100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names

February 1, 1997
The title of this book is somewhat misleading, as Wells (contributing editor of the gardening magazine Greenprints) does not focus strictly on the simple derivation of plant names. (Another recent book on plant names, Martha Barnette's A Garden of Words, Times Bks., 1992, provides much more etymological detail.) Wells instead describes the mythology and history behind 100 favorite garden plants, emphasizing the exploits of botanists and plant explorers who brought them out of their native habitats. Their exploits make for engrossing reading, though it is sobering to learn how many of them suffered from disease and assault, lost their hard-earned collections, or were killed outright just trying to bring back plants for our gardens. Not an essential purchase but definitely worth a place in most horticultural or botanical collections.--Beth Clewis Crim, Prince William P.L., Va.