Reviews (20)

Wildflowers made easy: an indispensable reference.
If you're going to buy just one book on wildflower identification, this is it. While not foolproof, this system is the best I've seen. It beats by far other methods using color and shape of flower, as used in the Audubon and Peterson field guides (though both the latter have their place, and you should get both if you're really serious).

A most unique aspect of this book is that it includes shrubs as well as plants normally considered wildflowers, adding greatly to its utility for the amateur observer.

Simple System Eases Wildflower Identification
The author's system allows even amateurs like me to quickly and accurately identify wildflowers.

It is as simple as answering five questions which point the user to the appropriate page in the book where the flower is described and pictured. The text is great. The first sentence of each description distinguishes that plant from all others in that group.

If you are looking for a wildflower guide, they do not get better than this one.

Hands-down best (for the Northeast)
This is the easiest-to-use and most thorough flower guide I've ever seen. Yes, most illustrations are black-and-white. It's an initial disappointment; however, the quick and sure five-step identification process is worth the lack of color (and the drawings are expertly done). It's much more complete than, say, the Audubon guide. Newcomb has yet to leave me stumped for the identity of any flowering plant. As has been noted, this guide is valid for the Northeast U.S., from Virginia-Kentucky up; and for Canada from Thunder Bay to Newfoundland. I wish the rest of you had a version -- it's indispensible.

Nice book, but..
there's no way to tell from the web pages, but this book is only about wildflowers in the Northeast portion of the U.S., didn't do me much good in California.
Was a Christmas gift that will be returned.
Amazon.com should make it plain that it's regional.

A useful book
Newcomb's guide is a great book, once you get past the initial training period. For those of us used to flipping through pictures of flowers and fruit until we think we have the right one, this book can be initially off-putting.

My advice...get used to it. Newcomb's system is more efficient and more certain than flower-flipping. A good book. ... Read more

Book Description

Looking for a faster, easier, and fun way to identify plants?Botany in a Day teaches you the patterns method of plant identification, so that you can discover the wonderful world of plants around you, wherever you go.

Instead of trying to identify plants one-at-a-time, Botany in a Day give you a way to learn them by the hundreds, based on the principle that related plants have similar patterns for indentification, and they often have similar uses.

The one-day tutorial included in the text teaches you seven key patterns to recognize more than 45,000 species of plants worldwide.Master these seven patterns and you will be ready to use the included reference guide--Thomas J. Elpel's Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families of North America.Here you will find the patterns for indentification and the patterns of uses for the majority of plants across the continent.

Botany in a Day is used as a guide by thousands of individuals, plus herbal schools and universities across North America. ... Read more

Book Description

Nothing is as colorful as a field of wildflowers in full-bloom so what could be more appropriate than a magnificent field guide with beautiful full-color photographs? More than 1,000 species are covered in full detail, with notes on more than 400 others. The 700 identification photographs show wildflowers-including grasses and sedges, and many flowering vines and shrubs-in their natural habitats.

Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Recommended
These audubon field guide books are great. Beautifully bound and easy to use with great photographs and detailed descriptions of each species. Also, they are the perfect size for your shirt or pants pocket.

Great exercise
My husband bought this book in 1980 after his heart attack. He used it to go into the preserve across the street. He would get exercise as well as an education.

Excellent
I had to collect wildflowers during the summer for an Honors Biology class. The field guides we were given were ones with drawings instead of photographs. It was very hard to correctly identify the wildflower with only a drawing. This field guide is excellent. You identify the flowers with color photographs, and the book gives a fairly in-depth description on the flower, habitat, range, and other comments about the flower. I would recommend this guide to anyone who has to identify wildflowers for school, or just enjoys identifying for pleasure.

Excellent Guide, Easy to Use
I have another wildflower guide which I tried using and was very frustrated with their drawings and color plates. I bought this guide out of desperation---and am completely satisfied. Its simple and easy to use. The flowers are easier to identify with color photography, complete with close up caption. Descriptions are listed later. Not everything is jumbled together, so that your'e fumbling out there around through so many pages. So easy to use. The flowers are more generalized than specific---you won't find 50 examples of a violet--but you'll find several at best. It depends on how detailed you want to get. Quick, ready to use guide that fits perfectly in your husbands fishing vest or in a backpack. Go for it!

Best I've seen
Excellent guide -- good photographs organized by color and blossom shape, cross-referenced to detailed classification and habitat information. By far the easiest classification guide I've used (and I've tried many). ... Read more

Book Description

WESTERN REGION

This fully revised edition brings a new level of beauty, accuracy, and usefulness to the field guide that wildflower enthusiasts have relied upon for more than 20 years.

More than 940 all-new, full-color images show the wildflowers of western North America close-up and in their natural habitats. The guide has been completely revised to make identification in the field easier than ever. Images are grouped by flower color and shape and keyed to clear, concise descriptions that reflect current taxonomy. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Nice book for the trail
All of Audobon's books are great because they will fit in a pocket or day-pack. Nicely organized and includes awesome full color pictures that really help in the identification. The information on the flowers is very extensive. A must for anyone who likes flowers and wants to know what kind they have.

What Kind of Wildflower is This, Dad?
"What kind of wildflower is this, Dad?"

"I don't know?"

"Is it poisonous?"

"I don't know."

"It's sure pretty."

"Yes, it is pretty."

The above was always my reply to my children's questions about the wildflowers we saw whenever we took our family journeys into the Great Basin Desert, or high into the Pahvant Mountains. I got tired of saying, "I don't know." Well, because of the "National Audubon Society's Field Guide to Wildflowers" (Wester Edition) I know now, to tell my children to stay away from the (poisonous) Water Hemlock which I always thought previously was wild carrots. Now I can answer their question and impress them with my knowledge at the same time.

I would like to suggest this field guide to any of you family outdoor enthusiasts, especially fathers, so you don't get caught in the I don't know syndrome. The same applies for all the birds you see on your excursions--"What kind of bird is that, Dad?"--sound familiar? Well don't fret, you can click on my name, in this review, and find a field guide to Birds. Then you'll be doubly prepared.

Good luck,

from a father like you.

Excellent field guide for wildflowers with extensive photos
I take this (as well as the Peterson Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers) with me on all my wildflower hunting trips. The extensive color photos are extremely helpful for identifying wildflowers. Flowers are organized by color. This has by far more real flower pictures than the Peterson Field Guide. ... Read more

Book Description

Grouped by color and by plant characteristics, 1,293 species in 84 families are described and illustrated. Included here are all the flowers you're most likely to encounter in the eastern and north-central U.S., westward to the Dakotas and southward to North Carolina and Arkansas, as well as the adjacent parts of Canada. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Easiest book for everyone
I've been teaching in the outdoors using field guides with novices for 18 years, so I offer this advice to assist beginners in choosing a wildflower guide. I have used both this book and the Newcomb book and greatly prefer this one, although Newcomb's is very good. Newcomb's uses a series of keys, which I guess some people find more "sophisticated." Although the key in Newcombs isn't hard to use, I find that the Peterson guide is faster and easier to use in the field. I have also observed that beginners are less likely to make mistakes using the Peterson wildflower guide. The big plus of the Peterson book is the identification system. The flowers are first arranged by color and the book is color coded. Although wild plants may not always be showing their flower colors, 9 times out of ten when the amateur is identifying a flowering plant, it will be in bloom. You can use the Peterson guide to learn the key characterisitics of a blooming plant so that later on when it is not blooming you will still be able to find it in the book and recoginze it.

In the next stage of the Peterson wildflower guide's organization, the plants are arranged by similar visual characteristics. There is a simple outline and description of this system at the beginning of the book. The book utilizes helpful icons, which are featured at the tops of all the descriptive pages for quick thumb-through reference. I have found this icon system very helpful in teaching plant identification because it provides a systematic approach that the beginner can pick up quickly and easily. The Peterson system greatly facilitates intial accuracy of identification at the level of plant family. Once you learn the system of what to look for when observing a plant, the icons allow speed and efficiency when using the book in the field.

At the final stage of identification, the species level, the Peterson guide has excellent written descriptions and the important subtle differences between species are well highlighted, with both text and arrows on the drawings. As other reviewers have stated, the Peterson book has more illustrations than Newcomb, and the highlighted habitat/range descriptions also help in quickly placing a plant. The black and white illustrations are not bothersome since you already know the flower color, and line drawings show key characteristics clearly. The use of illustrations instead of photos is always preferred in a field guide, even though photos seem like a good idea at first glance. A good illustrator shows the plant in the best light and makes sure the key features are visible and prominent.

Best For Laymen
I have used this book for 20 years to identify wildflowers successfully; the drawings and paintings capture the essence of the flower in a way no photo does; the book includes many less commonly found plants so you are more likely to find what you're looking for; and it is organized by flower color which is most likely to be what drew your attention in the first place. Excellent reference, easily used.

A Very Useful Guide
I own several wildflower identification books, and this one is among my favorites. I often use it in conjunction with other books, but it also does well on its own. I like the fact that the subjects are listed by color - this makes it much easier for me to differentiate species when out in the woods. I have given this book as a gift to flower-loving friends.

Helpful tool in conjunction with other sources.
Though I personally prefer Newcomb's Wildflower Guide over this one, I have found that when in doubt after reading Newcomb's description of a plant, this book helps me decide whether or not it is correct. It's smart to always use more than one guide for identifying plants because different authors notice different qualities that they think are important. I'm not too keen on identifying any plant by the color of the flower, because it limits the amount of time you have to identify a plant. Newcomb's system is much, much better for finding plants that are not in bloom, though part of the key relies on flower parts. Until someone comes up with an easy key for identifying plants based on vegetation only, I suggest buying both this book and Newcomb's book.

Don't waste your money on this book.
I found this book to be of minimal use. It contains only around 20 color plates and the rest is black and white photos which do little to help identify a flower in the field. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

locally good
I have used this book in two places: the Columbia Basin sagebrushcountry just east of the Washington cascades, and in south-central Idaho. For the Columbia Basin this book is very good. Anything that catches your eye is likely to be included, despite the book's slimness. In central Idaho the coverage is not so good, and you will end up wondering if what you're looking at is in the book. Just remember, as with all small, easy to use plant guides, there are probably five times as many plant species on the ground, even in the Columbia basin, as there are in the book.

The natural history coverage is reliable but not terribly extensive.

In Washington I have found it's nice to have this in combination with the authoritative but unfriendly and jargon-ridden Hitcock and Cronquist flora. Taylor will get it for you if it's a reasonably common plant, or give you a good starting point for wading around in H&C, if there's any doubt.

A Great Field Guide and Reference
This book is useful in many ways: as a field guide, reference, habitat identifier,uses of plants such as food or medicine (e.g. by local Native Americans), soil types, animals present, etc. It opens up the tremendous beauty of the steppe-shrub-sagebrush deserts of the West. Lovely photos. This so-called "barren land" is teeming with amazing diversity and color. It is also helpful for those of us attempting native plant (indigeous) gardens. I highly recommend it. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

an integrated system of classification of flowering plants
This book is a classic and should be part of the reading list in an advanced and intermediate systematics and plant taxonomy class. Lets not forget the many descriptions of the families and the systematic discrepancies that the author said need to be carefully studied. It is easy to think that in todays phylogenetics classification Cronquist's contribution would not fit, but that is not the case with this book in which morphological, anatomical, palynological, biogeographical and paleobotanical data offer a unique picture of each taxonomic group, regardless of todays results by means of other techniques. The book is a wealth of information. ... Read more

Book Description

Nearly all the chemical elements that make up living things are mineral elements, the ultimate source of which is rock weathered into soil. In the thoroughly revised Second Edition of Mineral Nutrition of Plants: Principles and Perspectives, Epstein and Bloom explain that plant roots "mine" these nutrient elements from their inorganic substrate and introduce them into the realm of living things. The authors trace the subsequent movement of these nutrients into other plant organs, tissues, cells, and organelles, their biochemical assimilation, and their functions in plant physiology and metabolism. Treatment of these processes extends from molecular biology through global biogeochemistry. The text, illustrated in full color, is accessible both to undergraduate students in plant physiology, agronomy, horticulture, and environmental studies and to researchers in these and other plant biological fields. ... Read more

Book Description

A valuable at-home reference and an extraordinarily usable guide to more than 2000 of the most common and conspicuous wild plants and animals. Specially designed for quick and easy identification. Vibrant, specially drawn full-color illustrations of each of the 2000-plus species. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

The Best Illustration for quick identification
I own many books specific to field identification of Alaska plants. On a recent trip to Ketchikan none of my books were able to assist me in the identification of a specific plant. A local person pulled out her copy of North American Wildlife (NAW). In an instant we located a colored illustation of "orange hawksbeard" . The illustation was so accurate right down to the fine hairs on its long stem. At home I located the same plant in my large treatise of Alaskan plants. I would never had been able to ID this plant with my very expensive treatise. The simple generic black and white drawings in my treatise are vastly inferior to the rich color and detail of NAW. I have been unable to locate this book so my friends in Ketchikan suggested Amazon.com. I'm thrilled that my own copy is on its way. An intertesing side bar is that my treatise of Alaska Plants states that orange hawksbeard is an introduced plant only known to found on the Glacier Hyw in Juneau.

Best All Around Field Guide
Bought this book years ago from a Reader's Digest offer. Moved to the Northwoods of Wisconsin 6 years ago and have not found a better all around guide to ALL of the flora and fauna I encounter here. I have specific guides to wildflowers, birds etc. but I usually find what I'm looking for in any catagory in this book faster and easier and more frequently than any other. I just bought another copy as a gift for my son & his family who also live Up North.

Very well done...
This book contains very clear drawings and descriptions of the most common plants and animals in North America. I especially like the section covering ecosystems in the beginning of the book. All you need to do is find the system you are located in and the most common inhabitants are listed (with page number) on the side. I think this is a great book and would definitely recommend it to a friend.

Reader's Digest North American Wildlife
Reader's Digest North American Wildlife is an "Illustrated Guide" to plants and animals found from Florida to Alaska. From birds to ferns, frogs to manta rays, seashells to mushrooms it is found in this colorful guide.

This is a book that is intended to be used as you explore nature. I found this book to be very useful and makes the enjoyment of the outdoors a more fulfulled experience. If you see a bird or a plant and want to know the name of it... check this book first and you will most likely find it. This is a treasure trove of information the entire family can use. Fascinating and enjoyable to use over and over again in the years to come, I have found this book to be indispensible.

Fully illustrated, easy to use with identification charts this should be with you on all serious nature walks.

It takes me back
I used to love looking thru this book when I was little, my mom's copy was so worn out. I love the illustrations of everything and the descriptions. I think it's a great nature book. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Here are descriptions and illustrations of 1,492 species from 77 families - virtually all of the wildflowers found from British Columbia to Baja California, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.Grouped by color, each species description includes field marks, size, habitat, range, flowering season, and common and scientific names. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Pacific States Wildflowers.
I like the book and the topic, however the binding is is such bad shape that the book is useless in the field or for a more robust usage. Can this be fixed?

A Useful Tool
Though this title may be a little pricy, it is a must have for residents of California, Oregon, and Washington. At any rate, any family within which there is a flower collecter, should have a copy of this excellent resource. Though my family originally purchased this title because of a biology project assigned to my daughter, it has since opened up an interesting world of the natural plant life of this area and even those farther away.

Excellent Field Guide to help identify Wildflowers
I take this guide (and the Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers-- west) on all my field trips to identify wildflowers. Though Peterson has fewer real photos, it does have better aids to identify specific wildflowers, as it is organized by color, as well as number and types of petals. The sketches help me do a preliminary id on the wildflower. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Afterlife of Flowers
Good reference material and some philosophy about nature. Beautiful photographs show what some commonly found flowers look like when pressed. This book is includes enlarged photos, comments, and a chart with smaller photos showing each flower's common name, width and it's location in the book. 96 pages, hardcover.

Simply Superb!
This isn't a how-to book, but the gorgeous photos do serve as a valuable guide to what some commonly found flowers will look like when pressed. The book is comprised of enlarged photos and comments, ending with an id chart of smaller photos along with each flower's common name, actual width, and the page it was featured on.

If you like the look of pressed flowers, you might want to check out Laura Martin's Art and Craft of Pounding Flowers. Pounding an object's pigment onto fabric and paper creates beautiful and uniquely pressed flower like images. Very nice.

Flower Nirvana
Janie Feldman Gross takes the art of flower pressing to new dimensions. Each specimen is a work of art unto itself - the colors, textures, delicately graceful lines - coupled with Janie's poetic observations, all add up to a book that is both breathtakingly beautiful and inspiring.

Revealing Hidden Beauty in Flowers
For most, the term "pressed flowers" conjures the shriveled and crumbling remains of faded prom corsages. Nothing could be more strikingly different from the pressed flora you'll encounter in THE AFTERLIFE OF FLOWERS. Creator Janie Feldman Gross invites us to a world where flowers reveal their remarkable and astonishing beauty...long after bloom. She guides us through a breathtaking collection of specimens -- most grown in her own garden -- each transformed by weight and time. Bringing her artist's eye to the task, Gross combines spectacular photographic images with her own spare and carefully placed commentary. The result is a visual ballet -- flowers partnered by prose. This is a book to be enjoyed for it uniqueness, its visual aesthetic and its underlying message; if we are patient and take the time to observe the world around us, there is unexpected beauty therein.

Much More Than a Coffee Table Art Book
This book is a wonderful work of art, and a bit of philosophy about nature as well. From the colors, to the prose, to even the position of the flowers on each page, the author has brilliantly created a piece of inspiration. It is hard to imagine a better art book on the subject. Buy it for someone you love, or just buy it for yourself! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Best alpine flower guide
I grew up and live in the summer in a Colorado ghost town at 9,000 ft. altitude surrounded by 13,000 ft. mountains. This is the best guide for Colorado alpine flowers I have ever seen. Great illustrations, fine explanatory notes - a must have for alpine flower afficianados.

Best one I've seen!
I go to Colorado backpacking, rafting and climbing every summer and of all the field guides I have ever had, this one is the best! It has very easy to use color format so you can find any flower in a matter of seconds. KEEP IT HANDY!

Good one!
This book is just what I was looking for a reference book in the field and home. It has both photos and drawings of each plant. One plant per page and the pages are nicely grouped by flower color which is visible on the page edges as well. The indexes, as usual in nature books of this type, have both common name and Latin name of each plant. Included are black and white diagrams of leave types and flower head patterns with glossary. Each item listed has a synopsis of flowers, leaves, what"~ kind of immediate environment it grows in, "Life Zone(s)" i.e. foothills, alpine, etc., and flowering time.

Not bad!
Nice guide, grouping by color helpful for identification. Could use more detailed anatomical descriptions and photos are a bit small. ... Read more

Book Description

Picking up where typical field guides leave off, this handy reference takes an ecological approach, providing complete descriptions of 85 plants found in fields, open meadows, and along roadsides--from Ailanthus to Yucca--as well as wildlife communities associated with them. Written in an engaging manner, this book helps readers identify dry-land plants, discusses what other organisms, plant and animal, might be found in the same area, and explains why. ... Read more

Book Description

In the spring, California's rolling hills, green valleys, and coastal slopes are colored with wildflowers treasured by both residents and visitors to the state. First published more than forty years ago, this popular guidebook has helped thousands of amateur and intermediate wildflower enthusiasts learn the names of the flowers located in some of the state's loveliest and most accessible areas--from below the yellow pine belt in the Sierra Nevada westward to the coast. Thoroughly revised and updated throughout, it is now easier to use and more accurate--the perfect guide to take along on outdoor excursions in California and surrounding regions.

* Includes 244 new color photographs and 102 detailed drawings

* Now describes more than 400 wildflowers emphasizing the species most likely to be encountered in the state today

* Plant descriptions now include more detail, helpful identifying tips, and locales where flowers are likely to be seen ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Sweet!
This is a really great book. It explains way more then you would expect for a field guide. It goes in depth about each plant, animals that depend on them and other interesting tidbits that you wont find in any other guide. The awsome illustrations are done so beautifully and true to life no one should have any problems idtentifying plants on the trail. They also truly give this book a nice touch. It's like a book of old documenting new discoveries!

Great book!
This is a must have book if you live in areas with swamps/bogs. Its so accurate I'm just amazed. It is also very easy to use. It has drawings and it talks not only about id of the plants but also their "lifestyle" (e.g. how they reproduce, various ideosyncasies of the plants, insects that are associated etc.) Each plant also has a short section on lore which adds a nice bit of history. I really like the book

Just what I was looking for!
For those people who already kind of know their way around the forest, and are more interested in what they are going to see ASSOCIATED with the plants they see than what an Audobon book says, this is a naturalist's dream come true!

Great b/w illustrations of not only leaves and fruits, but insects, diseases, toothmarks, clawmarks and nests that can be found on and around the trees and plants listed in the book...

Also highly recommended is the Forest and Thicket book by the same authors...

Unique resource for understanding this ecosystem
The authors' love of nature and years of experience clearly show in this unique field guide. Most books have an encyclopedic and repetitive approach. In contrast, this book looks at the individual plants and how they fit into the entire ecosystem ranging from companion plants, and dependent bird, mammal, and insect species. I have not seen another book that describes eastern wetlands in as much detail and yet still be highly readable. ... Read more

Book Description

Kentucky is situated at a unique biological and geographical crossroads in North America. As a result, citizens and visitors to the state are greeted by an astonishing variety of magnificent wildflowers. This nontechnical guide—featuring more than five hundred dazzling full-color photographs by award-winning photographer Thomas G. Barnes—is the indispensable guide to the most common species of wildflowers and ferns in the Commonwealth.

The first to appear in thirty years, this guide references more than six hundred fifty species of flowers. High quality photographs and illustrations accompany each plant’s common and scientific name, plant family, habitat, frequency, and distribution throughout Kentucky. Organized by flowering season, color, and habitat, Wildflowers and Ferns of Kentucky is an essential addition to the library or field pack of the botanist and all nature enthusiasts. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Excellent resource
Great collection of information on pollination - quite complete.The book covers a short history of the study of pollination, and an introduction to pollination.The it goes into the details of the different animals that engage in pollination with a chapter on beetles and flies, another on butterflies and moths, another on bees and their relatives, and another on bats/birds, and another on wind.

The text is rather dense and has a lot of technical information and results of studies.Latin names are provided too.This is probably more of an intermediate level book.There are some color plates as well.

Flower Power
This book got me down on the ground to peer up into the cupped flowers of my hellebores to study their pollination structures and set me on stake-out around my crocuses to see who came to pollinate them. Just as The Natural History of Pollination predicted, the first honeybee of the season moved from the chalice of one crocus to the next and to the next, checking out but passing over the intervening primrose, hellebore and Oregon grape flowers. The crocus has an agenda, the bee has an agenda, and I enjoyed an early spring day in the garden more because I had more insight into their agendas. This detailed book is accessible to anyone with a basic science vocabulary and is richly illustrated with photos of plants and their pollinators, as well as helpful line drawings.I recommend this to any gardener who wants to deepen their understanding of what's going on in their garden and to any student of natural history who wants to better appreciate the complex coevolutionary dance around us.This book has made me more attentive to a world of wasps and tiny flies, and to the myriad bee species.It has helped me see flowers from the point of view of the pollinators essential to them: insects, bats and hummingbirds. Those charming dots of color on foxgloves and hellebores serve as landing guidelines for bees.The sweet perfumes of lilac and honeysuckle seduce butterflies.The carrion odor of jack-in-the-pulpit and arum lilies attracts flies. My wild ginger imitates the scent of a fungus on which a certain kind of fly lays its eggs, luring this pollinator to its flowers.And how about those white flowers that open in the evening to draw moths?I keep this book handy as new plants come into bloom, so I can appreciate them better as I understand their strategies for reproducing themselves. ... Read more