“Order out of Chaos” wins CBHL Literature Award

Order out of Chaos: Linnean Plant Names and Their Types by Charlie Jarvis (Linnean Society of London in association with the Natural History Museum, London, 2007), and Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns by Sue Olson (Timber Press, 2007), have won the 2008 Annual Literature Awards from The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries.

Charlie Jarvis's Order out of Chaos, a guide to plant names described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1708-1778), was the winner in CBHL's technical category, chosen both for its unique and substantive content combining history, biography, and scientific research as well as for its attractive design. "Today our need for stable knowledge about plants, including precise nomenclature, is urgently driven by population growth, increased consumption, habitat degradation, and other threats to the natural world that are causing us to lose plant species faster than we can identify them. . . . This book brings together a critical mass of information on the more than 9,000 plant names authored by Linnaeus in this 300th anniversary year of his birth." (Charlotte Tancin, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh).

Sue Olsen's Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns won CBHL's award in the general interest category. An internationally comprehensive reference to almost 1,000 ferns, most of which are shown in colour photographs, the book includes history and taxonomy as well as cultivation and propagation instructions. "For those not already fans of ferns, the author's infectious and informative style will convert . . . with that extra insight available only from a writer who knows her subject thoroughly." (Brian Thompson, Elisabeth C. Miller Library, University of Washington Botanic Gardens, Seattle).

The Linnean Society of London, publisher of Order out of Chaos, is a forum on natural history through debate, research, meetings, and publications as well as internationally important historical collections in the biological sciences. London's Natural History Museum promotes the discovery, understanding, enjoyment, and responsible use of the natural world.

Timber Press (Portland, Ore.), publisher of Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns, publishes books on gardening, horticulture, garden design, sustainability, natural history, and the Pacific Northwest.

The CBHL Literature Awards honour both the author and the publisher of works that make a significant contribution to the literature of botany and horticulture. This year's awards were announced June 4 in Grand Rapids, Mich., during CBHL's annual meeting, hosted by the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.

CBHL is the leading professional organization in the field of botanical and horticultural information services. It recognizes the crucial importance of collecting, preserving, and making accessible the accumulated knowledge about plants for present and future generations. For more information, visit http://www.cbhl.net.

Pictures

Top: Order out of Chaos: Linnaean Plant Names and their Types

Bottom: Charlie Jarvis, author of Order out of Chaos