Wildflowers West
Wildflowers West
This book is a guide to a step by step process to identify plants called Keys. By focusing on specific characteristics of plants in a methodical approach, genus and species identification is more reliable. The book covers over 350 species found in six U.S. Rocky Mountain states above the tree line. In addition it is full of information such as names of flower and plant parts, habitat, growth zones, and a glossary to help amateurs such as ourselves obtain more accurate plant identifications. It is portable and meant to be taken into the field. We look forward to putting it to good use.
See the first book of keys by Dr. Janet L. Wingate: Rocky Mountain Flower Finder
Per cover: Showy Wildflowers of the Alpine and Subalpine areas of the Northern Rocky Mountain States.
Coastal Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest is, of course, a specialty book and one that came in most handy for us during a visit to the Oregon coast in 2007. The material is presented well with color photgraphs throughout.
Colorado's Best Wildflower Hikes was one of the first books we bought on moving to Colorado. From the first hike we did based on the recommendation of the book, Pawnee Buette, we were fans!! We identified no less than TWENTY-FIVE new wildflower species on that hike. The wildflower profiles are interesting and the hike descriptions are filled with the wildflowers to be found there.
Colorado's Best Wildflower Hikes, Volume 3 covers the San Juan Mountains.We look forward to exploring the areas covered!
A highly recommended book for botanists, this volume makes a complete technical representation of the flora of Colorado. We are not trained botanists but are finding that the longer we are involved with plant identification the more we want to know. See the text on Western Slope below for the Amazon review of this, and the Western Slope, book.
This highly recommended book just arrived on our doorstep yesterday so an actual hands on statement cannot be given yet. The authors offer extensive knowedge on the flora of Colorado. Here is the Amazon review: 'Reflecting the conclusions of current taxonomic research and recognizing new species found in the state, these thoroughly updated guides offer the most complete and authoritative reference to the plants of Colorado. Both volumes explain basic terminology; discuss plant geography; and describe special botanical features of the mountain ranges, basins, and plains. Interesting anecdotes and introductions are given for each plant family, and hints on recognizing the largest families are provided as well. Each volume includes a complete glossary, indices to common and specific names, and hundreds of illustrations. Ideal both for the student and scientist, Colorado Flora: Eastern and Western Slopes, Third Edition are essential for readers interested in Colorado’s plant life.'
Per cover: An easy to use field guide to showy wildflowers in the nothern and central Rocky Mountain forests.
A talented man and tireless 'searcher'. Volume One covers wildflowers in the Plains and Foothills zones. Volume Two, Mountains. While the information is brief and merely technical, we have identified a good number of plants from these books, plants that we found nowhere else.
This fine book by Dr. Dee Strickler is a comprehensive work . Not only does it include all 80 species native to the Pacific Northwest, but it is rich in technical botanical information on these plants. The book is dedicated to 'penstemaniacs' everywhere. We are pleased to count ourselves in that category.
I admit that when I was given this book, I was skeptical that the often simplistic looking line drawings that make up the majority of representations in the book would help me identify plants. I was wrong! We have honed in on the identity of a number of wildflowers using the drawings. The plant information is short and to the point. Fine by us as well.
An outstanding resource for the untrained amateur botanist (that would be us) as an aid in identifying plant species. Botanical terms can be confusing and at times seem contradictory, truly a language unto itself. With the illustrations the authors have paired with the names of plant parts, they created an ingenious tool for use in plant identification. Their first book was published in 1994, with a second edition copyright in 2001. Our copy was from a 12th printing of the book in 2007. These statistics carry their own recommendation on this fine tool.
A real surprise of a book. We bought it for it's small stature to keep the load light on hikes. There are a lot of flowers in this book, good information, and wonderful photography. A nice addition to a collection.
Another handy quick guide, organized by color, with line drawings of wildflowers and brief but helpful information as well. Lightweight for us hikers! This is a fan-fold style guide that is water resistant.
A book of blooms by color, often with detailed line drawings of foliage or fruits. Included are 253 photographs of specimens. Portions of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Nebraska, Kansas Oklahoma, and Missouri represent the territory covered. Over half the species in the book group into four main plant families: Asclepiadaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, and Onagraceae.
A greatly anticipated book for us! A fellow wildflower enthusiast, Dr. Mary Dubler, has found a number of our unidentified species from this material. The book was also recommended by Al Schneider of Southwest Colorado Wildflowers, whose opinion we greatly value. Rocky Mountain Flora is a Colorado Mountain Club Field Guide. We look forward to creasing it's pages, making notes in the side bars, and in general wearing the book out.
THIS book was the starter book on Keys by Janet Wingate, with all the illustrations by her as well. This publication covers 'herbacious wildflowers of six U.S. Rocky Mountain states, including the foothill, montane and subalpine zones.' As is the case with Alpine Flower Finder, this book is portable and meant to go with you in the field.
Our first book covering this habitat specifically with an excellent representation of species. The plants are presented by family. Good photographs with both technical descriptions of plants and interesting factual information makes this a well rounded book on wildflowers. Also included are the zones of the area and a number of animals and insects co-habitating with the plants.
Per cover: A field guide to wildflowers in the Southern Rocky Mountains, including Rocky Mountain National Park. Good photography and comments. If we find a wildflower we don't know, we look here first.
Hiking and wildflowers; a natural pairing that is marvelously encapsulated in this book. Five Washington state areas, wildflower profiles, maps, and great photography make up the fine offerings you will find in the book. We have done a number of the hikes based on the authors recommendations and have never been disappointed.
Another fine book by the prolific Dr. Dee Strickler. His work includes almost 400 species of wildlfowers. The focus is on those common plants growing along roads and highways, trails, and byways. The photography in this book is well done, with leaves and plant structure often captured in the shots along with the plant's flower(s).
This classic is a must have for a well rounded collection on wildflower identification. Although the information is great, I do however, find the organization of the book a bit of a pain. Photographs and informational text on the given subjects are located in differing sections of the book. Pain or not, we have used this book a good deal in our research.
Per cover: Dedicated to Snowmass, Aspen, and Maroon Bells Wilderness.
Hands down the best wildflower book we have used in our studies of wildflowers. The book is a treasure trove, not only of technical information, but interesting facts, medical uses of plants, and historical lore. A true joy and love of nature comes through in Ms. Huggins sharing of her knowledge through her book. The wildflowers are presented by family, with a photo index of the flowers to assist in their location in the book when family or flower name is not known. A wonderful must have text!
This book rates our yes vote. When we have collected a new digital wildflower specimen during a hike in the Mt. Rainier area we look here first to learn about the plant. The layout of the book is very good - by zones - and it is a portable little book as well. There is a pictorial index of the flowers at the front of the book that is very useful.
We found this book in a second hand bookstore on the Oregon Coast. Yup, we are collectors at heart. Well presented with good photographs, we found a couple of flowers ignored in other more recent books.
This book has a great deal to offer. Excellent technical information on the plants, a regional map for each and every plant, and a great introductory section. We use this book ALOT. Some of the photographs could be better but overall this is a wonderful resource for wildflower identification.
An interesting work comprised of 186 species. The plants are presented by family and genus in a great layout. The excellent photographs of the species are given their own pages with text about the plants adjacent. The larger pictures of the plants greatly aid in appreciating their beauty. Always interesting to us are the Native American uses of plants which are shared generously in this book.
Another used bookstore find, this book sure enough has some flowers not mentioned in more recently published works. Such as Lamb's Tongue of the Lily family. We have not yet seen this flower but at least we know of it now. We had not yet identified our photographs of Bachelor Button and opened the page to just that flower. Bingo!
Mark owned this book for years but we only recently unearthed it. The reality survivor shows can use some tips from this book! Some interesting wildflowers are in here...Clover (not too surprising), Tiger Lily, and Cattails can all be harvested and used for nourishment.