January 2017 Leaflet for Scholars ~ Elisabeth C. Miller Library, University of Washington Botanic Gardens

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Volume 4, Issue 1
A Botanist's Vocabulary
reviewed by Rebecca Alexander

In my work as a horticulture reference librarian, I am often presented with a scrap of leaf or flower or twig, and asked to identify it. Although I have a pretty good visual memory for plants and their names, I have no formal training in botany. A Botanist's Vocabulary by Susan Pell and Bobbi Angell (Timber Press, 2016) is a useful tool not just for botanists but for all who work with plants—home gardeners and professionals alike. The book is arranged in straight alphabetical dictionary order, which makes it easy to look up a term you may have come across in the course of learning about a plant. It complements a book like The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms (Michael Hickey and Clive King, 2000), which is organized by the parts of a plant—the roots, seeds, flowers, leaves, fruits, and so forth. The pen and ink illustrations by Bobbi Angell are very clear, and red arrows or markings indicate the part of the plant referred to by a term, when such clarification is needed. The definitions are also concise, and include synonyms or in some cases antonyms, as relevant. I found familiar as well as unfamiliar terms, and as a word-nerd this is the kind of reference book that is a great joy to browse. The only desired feature the book lacks is consistent identification of the plant or plant family shown in each illustration. Some are named, but many are not. It would be helpful, once one has looked up the word, to have at least one example of which genus or family exhibits the characteristic being described and defined.

Trees of Pacific Northwest
Wild Public Lands
Photographs by Richard Dunford
on display through January 30

Step into wildlands this winter, starting with a show by local photographer Richard Dunford. He has been capturing trees on film (and more recently with a digital camera) for 45 years, with the aim of giving the viewer a window on complex ecosystems, often in unsung seasons. In his own words:

This exhibit is mostly about trees and I want you to see them differently from how you may have looked at them before. We mostly think of tree color at peak in autumn--full of color and beautiful to behold but commonplace photographically and easily overdone. I only nibble at the edges of autumn because there is so much more out there. My best photographic time is from late autumn into late spring.

The artist invites you to join us in the library this Thursday, January 5, from 5 to 7 pm, to enjoy light refreshments and fresh perspectives on trees.

The Carbon Farming Solution
reviewed by Brian Thompson

“A suite of crops and agricultural practices that sequester carbon in the soil.” This is how author Eric Toensmeier defines “carbon farming” for his new book, The Carbon Farming Solution.

A lengthy introduction develops the theory behind these practices, but at its heart this is a handbook on how to do it. Many types of food and other economically valuable plants grown around the world are reviewed for their uses, yield, and how they can be effective at meeting the author’s goals. Many more are included in a “global species matrix” in the appendices.

For those with a deeper interest, there are extensive notes and a lengthy bibliography for further research. While this amount of data is impressive, Toensmeier also has a knack for putting a human face on this complex topic, using photographs and stories from around the world to make this a very rich book in many ways.

New to the Library

Leaflet for Scholars is a regular online newsletter of the Elisabeth C. Miller Library
University of Washington Botanic Gardens
206.543.0415 | hortlib@uw.edu | www.millerlibrary.org

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