Explains the patterns method of plant identification, describing eight key patterns for recognizing more than 45,000 species of plants, and includes an illustrated reference guide to plant families.

Plant Families is an easy-to-use, beautifully illustrated guide to the more than seventy core plant families every horticulturist, gardener, or budding botanist needs to know. It introduces the basics of plant genealogy and teaches readers how to identify and understand the different structures of flowers, trees, herbs, shrubs, and bulbs. It then walks through each family, explaining its origins and range and describing characteristics such as size, flowers, and seeds. Each family is accompanied by full-color botanical illustrations and diagrams. "Uses For" boxes planted throughout the book provide practical gardening tips related to each family. By understanding how botanists create these groupings, we can become more apt at spotting the unique characteristics of a plant and identifying it faster and more accurately. Understanding plant families also helps us to make sense of- and better appreciate- the enormous biological diversity of the plant kingdom.

Includes mainly plant families found in current horticultural literature. Includes key to some flowering plant families and color photographs.

Learn how to identify the most important temperate plant families Based on the most up-to-date research, Temperate Garden Plant Families spans the spectrum from Acanthaceae (the acanthus family) to Zingiberaceae (the ginger family), and reflects the current scientific consensus about the family status of the most popular garden genera. Introductory information includes an overview of family classification, plant nomenclature, and plant morphology. The comprehensive A–Z of plants includes profiles that include information on the number of species and genera, plant form, flowers, fruit, and a short description. Each profile is illustrated with color photographs and botanical illustrations. Botanists, horticulturists, gardeners, and students will all welcome this authoritative yet accessible reference.

Flowering plant families of the world is the successor to Flowering plants of the world (1978).

Introduction. Choice of classification. Choice of families and family list. Family treatments. Dicotyledons and monocotyledons: an example of paraphyly. Observing, dissecting, and drawing flowering plants. Plant families.

Explains the patterns method of plant identification, describing seven key patterns for recognizing more than 45,000 species of plants, and includes an illustrated reference guide to plant families.