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Cornus controversa
Best known in gardens in the form of Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’ this plant has had a convoluted history. The species C. controversa Heml. was first “discovered” in cultivation. In January of 1909 an article was published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine which discussed the naming of Cornus macrophylla and the authors noted that there appeared to…
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Viscum album
Mistletoe has fascinated humans for millennium, many plants have superstitions attached to them but mistletoe seems to have attracted more than most. It’s not hard to understand that a clump of evergreen leaves growing out of dormant tree in midwinter would grab the imagination. The druids are said to particularly venerate mistletoe growing on an…
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Dioecious
A plant with the male and female flowers on separate plants. For example, Holly.
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Taxonomic rank
This relates to the level within the hierarchy of plant names. The series of taxa for botany are set out in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Not all plants have an entry for every taxa and above the level of genus there is often a great degree of disagreement as…
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Botany for Gardeners by Brian Capon
The danger with this book is that is title may well put off many potential readers. The vast majority of gardeners do not see themselves as botanist: but spending hours studying the plants they grow, can’t grow and aspire to grow. As a gardener you consider the plants shape, colour, needs development and reproduction; yet…
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The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms by Michael Hickey and Clive King
This may not seem an obvious choice to include in this list and retailing at about £38 for a paperback it is not exactly cheap; but it does plug a very important gap. This book provides an accessible explanation of the often confusing technical terms used to describe plants. These are words used in botanical…
