World Botanical Dictionary

World Botanical Dictionary

“The World Botanical Dictionary is PRF’s CREATION about ORIGIN”

WBD was composed in 2015 to communicate the etymology of plant families, plant genera, epithets (plant species name) and a botanical glossary. It enhances our understanding of various native languages while providing insights into the shared roots of different languages.

Till date, 06 volumes of WBD have been published which are:

  • Vol. 1- 11740 Genus epithets (A-H)
  • Vol. 2- 13284 Genus epithets (I-Z)
  • Vol. 3- 15862 species epithets (a-d)
  • Vol. 4- 17229 species epithets (e-m)
  • Vol. 5- 16911 species epithets (n-z)
  • Vol. 6- 13738 species epithets (a-f)

The Taxonomy department is continuously working on new volumes which will be systematically released in the future.

Some special highlights

  • WBD is the first literature to introduce the term "PHYTOETYMOLOGY" for the study of Plant etymology.
  • It conveys an extensive account of phytoetymology of species epithets of Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms.
  • The dictionary comprehensively documents the original sources of generic names and specific names in Hindi and English. Also, it provides authentic references to the information and helps readers pronounce it accurately.
  • This dictionary provides a complete account and description of all botanical terms used in plants' morphological characterization, classification, and nomenclature.
  • It contains phytoetymology of
    1. 651 plant family epithets (origin of 178 families of Bryophytes, 48 families of Pteridophytes, 12 families of Gymnosperms, 413 families of Angiosperms).
    2. 25,000 out of 33,892 Genus epithets.
    3. 50,000 out of 1,87,855 Species epithets (Vol. I-V).
    4. 1562 Botanical Terms.
    5. 436 Line Diagrams.
    6. 959 References.
  • Another volume containing 45,000 species epithets, and the remaining work is being processed.

This dictionary will provide beneficial information (collected from different reliable sources like books, etymological dictionaries, websites, and online dictionaries) to Botanists, Taxonomists, Researchers, and student communities worldwide.