BOOK REVIEWS 

 Plants of the Vicinity of New York 1 



This long awaited publication by Dr. Gleason was planned to 

 enable the person who knows nothing whatever of botany to 

 determine in a few minutes' time the name of any flowering 

 plant or fern growing wild in the vicinity of New York. Except 

 for a few rare species, it will serve well for all the region within 

 two hundred miles of New York. 



It has long been felt that the treatments of flowering plants 

 given in current manuals are far too difficult for the beginner. 

 Here, then, is a book which entirely avoids such pitfalls as the 

 number of cells in the ovary, or the attachment of ovules — char- 

 acters which are stumbling blocks even for the professional bot- 

 anist whenever material not in the best of condition is offered 

 for identification. This compact and neat book of 284 pages, 

 fitting readily into the pocket, succeeds admirably in its pur- 

 pose, and it is a surprise and a delight to see people who have 

 never even heard of a pistil or a stamen, after a few minutes' 

 reading of the introductory paragraphs, go ahead and identify 

 accurately the specimen at hand. 



The first part of the publication consists of an introduction 

 to the structure of plants, taking up in a very simple manner 

 the leaf, its arrangement on the stem, and its variation from 

 simple to compound forms. A brief discussion of shapes of leaves 

 follows, the principal forms and necessary details being lucidly 

 shown by drawings. The parts of a typical flower and the kinds 

 of inflorescence are likewise briefly described and illustrated. 

 In all, nineteen items are treated in these fourteen pages of in- 

 troduction, including two paragraphs on "names of plants." 

 The introduction is followed by a simple glossary (a little less 

 than three pages) which is characterized by such fresh and 

 vivid elucidations as "Ellipsoid. Shaped like a football." "Obo- 

 void. Shaped like an egg upside down." "Stolon. A leafy basal 

 horizontal stem which eventually takes root and becomes an 

 independent plant." 



1 Gleason, H. A. Plants of the Vicinity of New York, lxxxvi+198 pages. 

 New York Botanical Garden, 1935. Price $1.65. 



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