Find out about various botanical dictionaries and glossaries which can be found online.
Plus recommended books which help explain botanical terms
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See Plant Names and Botanical Latin if you want to know more about these two topics

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Botanical Terms, Dictionaries & Glossaries

Botanical Terms 

A term is either a word or a phrase that is used to describe a thing or to express a concept, especially in a particular kind of language or branch of study.

Typically terms in botany have a very precise meaning because botany is a science and scientists like to be very precise!

Botanical terms very often need botanical illustrations - in line - to be able to clearly articulate and make accessible the meaning of the term.

Hence the development of illustrated volumes of dictionaries and glossaries. They're useful to a botanical artist and illustrator as they show how a precise feature might be shown - and also to help them understand what they're looking at when working from observation

Two ways of organising terms are:

• A Dictionary - a book that contains a list of words, usually in alphabetical order and that explains their meaning in a precise way,
• A Glossary - this is a brief version of a dictionary and works on the same principle of providing a list of words, in alphabetical order, and then explaining their meaning in a precise way.

Glossaries might be used for very specific subject areas within a broader area of knowledge e.g. for botany, or the botany of vascular plants, or the botany of plants found in a specific area or country.

In that context Glossaries are not always short!

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Botanical Dictionaries

Historical Dictionaries

The Plant Information Center at the University of North Carolina  provides a couple of dictionaries.

• Botanical Dictionary - a comprehensive collection of vocabulary words for botany; lists the word and the definition. Derived from Vascular Plant Systematics. Organised alphabetically. Simple and accessible (in language terms) but tiny font size won't suit everybody (in optical terms). 
  
• Student Botanical Dictionary - basic terms of botany; lists the word and the definition

Botanary, the Botanical Dictionary | Dave's Garden - Look up a plant name, discover its meaning and find a guide to pronouncing it. Designed for gardeners.

Life Science Dictionary - Extensive dictionary including numerous links to biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, cell biology, and genetics. BioTech, University of Texas. 

The treasury of botany: a popular dictionary of the vegetable kingdom; with which is incorporated a glossary of botanical terms by Lindley, John, 1799-1865; Moore, Thomas, 1821-1887 

The above link in the title is to the digitized version of the book

The Treasury of Botany by John Lindley and Thomas Moore

The Kew Plant Glossary:
An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Identification Terms 
by Henk J. Beentje

Includes 4,100 definitions supported by relevant illustrations and all descriptive terms used in floras, plant field guides and botanical literature. ​

​Henk J. Beentje is a botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

​Paperback: 170 pages
Publisher: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Publication date: 30 April 2010

Average Customer Rating out of 5 stars:

• in UK: 4.9 based on 13 customer reviews
• in USA: 5.0 based on 2 customer reviews​

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The Kew Plant Glossary: An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Identification Terms from Amazon.co.uk

The Kew Plant Glossary: An Illustrated Dictionary of Plant Terms - Second Edition from Amazon.com

Dictionaries of Botanical Epithets

• Dictionary of Botanical Epithets | These largely relate to alpine plants. Provides explanations of epithets including the definition, derivation and stem of the epithet
• Botanical epithets dictionary for cacti and succulents by a cactus business

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Glossaries

Glossaries relating to specific plants

• Wikipedia provide a Glossary of Botanical Terms. Some of the terms have links to other pages which explain them in more detail.
• A Short Botanical Glossary - Brief explanations in note form. By J. Croft. (English)
• Cumulative Glossary for Vascular Plants - Flora of New South Wales. Very similar (or identical?) to A Short Botanical Glossary. (English)790
• Dictionary of Garden Web Glossary of Botanical Terms - Very fast database including 4,400 terms. Alphabetical, but no thematic list. 
• Extended List of Botanical Terms in Alphabetic Order - Brief term explanations with etymological information. (English, Swedish)
• Glossaries, Terms & Dictionaries - Commented link collection with references to 24 glossaries (mainly, but not exclusively phytopathology). Part of the «Plant Pathology Internet Guide Book». By T. Kraska, Bonn. (English)
• Glossarium Polyglotum Bryologiae - Spanish glossary (focus on mosses) with taxonomic and general morphological expressions. Explanations in Spanish. (English, French, German, Latin, Spanish
• ​Vascular Plant Systematics Glossary - RECOMMENDED Comprehensive glossary based on a sound structure of enquiry relating to the morphology and systematics of vascular plants. 

Flora of Australia has generated a number of glossaries relating to plants in Australia. These are:

• Glossary - The official dictionary for the flowering plants volumes of the «Flora of Australia». Alphabetical list including links to related expressions. Schematic drawings.
• Lichen Glossary - Lichen glossary of the «Flora of Australia». (English)
• Ferns, Gymnosperms & Allied Groups - Glossary - Gymnosperm and fern glossary ot the «». (English)
• Fungi of Australia - Glossary - Fungi glossary of the «Flora of Australia». (English)
• Glossary of Pollen and Spore Terminology - A complete dictionary of palynology. All expressions with brief definitions, schematic drawings, bibliography, and cross-references. to synonyms or related terms. By P. Hoen. (English)​