The book considers the importance of plants in Tolkien's conception of Middle-earth. It develops the theme that Middle-earth is our own world - and will awaken the reader to the connection between the plants of Tolkien's legendarium and those growing in our gardens and local natural areas of the Northern Hemisphere. It also demonstrates the connection between the various plant communities of Middle-earth and the elven and human cultures that occupy them, including those environments degraded by warfare, industrialization or pollution. The heart of the book is an alphabetical listing, arranged by common names, of all of the plants mentioned in Tolkien's legendarium; for each of these plants the treatment will include: 1) common and scientific name, along with an indication of the family to which the plant belongs, 2) a brief quote from one of Tolkien's works in which the plant is referenced, 3) a discussion of the significance of the plant in the context of Tolkien's legendarium, 4) the etymology relating to both English common name and the scientific name, and where relevant, the name in one or more of the languages of Middle-earth, 5) a brief statement of the plant's distribution and ecology (along with mention of major species), 6) economic uses, both traditional and current, and 7) an easy-to-understand description of the plant. The book provides guidelines to the use of plant descriptions, and the few technical terms used are carefully defined. Many plants are illustrated by original artwork, in the style of a woodcut print. The description along with an identification key, when used with the illustrations, allow easy identification of each plant, adding to the reader's understanding and appreciation of Tolkien's works. A glossary of descriptive terms is also included.

Although they are relative latecomers on the evolutionary scene, having emerged only 135-170 million years ago, angiosperms or flowering plants are the most diverse and species-rich group of seed-producing land plants, comprising more than 13,000 genera and over 300,000 species. Not only are they a model group for studying the patterns and processes of evolutionary diversification, outside the laboratory they also play major roles in our economy, diet, and our courtship rituals, producing our fruits, legumes, and grains, not to mention the flowers in our Valentine's bouquets. They are also crucial ecologically, dominating most terrestrial and some aquatic landscapes. This fully revised edition of Phylogeny and Evolution of the Angiosperms provides an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of the evolution of and relationships among these vital plants, as well as of our attempts to reconstruct these relationships. Incorporating molecular phylogenetics with morphological, chemical, developmental, and paleobotanical data, as well as a more detailed account of early angiosperm fossils and important fossil information for each evolutionary branch of the angiosperms, the new edition integrates fossil evidence into a robust phylogenetic framework. Also including a wealth of new color images, this highly synthetic work further reevaluates long-held evolutionary hypotheses related to flowering plants and will be an essential reference for botanists, plant systematists, and evolutionary biologists alike.