From the Foreword Umberto Quattrocchi has brought us some amazing and useful works through the various dictionaries that he has compiled. This time it is for two very important plant families the palms and the cycads that are synthesized here in these two volumes. Each entry is fascinating not just for the botany and full nomenclature of the plant species but for all the associated uses, folklore and interactions with other organisms. ...These entries are fascinating glimpses of natural history. ... Botanists, conservationists, ethnobotanists, anthropologists, geographers, bird watchers, naturalists, historians and those of many other disciplines will find these volumes a most valuable and useful resource. It is the sort of book that will be in frequent use in my library. ----- Professor Sir Ghillean Prance FRS, VMH, Former Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Following the same format as Umberto Quattrocchi’s highly praised and well-used previous works, The CRC World Dictionary of Palms: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology brings together the vast and scattered literature on palms and cycads to provide better access to information on these economically important plants. Each genus and species has a detailed morphological description and includes a list of synonyms and vernacular names in many languages. Bibliographies accompany each entry which are comprehensive, up-to-date and multi-lingual. The detailed information for every entry on habitats, economic uses, historical and biographical data, botanical exploration, and linguistics will be useful for any library involved with botany, herbal medicine, pharmacognosy, medicinal and natural product chemistry, ecology, ethnobotany, systematics, general plant science, agriculture or horticulture. Umberto Quattrocchi is the author of the bestselling CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names, winner of the prestigious Hanbury Botanical Garden Award. His most recent multi-volume work, CRC World Dictionary of Medicinal and Poisonous Plants, received strong praise as being "... an unparalleled starting place—a tool of first resort for any thoughtful researcher. Quattrocchi and CRC have delivered a dictionary like no other, a learned finger pointing in the right direction." —John de la Parra, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from Economic Botany, Vol. 68, 2014
Written as a reference to be used within University, Departmental, Public, Institutional, Herbaria, and Arboreta libraries, this book provides the first starting point for better access to data on medicinal and poisonous plants. Following on the success of the author's CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names and the CRC World Dictionary of Grasses, the author provides the names of thousands of genera and species of economically important plants. It serves as an indispensable time-saving guide for all those involved with plants in medicine, food, and cultural practices as it draws on a tremendous range of primary and secondary sources. This authoritative lexicon is much more than a dictionary. It includes historical and linguistic information on botany and medicine throughout each volume.
There is increasing interest in industry, academia, and the health sciences in palms. Palms are among the best known and most extensively cultivated plant families. They have been important to humans throughout much of history. Many common products and foods are derived from palms, such as edible oils, coconut products, fruit, vinegar, rattan, and soap among others. Palms are also widely used in landscaping for their exotic appearance, making them one of the most economically important plants. In many historical cultures, palms are symbols for such ideas as victory, peace, fertility, and the tropics. The listing is not exhaustive - no book can be - but will serve as the first starting point for better access to data on palms. The CRC World Dictionary of Palms will be the first comprehensive scientific treatment of palms in decades.
This volume provides the origins and meanings of the names of genera and species of extant vascular plants, with the genera arranged alphabetically from D to L.
2008 NOMINEE The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Award for a Significant Work in Botanical or Horticultural Literature now we have easier and better access to grass data than ever before in human history. That is a marked step forward. Congratulazioni Professor Quattrocchi!-Daniel F. Austin, writing in Economic Botany &n
This volume provides the origins and meanings of the names of genera and species of extant vascular plants, with the genera arranged alphabetically from M to Q.
2008 NOMINEE The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Award for a Significant Work in Botanical or Horticultural Literature “... now we have easier and better access to grass data than ever before in human history. That is a marked step forward. Congratulazioni Professor Quattrocchi!” —Daniel F. Austin, writing in Economic Botany The remarkable work of a brilliant botanist and linguist, this critically acclaimed unparalleled lexicon offers an indispensable guide for all those involved with plants and gardens, whether they are growing, studying, or writing about them. Detailing approximately 800 generic names and thousands of species of grasses, including cereals and forages, this three volume set lists all relevant properties related to the main and secondary uses of the grasses, as well as detailed descriptions and geographical distribution. Entries include genus, synonyms, and etymology, as well as vernacular names, rejected names, and orthographic variants. It provides a huge amount of obscure sources of nearly impossible to find information. Destined to become a seminal resource for those directly involved with botany, plant science, horticulture, and agriculture, this masterly referenced work will also enrich the understanding of any individual in the physical or social sciences who is fascinated with history, the birth of ideas, culture, the art of bibliography, and the evolution of linguistics. Utilizes a Myriad of Resources Cites Tens of Thousands of References The material found in the volumes has been painstakingly gathered from a wide variety of typical and atypical sources that includes both electronic and print media, as well as personal investigation. These sources include papers of general interest, reports and records, taxonomic revisions, field studies, herbaria and herbarium collections, notes, monographs, pamphlets, botanical literature and literature tout court, sources available at various natural history libraries, floras and standard flora works, local floras and local histories, nomenclatural histories, and the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Leaving no stone unturned, the author also culled information from reference collections, botanical gardens, museums, and nurseries, dictionaries, drawings, poetry, journal articles, personal communications, and biographies. Much More than a Nomenclature Reference While these volumes serve as the most authoritative and sophisticated nomenclature lexicon ever compiled in this area, it is much more than a dictionary. It offers unique insight across a range of subjects that include the history of botany and botanists, travels and botanical discoveries, the histories of medicine, science, and mankind, the history of genera and species, linguistics, geography, and ethnography. While this information may not be typically found in such references, it’s the author’s belief that all these details belong to any complete history of botany. Umberto Quattrocchi earned his first degree in political science from the University of Palermo. He followed this achievement with an M.D., specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. In 1992, he retired from the practice of medicine to pursue his studies in botany across the world while teaching as a professor of political science. Highly prolific, Quattrocchi has numerous political and botanical books and articles to his credit, including those on plants and gardening that have been published in Hortus and The Garden. In 1997, he received the prestigious Hanbury Botanical Garden Award promoted by the Premio Grinzane Cavour for his book Piante Rustiche Tropicali. He received a second Hanbury Award for the bestselling CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. He is a member of the International Dendrology Society, the Royal Horticultural Society, and the Botanical Society of America. He is also an elected Fellow of the world-renowned Linnean Society.
2008 NOMINEE The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Award for a Significant Work in Botanical or Horticultural Literature “... now we have easier and better access to grass data than ever before in human history. That is a marked step forward. Congratulazioni Professor Quattrocchi!” —Daniel F. Austin, writing in Economic Botany The remarkable work of a brilliant botanist and linguist, this critically acclaimed unparalleled lexicon offers an indispensable guide for all those involved with plants and gardens, whether they are growing, studying, or writing about them. Detailing approximately 800 generic names and thousands of species of grasses, including cereals and forages, this three volume set lists all relevant properties related to the main and secondary uses of the grasses, as well as detailed descriptions and geographical distribution. Entries include genus, synonyms, and etymology, as well as vernacular names, rejected names, and orthographic variants. It provides a huge amount of obscure sources of nearly impossible to find information. Destined to become a seminal resource for those directly involved with botany, plant science, horticulture, and agriculture, this masterly referenced work will also enrich the understanding of any individual in the physical or social sciences who is fascinated with history, the birth of ideas, culture, the art of bibliography, and the evolution of linguistics. Utilizes a Myriad of Resources Cites Tens of Thousands of References The material found in the volumes has been painstakingly gathered from a wide variety of typical and atypical sources that includes both electronic and print media, as well as personal investigation. These sources include papers of general interest, reports and records, taxonomic revisions, field studies, herbaria and herbarium collections, notes, monographs, pamphlets, botanical literature and literature tout court, sources available at various natural history libraries, floras and standard flora works, local floras and local histories, nomenclatural histories, and the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Leaving no stone unturned, the author also culled information from reference collections, botanical gardens, museums, and nurseries, dictionaries, drawings, poetry, journal articles, personal communications, and biographies. Much More than a Nomenclature Reference While these volumes serve as the most authoritative and sophisticated nomenclature lexicon ever compiled in this area, it is much more than a dictionary. It offers unique insight across a range of subjects that include the history of botany and botanists, travels and botanical discoveries, the histories of medicine, science, and mankind, the history of genera and species, linguistics, geography, and ethnography. While this information may not be typically found in such references, it’s the author’s belief that all these details belong to any complete history of botany. Umberto Quattrocchi earned his first degree in political science from the University of Palermo. He followed this achievement with an M.D., specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. In 1992, he retired from the practice of medicine to pursue his studies in botany across the world while teaching as a professor of political science. Highly prolific, Quattrocchi has numerous political and botanical books and articles to his credit, including those on plants and gardening that have been published in Hortus and The Garden. In 1997, he received the prestigious Hanbury Botanical Garden Award promoted by the Premio Grinzane Cavour for his book Piante Rustiche Tropicali. He received a second Hanbury Award for the bestselling CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. He is a member of the International Dendrology Society, the Royal Horticultural Society, and the Botanical Society of America. He is also an elected Fellow of the world-renowned Linnean Society.
2008 NOMINEE The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Award for a Significant Work in Botanical or Horticultural Literature “... now we have easier and better access to grass data than ever before in human history. That is a marked step forward. Congratulazioni Professor Quattrocchi!” —Daniel F. Austin, writing in Economic Botany The remarkable work of a brilliant botanist and linguist, this critically acclaimed unparalleled lexicon offers an indispensable guide for all those involved with plants and gardens, whether they are growing, studying, or writing about them. Detailing approximately 800 generic names and thousands of species of grasses, including cereals and forages, this three volume set lists all relevant properties related to the main and secondary uses of the grasses, as well as detailed descriptions and geographical distribution. Entries include genus, synonyms, and etymology, as well as vernacular names, rejected names, and orthographic variants. It provides a huge amount of obscure sources of nearly impossible to find information. Destined to become a seminal resource for those directly involved with botany, plant science, horticulture, and agriculture, this masterly referenced work will also enrich the understanding of any individual in the physical or social sciences who is fascinated with history, the birth of ideas, culture, the art of bibliography, and the evolution of linguistics. Utilizes a Myriad of Resources Cites Tens of Thousands of References The material found in the volumes has been painstakingly gathered from a wide variety of typical and atypical sources that includes both electronic and print media, as well as personal investigation. These sources include papers of general interest, reports and records, taxonomic revisions, field studies, herbaria and herbarium collections, notes, monographs, pamphlets, botanical literature and literature tout court, sources available at various natural history libraries, floras and standard flora works, local floras and local histories, nomenclatural histories, and the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Leaving no stone unturned, the author also culled information from reference collections, botanical gardens, museums, and nurseries, dictionaries, drawings, poetry, journal articles, personal communications, and biographies. Much More than a Nomenclature Reference While these volumes serve as the most authoritative and sophisticated nomenclature lexicon ever compiled in this area, it is much more than a dictionary. It offers unique insight across a range of subjects that include the history of botany and botanists, travels and botanical discoveries, the histories of medicine, science, and mankind, the history of genera and species, linguistics, geography, and ethnography. While this information may not be typically found in such references, it’s the author’s belief that all these details belong to any complete history of botany. Umberto Quattrocchi earned his first degree in political science from the University of Palermo. He followed this achievement with an M.D., specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. In 1992, he retired from the practice of medicine to pursue his studies in botany across the world while teaching as a professor of political science. Highly prolific, Quattrocchi has numerous political and botanical books and articles to his credit, including those on plants and gardening that have been published in Hortus and The Garden. In 1997, he received the prestigious Hanbury Botanical Garden Award promoted by the Premio Grinzane Cavour for his book Piante Rustiche Tropicali. He received a second Hanbury Award for the bestselling CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. He is a member of the International Dendrology Society, the Royal Horticultural Society, and the Botanical Society of America. He is also an elected Fellow of the world-renowned Linnean Society.
The idea that there once existed a language which perfectly and unambiguously expressed the essence of all possible things and concepts has occupied the minds of philosophers, theologians, mystics and others for at least two millennia. This is an investigation into the history of that idea and of its profound influence on European thought, culture and history. From the early Dark Ages to the Renaissance it was widely believed that the language spoken in the Garden of Eden was just such a language, and that all current languages were its decadent descendants from the catastrophe of the Fall and at Babel. The recovery of that language would, for theologians, express the nature of divinity, for cabbalists allow access to hidden knowledge and power, and for philosophers reveal the nature of truth. Versions of these ideas remained current in the Enlightenment, and have recently received fresh impetus in attempts to create a natural language for artificial intelligence. The story that Umberto Eco tells ranges widely from the writings of Augustine, Dante, Descartes and Rousseau, arcane treatises on cabbalism and magic, to the history of the study of language and its origins. He demonstrates the initimate relation between language and identity and describes, for example, how and why the Irish, English, Germans and Swedes - one of whom presented God talking in Swedish to Adam, who replied in Danish, while the serpent tempted Eve in French - have variously claimed their language as closest to the original. He also shows how the late eighteenth-century discovery of a proto-language (Indo-European) for the Aryan peoples was perverted to support notions of racial superiority. To this subtle exposition of a history of extraordinary complexity, Umberto Eco links the associated history of the manner in which the sounds of language and concepts have been written and symbolized. Lucidly and wittily written, the book is, in sum, a tour de force of scholarly detection and cultural interpretation, providing a series of original perspectives on two thousand years of European History. The paperback edition of this book is not available through Blackwell outside of North America.
In this prescient essay collection, the acclaimed author of Foucault’s Pendulum examines the cultural trends and perils at the dawn of the 21st century. In the last decade of the 20th century, Umberto Eco saw an urgent need to embrace tolerance and multiculturalism in the face of our world’s ever-increasing interconnectivity. At a talk delivered during the first Gulf War, he points out the absurdity of armed conflict in a globalized economy where the flow of information is unstoppable and the enemy is always behind the lines. Elsewhere, he questions the influence of the news media and identifies its contribution to our collective disillusionment with politics. In a deeply personal essay, Eco recalls his boyhood experience of Italy’s liberation from fascism. He then analyzes the universal elements of fascism, including the “cult of tradition” and a “suspicion of intellectual life.” And finally, in an open letter to an Italian cardinal, Eco reflects on a question underlying all the reflections in the book: What does it mean to be moral or ethical when one doesn't believe in God? “At just 111 pages, Five Moral Pieces packs a philosophical wallop surprising in such a slender book. Or maybe not so surprising. Eco's prose here is beautiful.”—January Magazine
How we create and organize knowledge is the theme of this major achievement by Umberto Eco. Demonstrating once again his inimitable ability to bridge ancient, medieval, and modern modes of thought, he offers here a brilliant illustration of his longstanding argument that problems of interpretation can be solved only in historical context.
A world-renowned novelist and one of the Vatican's leading authorities square off over some of the burning issues of our day, with commentary by leading American writers and thinkers.
Discover the final book from one of Europe's cultural giants. In this entertaining collection of essays about the modern world the celebrated author of The Name of the Rose explores everything from unbridled individualism to mobile phones. 'He brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco's irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling' Guardian 'Eco has left us an intelligent, intriguing, and often hilariously incisive set of observations on contemporary follies and changing mores' Publisher's Weekly
A best-selling author and world-renowned scholar on language explores the history of thought to find "serendipities," startling moments of insight and truth that can arise from mistakes, showing how some misinterpretations can lead to knowledge while others impede knowledge's development. UP.
Written as a reference to be used within University, Departmental, Public, Institutional, Herbaria, and Arboreta libraries, this book provides the first starting point for better access to data on medicinal and poisonous plants. Following on the success of the author's CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names and the CRC World Dictionary of Grasses, the author provides the names of thousands of genera and species of economically important plants. It serves as an indispensable time-saving guide for all those involved with plants in medicine, food, and cultural practices as it draws on a tremendous range of primary and secondary sources. This authoritative lexicon is much more than a dictionary. It includes historical and linguistic information on botany and medicine throughout each volume.
This volume provides the origins and meanings of the names of genera and species of extant vascular plants, with the genera arranged alphabetically from M to Q.
This volume provides the origins and meanings of the names of genera and species of extant vascular plants, with the genera arranged alphabetically from D to L.
On the Shoulders of Giants collects previously unpublished essays from the last fifteen years of Umberto Eco's life. With humor and erudition, one of the great contemporary thinkers takes on the roots of Western culture, the origin of language, the nature of beauty and ugliness, the imperfections of art, and the lure of mysteries.
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