Dictionary of names for southern African trees



In a recent letter to Veld & Flora about common names, the existence of this book was mentioned by Hugh Glen. I was looking forward to getting a copy of it for myself but reading about it on the SANBI website, I see that it will set me back almost R1000. I wonder if they will have an e-version of it.

This is what was on the SANBI site:
Dictionary of names for southern African trees released
On 1 September, Briza Publications, in association with SANBI celebrated Arbor Week with the launch of the Dictionary of names for southern African trees at an event at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden. The launch event included a tree planting ceremony where invited learners from the community received the 2011 Trees of the Year posters.

The dictionary – which was ten years in the making – provides readers with names of 2 100 trees, selected shrubs and woody climbers native to southern Africa in up to 30 languages. Over 24 000 common names are included, making this the most comprehensive list of southern African indigenous tree names published in a single volume. The book is authored by Braam van Wyk, Erika van den Berg, Meg Coates Palgrave and Marie Jordaan.

Background information about the languages is presented, including guidelines on their structure and sounds, to assist with pronunciation. There is also a map showing where they are mainly spoken, and exquisite line drawings for selected species are provided.

As the distinguished publisher of nature-related publications for 21 years, Briza is extremely proud of this particular publication and sees Dictionary of names for southern African trees, as a proud symbol of its 21 years.

The Dictionary of names for Southern African trees retails for R950. A limited 500 copies have been printed, and will be available from Briza and the Bookshop at the Pretoria National Botanical Garden as of 1 September, 2011.

Comments