomenclature while the grammar and syntax can get you through the basics of a description. And of course, the vocabulary section is priceless for getting through old literature and descriptions - he provides enough of a skeleton of usage to help you understand the way descriptions are built and Latin terms are used in the botanical field. A typical latin dictionary provides tens of definitions for some words that in botanical Latin only get used one or a few ways, so the terminology section is great for making reading botanical Latin efficient.