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From the introduction:
"For a long time, a need has been felt among cactophiles for a specialized glossary, explaining the more elaborate terms found in the vast specialized literature. There are of course several well-known general botanical glossaries available (e.g. Jackson with several editions, W. T. Steam’s Botanical Latin, etc.), but the proliferation of a specialized terminology for succulent plants led to the need for a specialized glossary. In the course of time, several commendable efforts have been made to meet this need, not only in the English-speaking world (e.g. Marshall, Ivimey-Cook, etc.), but also in other countries. Unfortunately, recent years have seen a further increase in specialized terminology, and new terms are coined at liberty by many writers. While such a state of affairs is to be deplored (and botanical writers are reminded that many of the newly coined terms are not really necessary, if they would only care to look into the appropriate glossary), it also becomes clear that assistance to understand such terminology is urgently required. It is hoped that the present glossary will fill this gap for the coming years.
The scope of this glossary centres on succulent plant terminology. But, as succulent plants are ordinary plants in many respects, many "ordinary" botanical terms have been included likewise. In comparison with other specialized glossaries, the present compilation may contain an unusually large number of such "general" terms. This is partly due to the inclusion of the specialized terminology of newer fields of research, or of fields of research which only recently have become interested in succulent plants. It is hoped that the user of the glossary will therefore be able to find most of the technical terms normally encountered in specialist’s publications on succulent plants. It has not been easy to decide which terms to include and which not. The initial selection of terms was compiled from published general and specialized glossaries, notably from glossaries supplied by writers of books on succulent plants. The sources used during the compilation are enumerated in the chapter following these lines. This first selection was carefully screened for synonyms and antonyms, and many terms have been added so that a whole group of terms (e.g. for describing variations of a shape, etc.) got included. Finally, closely related terms have very often been combined into a single entry, and spelling variants have been included whenever necessary.
Despite this procedure, many inaccuracies – hopefully small and insignificant – will have persisted; inconsistencies in word endings for related terms will still be present, and the occasional important term from a group of related terms will be missing. With today’s revived interest in succulent plants, it is more than probable that new fields of research will add to the plethora of terms already used in conjunction with succulents. The compiler of the glossary is therefore grateful if any omissions, errors or inaccuracies are
pointed out in time for a more complete second edition, should such become necessary.
A final word should be said on the English-German dictionary included in the glossary. It may seem odd that an author for which English is not the native tongue undertakes the compilation of an English glossary. This is partly due to the fact that probably no other language has so many terms adapted from Latin and Greek, resulting in an abundance of terms which are difficult to understand for those without knowledge of these languages, and which are not normally found in a standard dictionary concentrating on everyday language. To make this compilation more useful in these times of easy communication and intemational cooperation, the German equivalents, where available, have been included. It has to be noted that the German language very often lacks the precise term which is available in English, and that a whole sentence may be necessary instead of a straightforward equivalent. It is hoped that time will permit a similar edition (though much smaller for the reason just discussed) for German speaking horticulturists and collectors in the not too distant future. [...]"
- Introduction
- Sources used
- Notes on the utilization of the glossary
- Abbreveviations used
- Glossary A-Z
- Ranks and their endings
- Units of measurement
- Illustrations
