Book Description

No other single volume on native plants has such comprehensive horticultural coverage. Nearly seven hundred species of native trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, grasses, and wildflowers from the northeastern quarter of the United States and all of eastern Canada are included. Of course, the natural ranges of many of the plants extend beyond this area, and the book is an essential resource for everyone interested in gardening with native plants of all kinds, as well as those who need the information provided here for habitat restoration and enhancement of biodiversity for the sake of conservation. Natural plant communities of eastern North America are described, providing a foundation for the choice of plants for different areas and climates---or a variety of sites in the garden---as well as for restoration of native plant habitats. Illustrated throughout with color photographs, the encyclopedic portion of the book includes practical advice on cultivation and propagation in addition to descriptions, ranges, and information on hardiness. An appendix recommends particular plants for difficult situations and for attracting butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife. Written from the unique perspective of an author who has professional credentials in horticulture, botany, forestry, and ecology as well as hands-on practical experience, this book is the most trustworthy single source for all who wish to cultivate native plants. ... Read more

Book Description

The new edition is completely rewritten, beginning to end.The classic "Indoor Bible" puts all the latest information on indoor cultivation at your fingertips.Learn how growers maximize yields, harvesting more than a pound of connoisseur quality bud per 1000w bulb every two months.Includes precise color drawings and photos of numerous plant problems, a troubleshooting chart, four case studies, weekly checklist, calendar, glossary and index.

The book is packed with extensive information on hydroponics, including the Sea Of Green, lighting, soils & soilless mixes, CO2, insect, spider mite, fungus & disease control, fertilizers, nutrient disorders, seeds & seedlings, seed companies, plant care, mother plants, pruning & bending, determining sex, odor control, drying, harvest, medicinal use, safety and security.

200 color photos
200 b/w drawings, charts & graphs

Step-by-Step guide to:
Setting up grow rooms
Setting up light systems
Setting up light movers
Setting up ventilation systems
Planting ideal gardens
Growing perfect clones
Flawless transplanting
Bountiful harvests
Breeding & beyond

Indoor Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor Bible is the best-selling book on indoor marijuana cultivation in the world.This is why growers christened it "The Indoor Bible". All editions of the book have been bestsellers since it was first published in 1983.The book is packed with simple how-to examples and step-by-step instructions that both novice and advanced growers use successfully. If you want to read only one book on indoor growing, this is it! ... Read more

Reviews (33)

The science of indoor growing
With the way times change, this new edition of Indoor Horticulture is as indispensable now as its predecessor was in its moment. In the multidisciplinary field of indoor growing Mr Cervantes steers enerringly betwixt the science of closet cultivation and the art of growing kind herbs. Whether you're off-and-going or up-and-coming this book has everything you need to know and then some. If you have a problem that isn't mentioned here, maybe you're growing a different plant... that's where the high-quality color photos come in handy. As the cover suggests, an "illuminating" book that leaves no stone unturned, not even the sobering memory of thousands of drug war prisoners in jail for growing marijuana. Highly recommendable.

Indoor Marijuana Horticulture - The Indoor Bible
This is the only guide you will need, it covers everything you will need to know from A to Z. The book is packed with extensive information on hydroponics, including the Sea Of Green, lighting, soils & soilless mixes, CO2, insect, spider mite, fungus & disease control, fertilizers, nutrient disorders, seeds & seedlings, seed companies, plant care, mother plants, pruning & bending, determining sex, odor control, drying, harvest, medicinal use, safety and security. It also has 200 color photos, 200 b/w drawings, charts & graphs, ALL IN ONE BOOK! I guess that's why they call it "The Indoor Bible".

Great, but could have been better
Jorge covers everything you want to know about indoor marijuana growing, only there are frequent errors and contradicting statements. It also could have been better organized, but its vast supply of info makes up for these shortcummings.

Almost Perfect
One of the best ever grow guides. When you consider how much you'll spend on seeds and equipment to grow, you've go to see the value in buying a manual and this is a great investment. True there are a few mistakes and it's a little uneven, some subjects are covered in amazing detail and others in very little, but this is a must have for any potentail grower.

Jorge knows whats up!
People ask me all the time to recommend a grow book. Without fail, I always point to Mr. Cervantes work. He has been a respectable icon in the cannabis world for many years, and really knows his stuff.

Jason King,
Author: The Cannabible
www.thecannabible.com ... Read more

Book Description

Every schoolchild learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers: The bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers’ genes far and wide. In The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a
similarly reciprocal relationship. He masterfully links four fundamental human desires—sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control—with the plants that satisfy them: the apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. In telling the stories of four familiar species, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind’s most basic yearnings. And just as we’ve benefited from these plants, we have also done well by them. So who is really domesticating whom? ... Read more

Reviews (95)

A good read, and very informative
I read this book after hearing a talk by Pollan on New Dimensions radio (in their "Bioneers" series), and I found it (like his talk) perfectly delightful. I don't agree that his use of science is misleading: he's done his homework and researched his subjects pretty thoroughly, and if he takes sides on an issue (e.g., anti-pesticide and anti-genetic-engineering), it's a reasoned conclusion rather than an unthinking bias. The book is anecdotal and impressionistic, not a closely-reasoned scientific argument, but I felt that its rather loose structure worked well: it's a fun read, he kept me interested all the way through, and I learned a surprising amount about history, botany, and horticulture. I've read several accounts of the Potato Famine, but Pollan's "take" on it was intriguing: he sees it as the world's most ghastly example of the dangers of monoculture, and I agree that it's a lesson we all need to take to heart. (But it's also a case of How A Fungus Changed The World: if the potato blight hadn't dispersed the Irish all over the world, many countries -- in Latin America, as well as the obvious contenders, Australia and the U.S. -- would be very different today.) The book is easy to read and amusing, but he also makes some important points, and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Conversational prose, brimming with allusions
I just finished this lovely little book,and would highly reccommend it. If nothing else, this book prepares one for many interesting conversations. I am now knowledgable about the true Johnny Appleseed, the tulip craze of Holland, the highly specialized marijuana culture, and new developments in the genetic engineering of potatoes. (To name a few!)
The fact that Pollan is not a scientist, but an avid gardener and researcher, among other things, should be considered an asset to the reader. He avoids esoteric scientific terminology, but the text remains sophisticated because his allusions prove huge amounts of research. Each part of the book, each "desire", has its own special charm. I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite. This book truly opens one's eyes to "a plant's-eye view of the world". Though by no means the be-all-end-all on this topic, it is a beautiful natural history.

How passionate are you about plants?
Pollan's book was pleasurable and engaging to read. It is a book that got me to think and expanded my perspective. It places our relationship with plants in specific contexts, with a unique hybrid of sociological and genetic prose. Recommended highly for those passionate about gardening, nature, or food.

Nature and Culture from a Gardener's Perspective
While you probably wouldn't want to use "The Botany of Desire" for scientific research purposes, this excellent nonfiction book effectively combines elements of science with those of history, cultural theory and mythology (from the early Greek to the Frontier American varieties). The tone is casual, not scholarly. Pollan is also a gardener, and his passion for growing things and his curiosity about life from the plant's-eye view shines through his text.
"The Botany of Desire" is a nonfiction book with an innovative structure: instead of telling a straight chronological story of the domestication of plants, Pollan instead selects four plants and tells each of their stories in turn, describing how their progress through the world has been shaped by human desires -- and the changes in those desires through history.
This book is also a travelogue of sorts: Pollan journeys through the Midwest in search of Johnny Appleseed's true life story, to Holland for the Cannabis Cup and the historical sites of "tulipomania," and to corporate factory forms to learn about genetic modification of the potato.
Most importantly, Pollan shows us around his own garden and introduces us to the plants that live there. Each of the four historical narratives begins and ends with the plant's history in his own backyard. As a host and a travel guide, Pollan takes on a fascinating journey through time, nature and culture.

I highly recommend this book to plant lovers and gardeners of all varieties, and to those who are interested in the shaping of nature by cultural forces (and vice versa). If this isn't you, it would still probably make a great gift for someone you know.

fascinating page turner
Wildly Enthusiastic Recommend: Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan
This book is really different from your average reading fare. It's a delightful mix of facts both scientific and historical, fantastical meanderings, and just plain fun. The catching premise is that plants have co-opted man into promoting their prosperity. Pollan uses four plants to illustrate this premise: apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes. Each chapter is a wonderfully readable story about the plant and its history intertwined with its relationship to man. The apple chapter has amazing information about Johnny Appleseed, and because as a child I wanted to be Johnny Appleseed, I found this fascinating. It reinforced my belief that I had good instincts as a kid. Then the tulip chapter gives you the details of tulip-mania in the Netherlands in the 1600s (think Internet bubble), making it seem amazing that this sort of thing keeps happening. The marijuana chapter is the funniest and most sinister in that it makes you want to get some good stuff, now. The potato chapter is the scariest - genetically modified foods. ... Read more

Book Description

Here, at last, is a lavishly illustrated manual for ready identification of 299 common and economically important weeds in the region south to Virginia, north to Maine and southern Canada, and west to Wisconsin. Based on vegetative rather than floral characteristics, this practical guide gives anyone who works with plants the ability to identify weeds before they flower.A dichotomous key to all the species described in the book is designed to narrow the choices to a few possible species. Identification can then be confirmed by reading the descriptions of the species and comparing a specimen with the drawings and photographs.A fold-out grass identification table provides diagnostic information for weedy grasses in an easy-to-use tabular key. Specimens with unusual vegetative characteristics, such as thorns, square stems, whorled leaves, or milky sap, can be rapidly identified using the shortcut identification table.The first comprehensive weed identification manual available for the Northeast, this book will facilitate appropriate weed management strategy in any horticultural or agronomic cropping system and will also serve home gardeners and landscape managers, as well as pest management specialists and allergists. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Weeds of the Northeast
I help identify weeds in Texas and this is one of my most used books to check an ID after Keying out a plant or for taking a quick look through a recognized family. Very few books concentrate on weeds so this type of book is much needed. Excellent photography and good information. This is so well done, I wish the authors would do it again with 175 different weeds. Thanks for a truely great book.

Weeds of the Northeast
Great book for the homeowners and horticulturalists. Great pictures and descriptions. The weed "Bible".

Certainly one of the best "weed" books ever!
This book is a treasure. I own and use many dozens of "weed" and plant books and this is one of the most comprehensive and useful. The written presentation for each plant includes information on its propagation, seedlings, roots, flowers and fruits and habitat, and more. The photographs are excellent and show the habit, seedling, leaves, flowers/fruits and seeds. Some grasses are also included.

I hope that the authors will eventually expand the geographical coverage and the number of species. I'll be first in line to buy a new edition!

Recommended!
Very fine, with great pictures and identification tables in the back that help you tell the difference between similar varieties of weeds. In fact, it's the best book I've found for identifying weeds. My only complaints are that it's a bit scientific and dry, and garlic mustard - a very destructive weed - is not included.

Awesome weed book!
This is one of the best weed books I have come across. It has very clear descriptive text and the photos are all clear and crisp. But what really thrilled me is that in addition to this the authors have included photos of seedlings and seeds of each species! Who hasn't been out in the field only to be stumped on a plant's identification because the plant is only in the seedling stage? Me, for one... lots of times. The book even has a section on common weed tree seedlings. Wow! I would recommend this book to any professional or amatuer botanist. I hope to see more from these authors. ... 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

Interest in Ginkgo biloba has grown dramatically in the last 10 years, along with a corresponding increase in research on this unique plant. This book provides an overview and recent findings concerning cell biology, biochemistry, development, morphology, phylogeny, paleobotany, as well as possible applications in chemistry and medicine. It also covers environmental aspects and the relationship between G. biloba and humans. The book will be of wide interest to botanists, horticulturists and scientists working on this attractive and useful plant. This book commemorates the hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Ginkgo sperm by Sakugoro Hirase and will both stimulate further study, and contribute to the development of new fields in Ginkgo research. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (11)

A 'must' for people interested in edible wild plants
My only regret about this book is that it isn't longer!

The plants are organized by season, and every plant has a small map to show what regions it grows in. There is a very nice, good sized picture of each plant, and most of them are in color. Information is also provided about harvesting, how to prepare the plant, and poisonous look alikes, if any.

The plants are listed by their common names, but the latin names are listed as well. Plants can be located by either name in the index.

If you are interested in edible wild plants, this book is a great value for a reasonable price.

This is a book that all who play outdoors ought to have.
I bought this book to use to gather wild plants for making homemade wines, but now it's a companion whenever I go hiking, fishing, camping, or merely sightseeing. It's that valuable!

The book is divided into an introductory section, guides to harvesting plants in each of the four seasons, the plants themselves (also presented seasonally), poisonous plants, a nutritional guide, and two great indices. The introduction includes great tips on how to prepare wild foods as drinks, snacks, entres, and condiments, along with recipes for 25 jellies, 20 jams and 17 fruit and berry pies. But the good part is yet to come.

Each plant is presented with a good-to-excellent photograph, a distribution map (so a person in the Pacific Northwest doesn't have to wonder whether he or she is looking at a squashberry or a hobblebush berry), a complete description, identification of the edible parts, harvest and preparation notes, related species, and poisonous look-alikes (if any). The presentations are just excellent. My only complaint is that the book isn't twice as thick.

Whether you just want to be prepared for emergencies or you want to collect wild edibles for making jams, jellies, pies, and wine, this book is one of the only two you'll probably need. The other is a good regional guide, because with over 20,000 species of plants to choose from north of the Rio Grande alone, a guide to regional edibles is a must.

Learning Edible Plants
This books shows, in an easy to understand format-in my opinion-a person how to identify wild edible plants that they can harvest (some even in their own backyard). It shows photos of the plants, tells you if there is a poisonous look alike plant, how to identify them, common locations of the plants, and how to prepare them for a meal. If someone wants to learn more about eating plants that grow in the wild, this book is the one I think should be in their library.

Only Fair for Identification
Identification of edible species is what I want, with emphasis on the first word. From my experience in identifying tree species and other plant ID handbooks, I'd call this one mediocre. The photos are often close-ups with no indication of scale, so size is unknown. Details are not included. Root structure and overall plant structure are seldom shown. ID often depends on flowers, present only for a few weeks of the year. Variation among species is so widespread that I'd recommend at least two good books, with better illustrations than those found here. Drawings, though not "natural", often provide better clues to identity by showing roots, structure, etc.

Good
Eating what you find in the wild can be a life saver. Learn about plants, not just N. American, but any place in the world that you might be called to serve. ... Read more

Book Description

If you really want to know exactly how to grow a garden from beginning to end, this is the book for you. Jorge chronicled five different growers from beginning to end. He lists everything they use to layout and construct their grow room including all the prices for everything. He also clues you into all the facts and figures and how to achieve the gram of dried sinsemilla per watt of HID light. Get the inside story from five growers. Every last detail on their grow operation (except location) - how they harvest heavy crops of potent marijuana indoors. They tell everything-how to choose a safe house, build a grow room & cloning chamber, install ventilation, hydroponic gardens & grow lights. Sixty full-color photographs, more than 80 black & white drawings, charts, and graphs illustrate the text.An index and an indispensable appendix of formulas and conversions are also included. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Small book with some garden designs
Five easy gardens is what you are buying here and is exactly what you get to see. This book is suitable for anyone who wants to see how some other growers do it. Cervantes goes to Europe to interview and photograph growers. He then uses the information they give him to write a book about how they grow. Interesting.

Great for the small timer
Jorge Cervantes, Mel Frank and Ed Rosenthal to the literate (not quite stoned out of thier head smoker) these names should mean something, these three guys have not only writen books that have recieved international recognition but have grown crops that have won yearly at the Cannibis Cups, all you people who say you read and review High Times, please take a break from your swag stuff and do some reading.This book is full of info for the first timer and those who want to start and stay on a small scale, if you just want to know how to start this will get you there, but if you are going to hang with the big boys get off the porch and start studying.

This book rocks!!
This book rocks! It really shows some excellent examples for everyones level of interest. I only wish it would show a Garden using a 250w system.

Five Easy Gardens- Anyone can grow the prime...
This book is an invaluable asset in showing the home grower something that all the other books virtually overlook, a production budget! Each easy garden is detailed with step-by-step, and itemized list of components with cost, and typical output. The reader can determine which methods most resemble something they could achieve... This will move all growers that are getting started in the right direction.
We, at Spice of Life Seeds, routinely advise new growers to purchase one of Señor Cervantes books. They are never disappointed. All the Best to Jorge, and I look forward to his next releases.

needs circuits maps
a good book But Needs circuit maps for the lights in all five gardens to help the Beginners. ... Read more

Book Description

More than 370 edible wild plants, plus 37 poisonous look-alikes, are described here, with 400 drawings and 78 color photographs showing precisely how to recognize each species. Also included are habitat descriptions, lists of plants by season, and preparation instructions for 22 different food uses. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

How To Eat Nature
If you're like me and you enjoy trying to eat leaves and berries that you find while hiking and wandering about in nature, this is a handy book to own. The Peterson who wrote this book (son of the Peterson of the many, many wildlife guidebooks writer) is also a forest forrager and details some other cool books to own in the Introduction (including Stalking Wild Asparagus..excellent). I searched for a while to find a guide that would not only easily ID edible berries, roots and leaves..but also give recipe-like tips on how to prepare said roots and leaves..and they do here. Who knew, for example, that one could make a cool and refreshing beverage from staghorn sumac? Crafty! Guide is sub-divided into several search methods: color, plant-type (berry, leaf) and includes many color plates along with ink drawings to help to be sure that Amanita spp. mushroom you're eating won't cause you trouble later! And, the final great feature of the Peterson guides is that the front and back covers are tough so that you can make your copy go camping with you over many moons and you won't wear out your book. Nice!

excellent book for beginners but has some problems
This book contains descriptions and uses of hundreds of useful plants and is probably the most imporant book to have in your edible plant book collection. It also gives fair warning when some evidence suggests possible risks.

Despite these points, there are some things that make it hard to use. First, because they are trying to cram in as many plants as possible, they don't give enough attention to many plants that deserve it and give very breif descriptions, although they do point out some of the main identifying features. Second, the pictures, at least for the first half of the book, are simply recycled from the Peterson Guide to Wildflowers, which means that they often leave out important parts that you really need to see. Third, the book is organized for the most part so that you can't find a plant unless you know the color of the flower, which makes it really difficult to recognize plants unless you find them during the period they flower, which is usually pretty short. And did anyone notice that they switched the pictures of Nodding Wild Onion and Field Garlic on page 115?

Of course, the descriptions and drawings are better than most books on the subject, and it does have many useful features, so this book is definately worth having.

I have an older print
The only difference being the front cover has been updated.

This has a lot of very good line drawings and some photos. The information in it is very good.

But, I would suggest that people cross reference the plants they find with another field book before eating something.

The descriptions in the book are short, the emphasis is on the use of the plant and were you may find them. Remeber with out looking closely an untrained eye may mistake water hemlock (deadly) with water parsnip, cow parsnip, angelica, or wild raison at a quick glance. And that could be unfortunate to say the least. Other then that warning though I enjoyed this book and have had it a long time. It tends to be one of the books I carry with me when I go hiking and looking for plants and birds.

Well written.
This book is very well written. it contains over 400 drawings and 78 color photos, to help in the identification of the mentioned plants. Each entry contains information on habitat, when they flower, a description and the uses. Also conatins any applicable warnings. The line drawings are very accurate and are more than enough, when coupled with the descriptions, to be able to identify just about any plant. But if you have any doubts, check the color photos. Also, at the back of the book, it contains the various types of plants divided up into habitat, and then each habitat divided into what plants can be harvested there during various seasons. This book is a great resource for any survivalist's bookshelf.

Pretty good
This book is very well written. it contains over 400 drawings and 78 color photos, to help in the identification of the mentioned plants. Each entry contains information on habitat, when they flower, a description and the uses. Also conatins any applicable warnings. The line drawings are very accurate and are more than enough, when coupled with the descriptions, to be able to identify just about any plant. But if you have any doubts, check the color photos. Also, at the back of the book, it contains the various types of plants divided up into habitat, and then each habitat divided into what plants can be harvested there during various seasons. This book is a great resource for any survivalist's bookshelf. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (2)

Great for advanced amateurs -- or displaced professionals
I'm an amateur naturalist -- and had the plants of the Eastern US pretty well under control. All that went out the window when I moved to Nicaragua. This is the first broad, clear, complete guide to neo-tropical woody plants (and lots of the herbaceous plants as well) I've seen. Although it was written for Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru, it does well enough for Central America. Just leafing through the illustrations has given me the family, and often the genus, of lots of the plants I've seen in our cloud forests. The author has a very readable style, laced with an understated sense of humour that bubbles to the surface on several occasions. See the entry for Euphorbiaceae, for example.

The book is not, however, for the complete beginner. Unless you are thoroughly familiar with the arcane botanical terminology, you will need a botanical dictionary. "Plant Identification Terminology" by Harris is a good one.

Certainly the best book of its kind
This book is the only one to cover so extensively the flora of Colombia in such an accessible way. You won't regret this purchase. It certainly deserves five stars. ... Read more

Book Description

With more than 300 photos, this new edition shows how to identify more than 500 healing plants. Descriptive text includes information on where the plants are found, as well as their known medicinal uses. An index to medical topics, symbols next to plant descriptions, and organization of plants by colors all make this an essential guide to understanding the traditional medicinal uses of the plants around us. At a time when interest in herbs and natural medicine has never been higher, the second edition of this essential guide shows how to identify more than five hundred kinds of healing plants. More than three hundred new color photos illustrate their flowers, leaves, and fruits. The updated descriptive text includes information on where the plants are found as well as their known medicinal uses. An index to medical topics is helpful for quickly locating information on specific ailments, from asthma and headaches to colds and stomachaches. Symbols next to plant descriptions give readers a quick visual alert to plants that are poisonous or may cause allergic reactions. Organized by plant color for fast identification, this guide is an indispensable tool for understanding the traditional medicinal uses of the plants and herbs around us. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great field guide
Though I don't live in the eastern US and have rarely had a chance to do field botany when I have been there, this is a great little reference when I am researching herbs found in the eastern US. Again, Dr. Duke's and Mr. Foster's great knowledge and willingness to organize it for the rest of us is deeply appreciated.

Can always count on the field guide books
I took it and used it. It's filled with great information. I only wish it had a quick plant look up structure where we can identify plants based on leaves and flowers. You know like one of those indexes that has a quick leaf and flower recognition tabs on the side. Either way a good research book and very indepth.

Intriguing Herbal Lore for the Amateur Botanist
Just when you thought there were no more plant identification guides to be written, Peterson's came out with this interesting little guide. In its pages you will find the many thousands of uses that numerous cultures have found for North American plants. From dubious cure-alls to modern cancer drugs, this guide describes them all, and their poisonous look alikes. If you already have Peterson's tree or wildflower guides, be prepared for a bit of Deja vu - there is considerable overlap in both text descriptions and illustrations. Also, don't set up your folk remedy pharmacy just yet - this book doesn't give dosage advice for the vast majority of species it describes. The authors are very strident in saying that this book is for information only, not clinical advice. That said, you will find innumerable fascinating tidbits of herbal lore between its covers.

An herbal degree in our pocket
Here is everything that a field guide should be and contain--small enough to stick into a pocket but comprehensive, definitive, dependable and well-illustrated. Pictures, descriptions, locations, uses, warnings. Foster is not only an herbalist of the first rank but one of the finest plant photographers out there clicking. His gorgeous Healing Plants calendar is on my wall; the verdant photos provide daily pleasure. Herbal preparations as alternatives to synthetic drugs are increasingly chosen. St. John's Wort for depression, Saw Palmetto for prostate treatment, Goldenseal for a multitude of symptoms. Not typically thought of as herbs, trees are also a part of our living pharmacy and 66 are included here. Ginkgolides extracted from leaves of the Ginkgo tree (ginkgo biloba) are the best-selling herbal preparation in Europe. Aspirin derives from the willow. Amongst shrubs I learned that Hawthorn leaf and flower preparations are used in Germany to treat congestive heart failure, based on at least 14 controlled clinical studies. With increasing usage, many plants are in danger of being overharvested. Conservation is necessary to preserve a viable natural community of plants that can and may help alleviate human suffering. Stopping plant thieves is a law enforcement challenge but easy identification of plants may save others of us from bulldozing a patch of ginseng for a house site. It is noted that Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) "is common in eastern Kansas but it is very rare in western North Carolina at the eastern extreme of its range. The plant might be judiciously harvested in Kansas, but in North Carolina it should be left alone." More than just a field guide, Medicinal Plants and Herbs is an essential reference book for our personal library. The value of this big little book can hardly be overestimated.

Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs
I have just recently become interested in learning about the wild plants of my area and this book seems to be the most extensive resource about medicinal plants available. I like it because it is clear and concise, contains information on plant use and history, has color photographs to go with each entry, and includes poisonous look-a-likes and possible side effects of otherwise safe plants. I do, however, find the organization to be a bit confusing. For instance, it is simple to find the section on plants with yellow flowers, the pages are color coded, but difficult to differentiate between sections for button like composite flowers and dandelion like flowers. This results in a lot of time spent looking at pictures of yellow flowers. I much prefer the orginization of the Peterson Guide to Edible Wild Plants, which is similar but more clearly labled. I also think that the line pictures in that book have many benifits over the photographs contained in the medicinal plants field guide. The drawings offer well focused close up views from more than one angle if neccessary, this is not always possible with photos and a few pictures in the book are fuzzy. Overall I think that this is an excellent resource book. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

unbelievable
Although it lacks color pictures, it is by far the most complete listing of edible plants that I've ever seen (over 4000 plants covered) and tells you how to identify and use EVERY part of a plant from the Flower to the Leaf to the Bark to the Root (and any other part that may be usable) If your into long term survival or just want a snack on the trail, this book has it covered.

The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America
The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America, by Francois Couplan, Ph.D. is "a reference for all people interested in learning about the numerous opportunities nature offers us in the form of healthful, intriguing, often delicious vegetables and fruits that we do not have to grow to enjoy."

Couplan provides information for approximately 4000 varieties of wild plants, much of it based on his personal experience.

An ethnobotanist, Couplan began writing his Encyclopedia 25 years ago. During that time he traveled extensively, spending "a lot of time in the woods with very little in my backpack, finding my food in the plants I gathered." He took copious notes and presented "wild gastronomy" workshops, while also continuing his academic research and studies.

Plants are listed by their Latin names, however the index includes the common names.

Information for each plant includes a rating of how edible it is, how abundant it is, and where it grows. Etymology of most names are provided also; thus readers learn that dandelion comes from the French words for lion's tooth, because of the shape of the leaves.

Couplan describes how to prepare edible parts of the plant, and how they taste. He also discusses the nutritive values and medicinal properties of each plant. Where relevant, he provides information on other uses, such as dyes, soaps, and basketry. Endangered species are noted. The book does not include illustrations and is not intended for use as an identification manual.

Anyone who has ever wondered if a particular plant could be eaten, or how to harvest and prepare it, will find The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America informative and interesting. People wishing to add a little variety to their diet will find lots of suggestions, and those who use plants for healing will appreciate the medicinal details.

Good, but NOT a field guide
This book is big and almost too thorough. It really is like an encyclopedia. It includes lots of plants which are only marginally edible and hard to find. On the other hand, you will have a hard time finding an edible plant out there that is not listed. There are some illustrations, but they are not useful for identifying the plants -- you will definitely need a field guide if you are just getting started and don't know much about identification. The book is interspersed with historical information and anecdotes which add a lot to the whole picture of a plant, as well as making it a bit easier to remember. This book is best read in tandem with another book that takes the topic from a different perspective. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Peter D'Amato has been raising carnivorous plants for three decades, and his nursery, California Carnivores, houses the world's largest collection of flesh-eating flora. There's not much D'Amato doesn't know about growing these oddballs of the plant world, and he imparts his expertise gracefully and with humor in The Savage Garden, which is aimed at curious gardeners who want to grow carnivorous plants both indoors and out. From the ever-fascinating Venus flytrap to the aquatic bladderwort and the rather extravagantly sexual-looking pitcher plant, these exotic plants have a reputation for being difficult to grow, but D'Amato proves otherwise. The necessary water and soil chemistry, proper lighting, and propagation tips are discussed thoroughly along with descriptions and growing tips for many species in each of 11 plant families.

If plants can have personalities, these do--or at least appear to in the hundreds of witty photographs and colored illustrations that show them both at their hungriest and at their most innocuous. This is a stunningly comprehensive guide that will inspire and fascinate even the most squeamish gardener. -- Barrie Trinkle ... Read more

Reviews (31)

A Brilliant Display Of Organization And Knowledge!
Peter D'Amato displays his incredible knowledge of carnivorous plants in a book that is brilliantly organized. Cultivation and propagation pages are set in pastel green colors for fast and easy reference. The book is full of detailed cultivating information, fascinating historical accounts, and beautiful color pictures. The Savage Garden is an essential part of any carnivorous plant enthusiasts' library.

The best guide for cultiving carnivorous plants
If you've ever bought a venus fly-trap and had it die on you, but would still like to give it another try, this is the perfect book. And not just for fly-traps, but nearly every other carnivorous plant out there!

This book is packed full of information on all kinds of plants that trap and eat insects. But best of all, Peter D'Amato, who runs the largest retail store selling such plants, gives helpful advice on how to grow them. Pretty much everything from soil mixes to light and humidity levels is detailed out here. He even gives lists of plants that do well in different settings, such as windowsills, terrariums, and outdoor bogs. And the writing style is such that it is easy to understand and follow, and even has a nice sense of humor. And while the author's experience is growing them on the Pacific Coast, the advice is easily adaptable to other climates with some adjustment.

This is a must-have book for anyone interested in carnivorous plants - and the "bible" for anyone who hopes to grow them successfully.

Quality and informative!
This book answers all the questions for cultivating these complex plants. From problem solving, to watering, to soil, and even types of pots, this book will reveal just about everything you have to know. It contains many grade A quality pictures of the plants, soil, pots, other gardens, and some of his own plants. This book is the best on the market and well worth your money.

Visit his nursery too!
If you're ever in wine country (CA), visit his HUGE nursery. It's obvious this guy knows his stuff. The added bonus is that he knows how to write about it in an engaging manner. The pictures are beautiful, too. Read this books if you're at all interested in CPs or plants in general. You'll want to raise some of your own (I did, and now I have three!).

The Modern CP Bible
Not only a great guy but a great author,
Many people around the world consider this one of the greatest resources when owning a cp. Many other great cp authors are out there but for the beginner or even the expert pick this one up first. ... Read more

Book Description

Cacti have a very special fascination all their own. Like the brilliantly colored hummingbirds, the Cactaceae are creatures of the New World. Miniature spiny dwarf cacti less than an inch in diameter are hidden in the arid regions of North and South America; the majestic columns of the giant saguaro, Carnegiea gigantea, dominate the deserts of Arizona. Yet all these cacti, given time, offer the surprising paradox of brilliant flowers, their delicacy a striking contrast to the strong spines that keep the viewer at a respectful distance.

More than likely, cacti were among the gifts that Christopher Columbus presented on his return from the New World to Isabella, queen of Castile. The first reports of cultivation of cacti in Europe date back to about 1570. Somewhat later, a single plant of Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus, named after Otto von Kotzebue (1787-1846), the explorer, was sold immediately after its discovery to a nursery in Paris for a price many times exceeding the value of the plant's weight in gold. And the fascination continues -- cactus and succulent societies exist around the world. Despite the beauty and wonder of the cactus family, the last professional monograph of the plant was the 1919-1923 publication by Nathaniel Lord Britton and Joseph Nelson Rose.

In this new book, Anderson covers the family Cactaceae in an encyclopedic manner, addressing 125 genera and 1811 species. Descriptions are short but information-packed, and the book includes 1022 color photos. The introduction to each genus concentrates on the discovery of the cacti and the improvements in our understanding of them, in many cases as a result of relatively recent investigation. This makes the book a vivid case study of the science of plant taxonomy or plant systematics.

1008 color photos, 6 b/w photos, 3 drawings, 8 maps, 8 1/2 x 11" ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Outstanding Reference Source!
Between 1919 and 1923, a landmark publication in four volumes, The Cactaceae, was published by the Carnegie Institution. It remains a landmark publication in the world's literature on cacti. Edward F. Anderson has produced a massive one volume encyclopedic work, which expands and extends the work of Carnegie Institution. This marvelous resource has been well worth waiting for as it is based on Anderson's forty-five years of research on cacti.

The unique attributes of cacti are discussed in five chapters. Cacti occur naturally and are native to what is called "The New World." Only one species of native cacti is found in tropical Africa. In all other countries of the world where cacti are present, their existence is owed to the early explorers who carried cacti back to Europe on their ships and to birds that dispersed cactus seeds throughout the world.

Cacti as food, both for humans and animals, is addressed along with the medicinal uses of cacti. Cacti have long been used for ceremonial and religious purposes by indigenous peoples of the New World and as a source of dyes, especially the beautiful red cochineal dye. A chapter on cacti cultivation has been contributed by Roger Brown. For those interested in growing cacti in their homes and gardens, Brown's advice on containers, potting and repotting, air circulation and ventilation, pests, pesticides, and propagation is a valuable bonus to this specialized encyclopedia.

Pages 105 through 681 contain over 1,000 stunning color photographs (many photographed by Anderson), which are overwhelming in their portrayal of both the beauty and the idiosyncratic nature of cacti. Examples of the photographic artistry found within these glossy pages range from close-up snapshots of cactus flowers and large photographs of intriguing oddities. It will be difficult for cacti enthusiasts to wean themselves from this prodigious book, which weighs almost ten pounds.

The appendices, glossary and indexes are superb. The eight-page double-column international bibliography is comprehensive, spanning over two centuries of research on cacti (the earliest citation is dated 1760 and the latest references are from 2001). This is truly a state-of-the-art source. This splendid work stands alone and at the top of its genre.

Disappointment!
Less than 50% of the described species has a photograph.
Actual photos are small in size.
No cultivation tips at all!
Good for botanists, less for amateur cactus growers.

WOW!!! Cactus lover's new bible.
Fuggedaboutit! This recently published work is quite simply the greatest single volume treatment of the Cactus family. Although expensive, I believe you will treasure this book in much the same way that you treasure your cacti collection. A wealth of knowledge expressed in terms a non-scientist can understand, yet also greatly useful to the serious scholar. Please read the other reviews. Much enthusiasm.

Dr Anderson - Where have you been all my Life?
This is the ultimate book for any serious cactus collector and grower. Although at first glance it seems daunting in the extreme, a sudden epiphany of understanding dawns as one reads through the book. Written by a scientist and true enthusiast, this book is exhaustive in its desctriptions and naming of cacti, even to the point of honesty, when Dr Anderson explains that many families of cacti are less well understood than others. This book has many scientific and true botanical references in it, but unlike many authors who believe (wrongly) that the reader will possess the same knowledge, Dr Anderson explains all this in great detail at the beginning of the book, with all the nomenclatures the reader and enthusiast is going to be encountering in later chapters. The photographs are stunning and comprehensive, the various different habitat each plant grows in is described, and the very important issue of conservation of valuable species is tackled in a topical and masterful manner. The exact care of each and every plant is not displayed together with its photograph, but at the beginning of the book, and all other aspects of care, from soil, sterilisation of tools, pots, eradication of pests and so on, can also be found there. The very simple but concise drawings of the anatomy of the cactus flower in general are wonderfully understandable, and in the later photgraphic section, any doubts the grower may have about a particular cactus are dispelled by the flower description, from stem to size and colour. There is also a glossary of botanical terms at the end of the book, so there is never a section in the book where the reader is blinded by scientific jargon. I would recommend this book to any seriously interested collector of cacti - the definitive book, in my opinion.

Profusely illustrated with color photography
Edward Anderson is senior research botanist at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona and 1998 winner of the prestigious Cactus d"or, given by the Principality of Monaco for outstanding research on succulents. In The Cactus Family, Anderson draws upon his many years of experience and expertise to create the definitive compendium on Cactus. An essential, core, "user friendly" title for personal, professional, and academic horticultural and gardening reference collections, The Cactus Family is profusely illustrated with color photography. Additionally, The Cactus Family is enhanced with an informative foreword by Wilhelm Barthlott; a chapter on cactus cultivation by Roger Brown; an appendices of maps; a second appendices "Two Botanic Gardens and Herbaria with Significant Collections of Cacti; a glossary; literature citation; an index of scientific names, and an index of common names. ... Read more

Book Description

Plants convert inorganic nitrogen into amino acids, the building blocks for proteins. They also make a wide range of other nitrogen compounds to help protect themselves from pests and diseases. An understanding of these compounds can therefore help in devising better crop protection and production methods. This volume contains essays by scientists who have studied aspects of plant nitrogen nutrition and amino acid biosynthesis. There are chapters on protein amino acids, nonprotein amino acids, betaines, glutathione, polyamines, and other secondary metabolites derived from amino acids. The results of these studies will be of interest to graduate students and professionals in biochemistry and botany. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The New England Wild Flower Society is the oldest plant conservationorganization in North America. It celebrated its 100th birthday by publishingthis beautiful and useful guide to identifying, growing, and propagating nativewildflowers.

Cultivating and appreciating native flora is a first step towards ecologicalgardening, a concept whose time has come. By choosing to grow the plants thatthrive naturally in the conditions your garden offers, you are working withrather than against nature, resulting in easier maintenance and a reduced needof water and chemicals. A great many of the very loveliest flowers are availableas natives, such as columbines, iris, trout lilies, violets, trillium, and evenorchids. The delicacy of the native species, their simple forms and unadornedbeauty, make many of the cultivars we see in the nursery appear overdone andblowzy, like a girl who has overdressed for a party. Horticulturists have workedfor years to make new colors, double forms, and larger, brighter flowers, butthese small natives have all the appeal of the original, plus they naturallythrive in appropriate conditions.

More than a thousand species of flowers are discussed and pictured, withthorough information on native habitat, cultural requirements, propagation, anddesign considerations. At the back of the book are lists of plants ideal forspecific situations and with certain characteristics; look here to find whatspecies have large leaves or attract butterflies, as well as which do best indry shade, rocky areas, bogs, and, perhaps most useful of all, which wildflowersare deer-resistant. --Valerie Easton ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A Guide To Wildflowers By A True Expert
If you happen to be visiting The Garden in the Woods in Framingham, MA, you will probably notice a man puttering in the gardens or working in the nursery. More than likely he will instinctively know that you have a question about the wildflowers you are examining and he will be more than happy to share his knowledge. This amiable person is William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society. For those who are unable to visit the garden, or have a question about wildflowers, Cullina's book GROWING AND PROPAGATING WILDFLOWERS is the next best thing. This coffee table style book is filled with lavish photographs and wonderful commentary about many wildflowers found in North America. The book not only assists the reader in identifying various wildflowers, but helps the reader who wishes to incorporate wildflowers in a home garden. Cullina mentions in the introduction that horticulture has been a life long passion. This is evident in his writing style. The information in the book is informative and while it is presented in a formal manner, it is non-threatening for the novice gardener. This work is not helpful just for gardeners. Photographers will appreciate the wonderful shots of the flowers, many of which were photographed by Cullina himself.

Disappointing if you want to cultivate these plants
I was under the impression that this book would provide the information I needed to cultivate these plants on some scale. I was very disappointed. There is no way that you could reliably produce these plants with the information provided in this book. There are much better books out there for that purpose. If you are a novice, homegardener wanting to learn about wildflowers and grow a few in your backyard, this book would be okay for you. But if you are knowledgeable on the topic already, I think you will be disappointed.

Great Information, Weak IIlustration
This is a wonderful book about the culture and propagation of North American native flowers. The author clearly knows his stuff and communicates it well.

The only weakness is the limited and low quality photography (lots of depth of field problems) which, I gather is not the author's work, but came from a wildflower society. There really are far too few pictures considering the wide variety of plants. Don't plan on being able to tell which of the diverse Eupatoriums or Asters you want to plant by looking at their pictures.

HOWEVER, this book would be worth it without pictures, just for the information. Go buy the book and then write the pubisher a note saying the illustration is beneath the writing....just like I just did.

Cool book
This is the best reference I've found for native plants, and it's a worthy book for a coffee table. Accessible and extensive, it's pleasantly written, with care information about the species and then add'l info on specific plants in the species. The photographs are often quite nice, although I wish they more consistently showed the plant's habit in addition to flowers. There's also an appendix in the back on seed propagation.

If you get this, purchase the companion shrub&tree reference, too. It's just as good.

This is the propagation book I've been waiting for!!!
I can't add much to Jeremy's marvelous comments; I can only reiterate the praise. This book has the complete, clear, concise and honest information lacking in so many wildflower guides, especially when it comes to propagation. It is apparent that most information comes from the personal experience of the author and I've enjoyed the comments about individual plants. My only suggestion for the next edition would be the addition of photos of the seeds on the plant, especially for species such as Pachysandra, where it is unclear exactly where to look. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

BIG Disappointment
While the size and scope of this book is impressive, the quality of the prints is poor, at least in comparison with the wonderful prints found in the book "Botanical Prints From the Hortus Eystettensis" I purchased the Besler Florilegium expecting to find prints of the same caliber but they lack the detail and antique look of the prints found in the Hortus Eystettensis.
If I had a do-over button, I wouldn't purchase this book.

Excelent gift for Besler print owners
I purchased this book as a gift for someone who owns a Besler print. In fact, they own the print that is on the cover of this book. The large thick book is a very lovely display of Besler's famous prints, organized by the seasons in which the plants he observed in the garden grew. It would make a good gift to anyone, especially gardeners with large empty coffee tables.

Fantastic
It's not a book, it's an event. Well worth the purchase price! ... Read more

Book Description

This field guide features detailed descriptions of 455 species of trees native to eastern North America, including the Midwest and the South. The 48 color plates, 11 black-and-white plates, and 26 text drawings show distinctive details needed for identification. Color photographs and 266 color range maps accompany the species descriptions. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great book
This has been wonderful us as a homeschooling family. It has been an excellent resource to identifying trees in our area. I recommend it to anyone teaching their children at home about trees.

A good guide to a difficult subject
Peterson's has about the best pocket-sized tree guide out there (I much prefer it to the Audubon guide, which I also own), but I won't kid with you - identifying trees is hard. It takes time, patience, and a keen eye. Just looking at leaves is usually not enough to make a positive identification. Depending on the species and the time of year, you may also have to examine bark, the twigs, flowers, buds, or fruits. The best part of the Peterson guide is that it has summer and winter keys in the back - don't ignore them just because the keys have no pictures! They are invaluable. Without them, you might find yourself lost among the many pages of illustrations. Perhaps the best resource to supplement this guide would be contact with an expert on the flora of your area - perhaps a naturalist at a local park or a forestry professor at a nearby university.

So-so book. Spend your money elsewhere
I know quite a bit about trees [boy scout, landscaping, etc], and I found this book to be very confusing in its layout. Not all of the trees described have all identification visually depicted -- leaf, bark, twig, seed -- and what pictures it has are separated from the text description by hundreds of pages. "Okay, this is an oak leaf, and they're described here... hmm, the pictures are back there ... hold on, let me use the leaf as a bookmark ..." Not handy at all.

The text itself is very detailed, but the "how to use this book" chapter doesn't show pictures to describe what is meant by the specific terms it uses. So even though I know quite a bit about trees, I found myself having to go back to botany books to look up 'bundled leaf scar' [and other terms] so I could try to determine from text only the difference between one specific tree from a similar one, only one of which is poisonous to my horses.

As a result, I am confused, and we have to wait until the tree completely leafs out in a month or two before we can make the determination whether to cut it down or not.

Additionally, only a fraction of the trees it contains has habitat or range maps, so I can't even tell whether I need to be concerned about a specific tree being native in my area. And in one case, the Osage Orange which grows like weeds here and has for at least a hundred years, shows a range limited to TX and S.W. AR ... 300 miles away. I've seen better tree-ident books in the book stores when I needed to look up one specific item. I wish I could remember the names of them.

On the plus side, the text descriptions are very detailed, and contain lots of interesting tidbits that you wouldn't find elsewhere. I'd suggest that you use other books unless you're actually a forest ranger or a PhD in trees.

Good reference material
This book was very informative for both my schooling and my job. It has helped me with both my classes and my job. All of the Peterson Field Guides are helpful and informative. They are relatively easy to use for people that have some knowledge of the species. Overall good books.