LenoraBell wrote:

Finally my questions:
Can someone recommend to me a good modern book that could teach me some
basic things about botany?

Books are OK, but the best way to learn is to work with the plants.
Start by collecting, drying and preparing vouchers for the plants
around you, in your yard, your neighborhood (with permission) and your
county, and work out your own descriptions of the characters. Then
compare to your books. Collect the same plant many times from different
locations and mount them side by side, so you can begin to see the
natural variation within a species. You'll find out how even "evenly
pinnate" really is. Also volunteer at your local university herbarium
to mount their backlog, file, etc. Over time, you'll find that working
with the plants is much more effective than reading about them.

See: http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/molib/fie.../welcome.shtml

--

--
Tom Schweich
http://www.schweich.com Day: 415-545-3644