Agnes Chase's First Book of Grasses: The Structure of Grasses Explained for Beginners, Fourth Edition

Chase, Agnes

ISBN 10: 1560986565 / ISBN 13: 9781560986560

Published by Smithsonian Books, 1996

About this Item

1996. 4th Revised ed. paperback. . . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9781560986560

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Agnes Chase's First Book of Grasses: The Structure of Grasses Explained for Beginners, Fourth Edition
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1560986565
• ISBN 13: 9781560986560
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 4th Edition
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

For almost seventy-five years, Agnes Chase's First Book of Grasses has been the classic guide to the structure of this complex group of plants. Clearly written and copiously illustrated with line drawings, the book is accessible to those with little or no botanical training, yet it also is respected by botanists as an authoritative introduction to agrostology.

Last updated in 1959, the book now has been thoroughly revised to reflect current scientific knowledge, nomenclature, and classification. Divided into twelve lessons, the guide first surveys the basic vegetative and reproductive parts of a grass plant, then in succeeding lessons takes up increasingly more complex modifications. Formally recognized groups of grasses are discussed in a taxonomic context, with the principal focus on grass structures, particularly those of inflorescences and spikelets. Virtually all of the species discussed are illustrated with detailed line drawings. With the addition in this edition of a lesson on bamboos, coverage now extends to tropical regions and encompasses all major groups of grasses. The book also includes a short biography of Agnes Chase in the foreword and, for the first time in this edition, a glossary accompanies the appendices on grass classification.

About the Author

Lynn G. Clark is Associate Professor of Botany at Iowa State University. Richard W. Pohl (1916-1993), Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Botany at Iowa State University and author of How to Know the Grasses (3d ed. 1978), was regarded as the foremost authority on American grasses.