Gods and Goddesses in the Garden : Greco-Roman Mythology and the Scientific Names of Plants
by Bernhardt, Peter
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good+ in Good+ dust jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0813542669
- ISBN 13
- 9780813542669
- Seller
-
Dunedin, New Zealand, New Zealand
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. Good+ in Good+ dust jacket. (2008). First Edition. Hardcover. 0813542669 . Ex-library. Dust-jacket in clear cover, taped to boards and endpapers. ; xix, [3], 239, [2], [1 (blank)] pages. Blue cloth boards with gilt lettering on spine. Page dimensions: 228 x 151mm. "Zeus, Medusa, Hercules, Aphrodite. Did you know that these and other dynamic deities, heroes, and monsters of Greek and Roman mythology live on in the names of trees and flowers? Some grow in your local woodlands or right in your own backyard garden.In this delightful book, botanist Peter Bernhardt reveals the rich history and mythology that underlie the origins of many scientific plant names. Unlike other books about botanical taxonomy that take the form of heavy and intimidating lexicons, Bernhardt's account comes together in a series of interlocking stories. Each chapter opens with a short version of a classical myth, then links the tale to plant names, showing how each plant ""resembles"" its mythological counterpart with regard to its history, anatomy, life cycle, and conservation. You will learn, for example, that as our garden acanthus wears nasty spines along its leaf margins, it is named for the nymph who scratched the face of Apollo. The shape-shifting god, Proteus, gives his name to a whole family of shrubs and trees that produce colorful flowering branches in an astonishing number of sizes and shapes.Amateur and professional gardeners, high school teachers and professors of biology, botanists and conservationists alike will appreciate this book's entertaining and informative entry to the otherwise daunting field of botanical names. Engaging, witty, and memorable, ""Gods and Goddesses in the Garden"" transcends the genre of natural history and makes taxonomy a topic equally at home in the classroom and at cocktail parties." "The author is a professor of botany at St. Louis University." .
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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Details
- Seller
- Renaissance Books (NZ)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 24176
- Title
- Gods and Goddesses in the Garden : Greco-Roman Mythology and the Scientific Names of Plants
- Author
- Bernhardt, Peter
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good+ in Good+ dust jacket
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0813542669
- ISBN 13
- 9780813542669
- Publisher
- Rutgers University Press
- Place of Publication
- New Brunswick
- Date Published
- (2008)
- Keywords
- 0813542669
Terms of Sale
Renaissance Books
Any book not as described may be returned within 14 days of receipt for a full refund.
About the Seller
Renaissance Books
Biblio member since 2005
Dunedin, New Zealand
About Renaissance Books
We are located in Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. We have in stock over 8,500 books. We are a general antiquarian and out-of-print home-based bookseller, with some specialty areas in English literature, Maori, Travel, Tibet, and New Zealand history.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Good+
- A term used to denote a condition a slight grade better than Good.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...