Botany Illustrated: Introduction to Plants, Major Groups, Flowering Plant Families
Synopsis "Botany Illustrated: Introduction to Plants, Major Groups, Flowering Plant Families"
Thisisadiscoverybookaboutplants. Itisforeveryone For those interested in the methods used and the interestedinplantsincludinghighschoolandcollege/ sourcesofplantmaterialsintheillustrations,anexp- university students, artists and scienti?c illustrators, nationfollows. Foradevelopmentalseriesofdrawings, senior citizens, wildlife biologists, ecologists, profes- there are several methods. One is collecting several sionalbiologists,horticulturistsandlandscapedesign- specimensatonetimeindifferentstagesofdevel- ers/architects,engineersandmedicalpractitioners,and ment;forexample,severalbudsand?owersofaplant physicaltherapistsandtheirpatients. Hereisanoppor- (see29)andbuttontomatureformsofmushrooms(see tunitytobrowseandchoosesubjectsofpersonalinter- 50,51). Then,somearecutopentoobservepartsand est,toseeandlearnaboutplantsastheyaredescribed. decidehowtopresentthem,whileothersaretousefor By adding color to the drawings, plant structures be- ?naldrawings. Anothermethodiswaitingfortheplantto come more apparent and show how they function in change,whichinvolves"forcing"stems(see14),ger- life. Thecolorcodecluestellhowtocolorforde?nition natingseeds(see40),watchingoneleafexpand(see andanillusionofdepth. Formoreinformation,thetext 69),anddrawinga?owerinoneseasonanditsmature explains the illustrations. The size of the drawings in fruitinanother(see104,109,110,111). Analternative relation to the true size of the structures is indicated towaitingforfruitistouseacollectionofdryorfrozen by ×1(thesamesize)to ×3000(enlargementfrom specimens,sothatasspring?owersappear,thelater truesize)and ×n/n(reductionfromtruesize). maturingfruitscanbeseenatthesametime(see102, 105,106). The contents re?ect a balanced selection of bota- calsubjectmatterwithemphasison?oweringplants, Inthe?rstsection,introductiontoplants,thereares- the dominant plants of the earth. After a page about eral sources for various types of drawings. Hypoth- plantnamesandterms,thebookisdividedintothree ical diagrams show cells, organelles, chromosomes, sections. The ?rst is an introduction to plants, show- the plant body indicating tissue systems and expe- ingstructureandfunction;then,majorgroups,provid- mentswithplants,and?owerplacentationandrep- inganoverviewofthediverseforms;andlastly,one- ductivestructures. Forexample,thereisnoaverageor seventhofthe?oweringplantfamilies,withtheaccent standard-looking ?ower; so, to clearly show the parts onthoseofeconomicimportance. Thesequenceinthe ofa?ower(see27),adiagramshowsastretchedout sectionsissimpletocomplex(celltoseed),primitiveto and exaggerated version of a pink (Dianthus) ?ower advanced(blue-greensto?oweringplants),andunspe- (see 87). A basswood (Tilia) ?ower is the basis for cializedtospecialized(magnoliastoastersandwater- diagrams of ?ower types and ovary positions (see plantainstoorchids). Whereappropriate,an"ofinter- 28). Another source for drawings is the use of p- est"paragraphlistswaysthesegeneraarerelevantin paredmicroscopeslidesofactualplanttissues. Some ourlives(categoriesincludeuseasfood,ornamentals, are traced from microscope slide photographs such lumber,medicines,herbs,dyes,fertilizers;noticeofwild ascross-sections,vascularbundles,andtransections. or poisonous; and importance in the ecosystem).
