Print dictionaries in our collection include: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Botany (Ref. QK 9 .C67 1992) contains 5000 entries drawn from ecology, earth sciences, earth history, evolution, genetics, plant physiology and cytology. Plants and Their Names, a Concise Dictionary (Ref. QK 96 .P35 1995) is aimed at the non-specialist. It identifies 16,000 of the more common plants by their scientific and common names.
Take a look at Plant & Flower Dictionary--Botanical Information and More. Also Dictionary of Plant Science
HANDBOOKS & MANUALS
Noteworthy is Common Families of Flowering Plants (also availabe in print, QK 495 .A1 H4 1997) which describes 25 common plant families in taxonomic order and provides details of plant structure. Guide to Flowering Plant Families (Ref. QK 115 .Z65 1994) covers 130 families with 23 charts, 2158 plates. Articles are scholarly and include bibliographies.
A Color Atlas of Plant Structure (QK 642 .B68 1996) contains an interesting chapter on plant morphology and several chapters on major aspects of plant structure.
The most important of Kresge Library's flora reference books is Wild Flowers of The United States (Ref. QK 115 .R5), a 15-volume set which is divided by geographic region. Wild Flowers provides descriptions of the plants, habitats, seasons and color photographs. It is aimed at the layman. A more recent title (library owns volumes 1-3, 22-23, 26) is Flora of North America: North of Mexico (QK 110 .F55 1993). Other books on wild flowers include Michigan Wildflowers in Color (QK 167 .L8 1991) and Michigan Wildflowers (QK 167 .S58 1966). Flowers of the Wild, Ontario and the Great Lakes Region (QK 203 .O6 Z52 1982) is also a fine book for the layman as it combines simple prose with color plates.
For poisonous plants, see Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America (QK 100 .A1 T87 1991).
The Encyclopedia of Plants is useful for the gardener: botanical names of plants, common names and so on. Here are some other useful sites: Plant Encyclopedia; Nature's Best Encyclopedia of Plants and Botany Illustrated
Firefly Encyclopedia of Trees. (Ref. QK 474.87 .F57 2005)
Trees of the Central Hardwood Forests of North America: An Identification and Cultivation Guide. (Ref. QK 115 .L43 1998)
Trees of the Northern United States and Canada. (Ref. QK 110 .F3 1995)
Michigan Trees: A Guide to the Trees of the Great Lakes Region. (Ref. QK 484 .M5 O7 2004)
Native Trees of the Midwest: Identification, Wildlife Values, and Landscaping Use. (Ref. QK 128 .W45 2005)
Trees - basic information; by common name
Trees - by scientific name
Dictionary of the Fungi (Ref. QK 600.35 .A35 2001) is a classic that covers all aspects of lichens, mushrooms, slime moulds, water moulds and yeasts.
Virtual Library of Botany
This is a very comprehensive site, especially good on institutions, botanical gardens and universities.
Internet Public Library's Plant Biology (Botany)
This site does not utilize a "directory" format so you don't know what you will find unless you look at each site.
Arranged in a directory format and covers these topics:
- Botanical and Horticultural Libraries
- Botanical Gardens
- Desert Vegetation
- Fall Foliage
- Web Directories
Internet Directory for Botany
Thousands of sites that can be searched by a search engine or by subject.
Tree of Life Web Project
Good for phylogeny and biodiversity.
University of Wisconsin-Madison Plant Systematics Collection
Good for images of 250 families and 1000 genera of vascular plants.
This site is an electronic library of botanical literature from the 18th and 19th centuries.
American Journal of Botany
Searchable back to 1997.