Botanical Latin: History, Grammar, Syntax, Terminology, and Vocabulary

ISBN-10: 0881923214
ISBN-13: 9780881923216
Series: Botanical Latin
Pages: 546
Language: English
Published: 1995
Publisher: Timber Press
Author: William Thomas Stearn

Description

First published in 1966, Botanical Latin has become accepted worldwide as the standard work of reference on this important subject. A comprehensive guide to every aspect of Latin usage in this field, it is an invaluable source of accurate information for gardeners, botanists, scientific historians, systematic etymologists and classical scholars alike. Botanical Latin is an internationally used technical language developed over the past 250 years for the naming and description of plants. In that time, in order to meet the expanding need for accurate scientific descriptions, its vocabulary has been continually enriched with new words, mostly coined from Greek, and with classical Latin words now given precise and particular botanical meanings. It is accepted by horticulturists and botanists everywhere as the medium for naming new plants, and botanical research is almost impossible without reference to standard works and the vast number of first descriptions in Latin - much information is available in no other language. For gardeners, too, a working knowledge of botanical Latin is essential for the accurate identification of plants in the garden.