This glossary contains well over a thousand entries giving the pronunciation, derivation and meanings of garden plant names. The aim of the authors was to remove the ‘awkward obstacle’ that these names can present. For example:

Dahlia, dah-le-a; named after Andreas Dahl, a Swedish botanist and pupil of Linnæus. Originally (and still in America) pronounced dah-le-a and not day-le-a as commonly heard. All dahlias usually grown are hybrids from species rarely seen in gardens. Half-hardy tuberous herbaceous plants.

COCCINEA, kok-sin-e-a, scarlet
IMPERIALIS, im-peer-e-a-lis, powerful
JUAREZII, ju-a-re-zei, after Juarez
MERCKII, merk-ei, after Merck
VARIABILIS, var-e-ab-il-is, variable coloured
ZIMAPANII, zim-ap-a-nei, after Zimapan.