Practical Plant Identification
Including a Key to Native and Cultivated Flowering Plants in North Temperate Regions

An essential guide to the identification of the flowering plants native to northern temperate regions.

James Cullen (Author)

9780521678773, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 14 September 2006

370 pages, 8 b/w illus. 2 tables
18.5 x 12 x 1.7 cm, 0.39 kg

"This is a very practical, handy-sized book for gardeners and students of horticulture and botany." Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden

Practical Plant Identification is an essential guide to identifying flowering plant families (wild or cultivated) in the northern hemisphere. Details of plant structure and terminology accompany practical keys to identify 318 families into which flowering plants are divided. Specifically designed for practical use, the keys can easily be worked backwards for checking identifications. Containing descriptions of families and listings of the genera within, it also includes a section on further identification to generic and specific levels. A successor to the author's bestselling The Identification of Flowering Plant Families, this guide is updated, and retains the same concise user-friendly approach. Cullen skillfully leads the reader from restrictive disciplines of older taxonomy, into an era of increasing numbers of plant families defined by DNA analysis. Aimed primarily at students of botany and horticulture, this is a perfect introduction to plant identification for anyone interested in plant taxonomy.

Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Examining the plant: a brief survey of plant structure and its associated terminology
Using the keys
Keys
'Spot' characters
Arrangement and description of families
Further identification and annotated bibliography
Glossary
Index.

Subject Areas: Horticulture [TVS], Botany & plant sciences [PST], Taxonomy & systematics [PSAB]