There’s the so-called language of flowers, as in the symbolism or sentiment attributed to a rose versus a pansy or a daisy. And then there’s the actual language of flowers in botany, as in what’s a sepal or a tepal and a bract, or what’s a perfect flower technically speaking?
Those are some of the many eclectic lessons, both scientific historical and just plant fascinating, that I took away from a new little book with a big name, “Florapedia,” by Carol Gracie, with the subtitle “A Brief Compendium of Floral Lore.”
Carol is a naturalist and photographer and popular lecturer who has written several previous books on wildflowers, including “Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast” and “Summer Wildflowers of the Northeast,” two favorites in my cupboard here.