How to identify flowering plant families: a practical guide for horticulturists and plant lovers By John Philip Baumgardt ISBN 0917304217, published in 1982 by Timber Press Inc., b&w illustrations, soft cover, 269 pages Price $A49.95 plus $A10 postage within Australia, overseas postage please request a quote

Why is rhubarb related to buckwheat, yet the cereals oats, barley, rye and wheat are in quite a different family?

'How to Identify Flowering Plant Families' is sponsored by the Rare Plant Group of the Garden Club of America, who recognized the need for a flowering plant family identification book and encouraged John Philip Baumgardt to undertake the writing of it. This book leads the reader through analyses of flower structure, floral diagrams and floral formulae to enable him or her to place a plant in its correct familial relationship. Gardeners, horticulturists and students alike will find this book invaluable as a guide to identifying the plants found in field and garden.

About the author

Dr. John Philip Baumgardt received his doctorate in botany from the University of Missouri. Formerly Executive Director of the Kansas City Garden Center, he has devoted the last 25 years to writing and consulting on horticultural matters, serving for some time as editor of the Chicago Horticultural Society's journal Garden Talk and of the American Horticultural Society's American Horticulturist. He was national President of the Men's Garden Clubs of America and remains a permanent director. In addition to numerous articles, he has written six books, among them the very popular How to Prune Almost Everything. He has also served as editor for several English-language translations of major German works on horticulture published by Timber Press, expanding and adapting them for North American conditions. Dr. Baumgardt's own gardening enthusiasms include searching out plants worldwide from climates similar to southern Missouri's: He notes that nothing is more satisfying to a botanist than to read an interesting passage in a plant explorer's journal and to be able to say "why, there's a specimen of the plant he's writing about right out there in my garden".

Table of contents

• Preface
• Introduction
• What plant is that?
• Variations in flowers
• Flower functions
• Floral diagram technique
• Floral formula technique
• A partial plant families list
• Pronunciation guide
• Plant families (pages 56-269)