Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification is a book by Thomas J. Elpel published by HOPS Press, LLC. The book emphasizes family characteristics for plant identification. Related plants typically have similar floral features and often similar uses. For example, plants of the mustard family (Brassicaceae) have four petals with six stamens (4 tall, 2 short), and most or all of the 3,200 species are considered edible.Elpel, Thomas J. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, 2004, p. 17.
The book is used as a text at universities, high schools, and herbal schools across North America. "Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification", Accessed August 19, 2011. It is also recommended as a resource for the Nature Merit Badge by the Boy Scouts of America.[Boy Scouts of America. http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/mb-NATU.aspx "Introduction to Merit Badges: Nature"], Accessed August 19, 2011. Although the text is primarily oriented towards North American plants, Botany in a Day has been used to identify plants in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America."Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification", Accessed August 19, 2011. As of 2018, there were more than 150,000 copies in print.Elpel, Thomas J. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, 2021, p. ii.
References
External links Online Tutorial: Learning to Identify Plants by Families – official site Botany in a Day Tutorial (YouTube) Botany Every Day