Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants [3 volumes]: From Acacia to Zinnia

by Christopher Cumo

Overview

Readers of this expansive, three-volume encyclopedia will gain scientific, sociological, and demographic insight into the complex relationship between plants and humans across history.

Comprising three volumes and approximately half a million words, this work is likely the most comprehensive reference of its kind, providing detailed information not only about specific plants and food crops such as barley, corn, potato, rice, and wheat, but also interdisciplinary content that draws on the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

The entries underscore the fascination that humans have long held for plants, identifies the myriad reasons why much of life on earth would be impossible without plants, and points out the intertwined relationship of plants and humans—and how delicate this balance can be. While the majority of the content is dedicated to the food plants that are essential to human existence, material on ornamentals, fiber crops, pharmacological plants, and carnivorous plants is also included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781598847741
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/25/2013
Pages:	1236
Product dimensions:	11.20(w) x 14.10(h) x 6.20(d)

About the Author

Christopher Cumo, PhD, is an independent scholar who has authored three books and a number of articles, essays, reviews, and short stories.

Editorial Reviews

"[U]seful both as an overview of the place of plants in human civilization and as an outline guide to some of the issues and technique required for their cultivation." - Reference Reviews

"Contributing authors are impressively numerous and diverse in their knowledge and backgrounds. . . . Serves well as an up-to-date and helpful quick reference for the most common cultivated plants. Summing Up: Recommended." - Choice

"This encyclopedia provides a useful overview of its topic and can serve as a jumping-off point for further research." - Library Journal

From the Publisher

Intended for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students researching plants and humans' relationships to them, this work introduces more than 280 cultivated varieties. Global in scope, the encyclopedia includes crops, ornamentals, and timber trees. The preface refers to the Book of Genesis in its discussion of a lush garden of cultivated plants, and the introduction amplifies the significance of such plants. Each entry covers botanical information and may also delve into related history, folklore, religion, anthropology, and geography. However, the quality of the entries is uneven—some have short, choppy sentences rattling off fact after fact; others go into deep chemical details (see "Rosemary"); and "Rice" offers much detail on the sexual rituals associated with ancient planting and harvesting practices. The description of the medicinal uses of cannabis refers only to its use in a tea for sufferers of gout and malaria in the third millennium BCE in China. This unevenness reflects the variety of the contributors—from professional botanists and plant pathologists to historians, folklorists, and gardeners—and their range of knowledge. A few black-and-white photographs are sprinkled throughout each volume. Back matter includes an extensive index, a selected bibliography, and a list of organizations providing information on cultivated plants. VERDICT This encyclopedia provides a useful overview of its topic and can serve as a jumping-off point for further research.—Frances E. Millhouser, formerly with Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA

Library Journal