Walk into any nursery, florist, or supermarket, and you’ll encounter displays of dozens of gorgeous flowers, from chrysanthemums to orchids. At one time these fanciful blooms were the rare trophies of the rich and influential—even the carnation, today thought of as one of the humblest cut flowers. Every blossom we take for granted now is the product of painstaking and imaginative planning, breeding, horticultural ingenuity, and sometimes chance. The personalities of the breeders, from an Indiana farmer to Admiral Lord Gambier’s gardener, were as various and compelling as the beauty they conjured from skilled hybridization.
In Visions of Loveliness: Great Flower Breeders of the Past, Judith Taylor wrote engagingly about the vivid history and characters behind eighteen types of popular flowers. In this companion volume she uncovers information about another eight familiar flowers: poinsettias, chrysanthemums, gladioli, pansies, carnations, water lilies, clematis, and penstemons.
Taylor has tapped into an enormous trove of stories about extraordinary people with vision and skill who added to our enjoyment piece by piece, starting about 150 years ago. This beautifully illustrated book will please flower enthusiasts, gardeners, and history buffs alike.
A nineteenth-century entrepreneur’s bold, innovative marketing helped transform flower gardens into one of America’s favorite hobbies.
“There is much that is hard and productive of sorrow in this sin-plagued world of ours; and, had we no flowers, I believe existence would be hard to be borne.” So states a customer’s 1881 letter—one of thousands James Vick regularly received. Vick’s business, selling flower seeds through the mail, wasn’t unique, but it was wildly successful because he understood better than his rivals how to engage customers’ emotions. He sold the love of flowers along with the flower seeds.
Vick was genuinely passionate about floriculture, but he also pioneered what we now describe as integrated marketing. He spent a mind-boggling $100,000 per year on advertising (mostly to women, his target demographic); he courted newspaper editors for free publicity; his educational guides presaged today’s content marketing; he recruited social influencers to popularize neighborhood gardening clubs; and he developed a visually rich communication and branding strategy to build customer loyalty and inflect their purchasing needs with purchasing desire.
Between the Flowers is Harriette Simpson Arnow's second novel. Written in the late 1930s, but unpublished until 1997, this early work shows the development of social and cultural themes that would continue in Arnow's later work: the appeal of wandering and of modern life, the countervailing desire to stay within a traditional community, and the difficulties of communication between men and women in such a community.
Between the Flowers goes far beyond categories of "local color," literary regionalism, or the agrarian novel, to the heart of human relationships in a modernized world. Arnow, who went on to write Hunter's Horn (1949) and The Dollmaker (1952)—her two most famous works—has continually been overlooked by critics as a regional writer. Ironically, it is her stinging realism that is seen as evidence of her realism, evidence that she is of the Cumberland—an area somehow more "regional" than others.
Beginning with an edition of critical essays on her work in 1991 and a complete original edition of Hunter's Horn in 1997, the Michigan State University Press is pleased to continue its effort to make available the timeless insight of Arnow's work with the posthumous publication of Between the Flowers.
Bulb gardening in the southwestern and southern United States presents challenges unknown in cooler climates. Bulbs that turn Holland into a kaleidoscope of color droop and fade in our mild winters, hot summers, and uncertain rainfall. Yet hundreds of native and naturalized species of bulbs thrive in these same conditions and offer as many colors, shapes, and fragrances as even the most demanding gardener desires. These are the bulbs that Thad Howard describes in this comprehensive guide to bulbs that will grow in USDA gardening zones 8 and 9.
Writing from more than forty-five years' experience in collecting and cultivating bulbs, Howard offers expert advice about hundreds of little-known, hybrid, and common species and varieties that grow well in warm climates. His species accounts, which are grouped by family, describe each plant and its growing requirements and often include interesting stories from his collecting expeditions. Lovely color photos illustrate many of the species.
Howard also gives reliable information about refrigerating bulbs, using them in the landscape and in containers, choosing scented ones, making potpourri, buying, collecting, cultivating, and hybridizing bulbs, and dealing with pests and diseases. He concludes with lists of plant societies and suppliers and a helpful glossary and bibliography.
This, the first of three volumes on the aster family planned for the Illustrated Flora of Illinois series, recognizes 388 species in 119 genera, as well as 20 hybrids and 73 lesser taxa. In Asteraceae, Part 1, author Robert Mohlenbrock presents new and historic information in a clear and easy-to-read style. The volume provides an easy-to-use key to the genera and species and a complete description and nomenclatural and habitat notes for each plant, including its usefulness, if applicable. New nomenclatural combinations are shown for several species. The precise illustrations and detailed information allow for the identification of some of the most difficult to identify plants in the state—goldenrods, asters, artemisias, and fleabanes, among others. Includes 128 original illustrations by Paul Nelson.
This is the fourth volume in The Illustrated Flora of Illinois devoted to dicotyledons, or dicot plants. Dicots are the greatest group of flowering plants, exceeding the monocotyledons, or monocots. Dicots produce a pair of seed leaves during germination while monocots produce only a single seed leaf.
This volume contains four orders and ten families of dicots. The orders included in this volume are Malvales, Urticales, Rhamnales, and Euphorbiales. Within the Malvales are the families Tiliaceae, Sterculiaceae, and Malvaceae. The families Ulmaceae, Moraceae, and Urticaceae comprise the Urticales. Rhamnaceae and Elaeagnaceae make up the Rhamnales. The Euphorbiales include only the Thymelaeceae and the Euphorbiaceae.
The second edition of Flowering Plants: Flowering Rush to Rushes offers new material, including a preface, seventeen new illustrations of the additional species now known from Illinois, a revised list of illustrations, and an appendix of the additions and changes since 1970 in the identification, classification, and location of the plants included in the first edition. This new edition of the first volume in the multi-volume series of The Illustrated Flora of Illinois—which provides a working reference for the identification and classification of these plant forms in the state—includes flowering rushes, arrowheads, pondweeds, naiads, duckweeds, cattails, bur reeds, spiderworts, and rushes.
In his introduction, Robert H. Mohlenbrock defines terms and procedures used in the identification and classification of this group of flowering plants referred to as monocotyledons—plants that produce upon germination a single cotyledon or seed-leaf and are often identified by their tall, slender, grass-like leaves. He outlines the life histories and morphologies of the representative monocots and illustrates the plants’ habits and frequencies in Illinois.
Geared to the amateur as well as the professional botanist, the volume includes a glossary of definitions and identification keys to classify the plants according to order, family, genus, and species. The identifying characteristics of each descending class are also given in detail. The morphology of each species is outlined along with data on frequency of occurrence, related soil and climate conditions, and history of past collections. Among the 125 illustrations are detailed sketches of the important features of each species and maps indicating the geographical locations of each species in Illinois.
A continuation of “The Illustrated Flora of Illinois” series, this volume features Illinois flowering plants. This series is designed to provide a working reference for the identification and classification of all the plant forms found in the state. This series is the first of its kind, as no other study of this sort has been undertaken in any other state, and as such, is an unparalleled contribution to its field.
In his introduction to this volume, Mr. Mohlenbrock discusses some of the terms and procedures used in the identification and classification of the plants. He outlines the life histories and morphologies of some of the representative monocots, and also illustrates some of their habits and frequencies in Illinois. Since these volumes are meant to be used by the amateur as well as the professional botanist, the methods and terms used in the text are explained. The directions for the use of the various identification keys are given so that even the novice plant lover will be able to identify the species encountered. For the uninitiated, a glossary is provided which gives definitions for all terms that might be unfamiliar.
All necessary aids to identification are included in the text itself. The identification keys make it initially possible to classify the plants according to order, family, genus and finally, species and the identifying characteristics of each descending class are given in detail. The morphology of each species is outlined, along with data on frequency of occurrence, related soil and climate conditions and history of past collections, and history of past collections. An illustration showing the more important features of the species in detail is included with the description, as well as a map indicating its geographical locations in Illinois.
This book will be invaluable to students, teachers and professionals; particularly those who are interested in observing the plants in their natural habitat. Those who use it will find it possible to obtain a broad view of changing plant forms as they relate to soil and climate variations throughout the state. And it will provide a delightful diversion for all who enjoy viewing beautiful forms in nature. A walk through the forest will become an opportunity for discovery and appreciation.
This volume, the eighth devoted to flowering plants in the Illustrated Flora of Illinois series, is the third of several devoted to dicotyledons, which include such well-known plants as roses, peas, mustards, mints, nightshades, milkweeds, and asters. Mohlenbrock here represents four orders (Annonales, Berberidales, Nymphaeales, and Sarraceniales) and fifteen families of plants. As in previous volumes in this series, the common names are those used locally in Illinois. An illustration of each species depicts the distinguishing features and the habitat in Illinois.
This sixth volume of dicots contains three orders and eight families. The orders included are Solanales, Campanulales, and Santalales. Within the Solanales are the families Solanaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cuscutaceae, and Polemoniaceae. The Campanulales contain only the family Campanulaceae. The Santalales include the families Celastraceae, Santalaceae, and Viscaceae. As with each volume in this series Mohlenbrock includes a complete plant description, illustrations showing diagnostic features, distribution maps, and ecological notes.
Robert H. Mohlenbrock provides a definitive account of the pokeweed, four-o'clock, carpetweed, cactus, purslane, goosefoot, pigweed, and pink families in Illinois.
Flowering Plants: Pokeweeds, Four-o’clocks, Carpetweeds, Cacti, Purslanes, Goosefoots, Pigweeds, and Pinks is the fifteenth volume of the Illustrated Flora of Illinois series and the ninth devoted to dicots, or plants that have two seed-leaves, or cotyledons, upon germination. Each of the 141 plants is beautifully illustrated by Paul W. Nelson.
Nelson shows the full habitat of the plant and close-ups of various vegetative and reproductive structures that are crucial for the identification of individual species. Each illustration includes detailed drawings of the flowers, fruits, and seeds of the plant covered. Mohlenbrock provides a complete description of each species as well as a discussion of the nomenclature and habitats, and his fifty-three years of experience enable him to present little-known diagnostic features for many species. Range maps show the county distribution of each species in Illinois. Mohlenbrock includes a statement giving the overall range of each species in the United States as well as a detailed key for the identification of the species.
Flowering Plants contains many plants whose obscure flower parts make them exceedingly difficult to identify. The close-up illustrations of these parts will aid the user of the book immensely in identification of the species. Included are several species previously unknown in Illinois.
New illustrations, which include detailed drawings of the flowers, fruits, and seeds are presented for each species covered in this book. Mohlenbrock’s fifty-three years of experience enable him to present little-known diagnostic features for many species.This eighth volume in the comprehensive Illustrated Flora of Illinois series is the seventh volume devoted to flowering plants (the eighth volume is devoted to ferns) and the second treating dicotyledons, which include such well-known plants as roses, peas, mustards, mints, nightshades, milkweeds, and asters. The previous volume on dicots, Flowering Plants: Hollies to Loasas, was published in 1978.
In the present volume, Mohlenbrock includes three orders of vascular plants encompassing five families. The orders are Salicales and Tamaricales, of the Salicaceae and Tamaricaceae families, and Capparidales, of the Capparidaceae, Resedaceae, and Brassicaceae families. In all, 44 genera and 117species are treated in this volume, each species illustrated in detail.
The essays in this volume focus on the different aspects of Italian gardens of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This volume is divided into two parts, with the first part concentrating on the decorations in Roman gardens of the sixteenth centuries, especially the fountains and statue collections, their iconographic programs, and their relationship to contemporary and ancient literature.
The second half of the volume considers two particular sites. The first, a Savoy duke’s villa, is considered through the history of its construction and its relationship to contemporary festivity architecture. The second essay considers a secret garden at the Palazzo Barberini in the 1630s. Also included are illustrations and text from three Barberini manuscripts documenting the plants used in this garden.
Unrivaled in the temperate latitudes of the world, China’s rich flora comprises 30,000 species of plants, and nowhere is this floral richness more evident than in western China. With its lush forests, meandering rivers, and majestic mountains, the west of China has been a center of plant exploration for over two centuries, giving rise to many well-known species of trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs that populate our parks and botanical institutes, including rhododendron, orchids, peonies, and roses.
Guide to the Flowers of Western China describes and illustrates more than two thousand species, from the common to the endemic to the extremely rare. Plant families are arranged following the latest DNA-based classification, making this pictorial guide— the largest and most comprehensive on western China ever published—essential for gardeners and plant scientists.
Celebrating the wealth of western China’s vast flora, this magnificent volume will enable the horticulturally inclined traveler (or armchair traveler) to identify many of the plants encountered in the wild.
“A few garden writers offer prose that goes beyond how to spade and spray to convey the experience and pleasures of gardening. The late Elizabeth Lawrence was such a writer.”—Southern Living
“First published in 1957 and out-of-print for many years, this is a delightfully written and enormously informative introduction to the fascinating variety of little bulbs available to the gardener. The author discusses a wide variety of plants, both familiar and little-known, including crocuses, species daffodils, hardy cyclamen and lily-family members such as Brodiaea, Bessera, and Calochortus.”—American Horticulturist
A perennial garden is an ever-changing source of delight. Each season brings new colors and textures in flowers and foliage. As the years go by, perennial plantings mature and interweave into forms more beautiful and surprising than a season's growth of annuals can ever give. Best of all, a perennial garden can grow almost anywhere with plants suited to local soils, temperatures, and rainfall.
This book is a complete guide to perennial gardening in Texas and similar regions of eastern New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas. In Part One, Julie Ryan offers a historical sketch of cottage gardens and perennial borders, with a sampler of some of their modern variations. In Part Two, she defines the major ecological regions of Texas and, with words and color photographs, takes you on a tour of lovely public and private gardens in each region.
You'll find all the "how to" information for creating your own garden in Part Three. Ms. Ryan describes and pictures over 300 flowering perennials, bulbs, foliage plants, and old roses suitable for Texas gardens, with lists of companion annuals, vines, shrubs, and small trees. Accompanying charts provide quick reference to each plant's preferred regions and cultivation requirements. In addition, Ms. Ryan discusses how to design a garden and select plants, prepare the beds, and deal with garden pests. She concludes with substantial lists of resources, including mail-order suppliers of perennials, bulbs, and old roses.
In the dark, bitter days of winter, when the ground lies frozen and snow-covered, it can be hard to believe that mere months before, gardens and window boxes were bursting forth with fragrant, colorful blossoms. Today on the frosty walk home, at least we can pick up cut flowers at the store to remind us of the spring to come. But before the technological miracles of hothouses and refrigeration, flowers could only be captured for the winter months by artists and painters. Some of the finest flower-pieces ever painted were by Dutch and Flemish artists in the seventeenth century, which depict flowers in vases of metal and porcelain, sometimes with insects and butterflies nestling in petals or clinging to stalks. From these flower-pieces we can see what Europeans of the time considered desirable flowers: the rose, iris, carnation, lily, snowdrop, violet, fritillary, narcissus, tulip, daffodil, and hyacinth—many of which are still our favorites today.
Alongside lush color botanical illustrations, Pick of the Bunch presents the social history of these flora—how they arrived in our gardens; how they were bought, acquired and displayed; and who were their devotees and cultivators. The book delves into their symbolic associations in classical and Christian traditions and examines the complex language of flowers employed by the Victorians. Beautiful to behold and engagingly written, Pick of the Bunch is a wonderful gift for any garden lover and will be a warm, much needed glimpse of spring and summer throughout the cold, barren months.
Prairie plants are among the toughest of all ornamentals. While they fascinate gardeners with their beauty and versatility, they require little maintenance. They are highly resistant to insect and disease damage, and they need not be replanted every year.
In recent years, the idea of growing prairie plants has gained increasing appeal among gardeners. Bob and Beatrice Smith have prepared this practical growing guide—based on their more than fourteen years of experience and experimentation—for all people who wish to grow prairie plants. The Smiths, who have grown all the plants they discuss here, share their wealth of experience with the reader. They recommend the best sites, tell how to plan and prepare the site and how to treat and plant seeds, and share important tips on propagation, transplanting, and managing the prairie garden or landscape. To aid in both planning and identification, the book includes full-color illustrations of all seventy plants.
Iowa is the only state that lies entirely within the natural region of the tallgrass prairie. Early documents indicate that 95 percent of the state—close to 30 million acres—was covered by prairie vegetation at the time of Euro-American settlement. By 1930 the prairie sod had been almost totally converted to cropland; only about 30,000 acres of the original “great green sea” remained. Now, in this gracefully illustrated manual, Shirley Shirley has created a step-by-step guide to reconstructing the natural landscape of Iowa and the Upper Midwest.
Chapters on planning, obtaining and selecting plants and seeds, starting seeds indoors, preparing the site, planting, and maintenance set the stage for comprehensive species accounts. Shirley gives firsthand information on soil, moisture, sun, and pH requirements; location, size, and structure; blooming time and color; and propagation, germination, and harvesting for more than a hundred wildflowers and grasses.
Shirley's sketches—all drawn from native plants and from seedlings that she grew herself—will be valuable for even the most experienced gardener. While other books typically feature only the flowering plant, her careful drawings show the three stages of the seedlings, the flower, and the seedhead with seeds as well as the entire plant. This practical and attractive volume will help anyone dedicated to reconstructing the lost “emerald growth” of the historic tallgrass prairie.
Embodying Cold War political and gendered tensions, Brazil's increasingly violent military government mounted fierce challenges to student political activity just as students were beginning to see themselves as representing an otherwise demobilized civil society. By challenging the students' political legitimacy at a pivotal moment, the dictatorship helped to ignite the student protests that exploded in 1968. In her attentive exploration of the years after 1968, Langland analyzes what the demonstrations of that year meant to later generations of Brazilian students, revealing how student activists mobilized collective memories in their subsequent political struggles.
Back in print just in time for spring! Originally published in 1948, this is the germinal text on nearly 250 species of spring wildflowers found in West Virginia. Common or English names and scientific or Latin names are given for each species. The descriptions are in two sections: The first description includes the meaning of the name of the flower, uses, habitats, and ranges in West Virginia. Secondly, the plant itself is described in deep detail to help in identification. Each description is accompanied by a facing page detailed line drawing. This book is a must have for those interested in the beauty and science of West Virginia's spring flora. The author, Earl L. Core, also co-wrote the four-volume Flora of West Virginia. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from West Virginia University and his doctorate from Columbia. He was a biology professor at WVU where the 75-acre arboretum managed by the university bears his name. The illustrator, William A. Lunk, received his doctorate at the University of Michigan and went on to become curator of their University Museums.
With more than 175,000 copies sold, Texas Wildflowers has established itself as the go-to guide for identifying the state’s roadside flowers. This new edition has been completely reorganized by flower colors (and within each color section, by flowering season) to make it even easier to identify the flowers you see as you travel through Texas. Every wildflower is illustrated with a beautiful full-color photograph—over 250 of which are new to this edition. All of the descriptive identifying information is presented in a consistent format—common and botanical names, plant and leaves, flowers and fruit, flowering season, habitat and range, and notes.
What hasn’t changed is the book’s sturdy binding, which will hold up through years of active use, and its wealth of information, which has been thoroughly updated by the expert staff of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center:
As Lady Bird Johnson observed in the foreword, Texas Wildflowers “makes me want to reach for my sunhat, put on my walking shoes, take this knowledge-filled book, and fare forth to seek and discover!”
A visual guide to the wildflowers that inhabit the mountains and valleys of northern and central Utah every spring and summer. A must for the hiker, biker, or lover of the outdoors. Includes over 100 full-color photographs.
Vascular Plants of Minnesota was first published in 1991. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.
A definitive reference to the 2,010 vascular plant species (ferns, conifers, and flowering plants) currently found in Minnesota. The maps of he Atlas section show the geographic distribution of each plant, allowing the reader to visualize—for the first time—exactly where a species occurs in the state. Historical plant collections as well as records from detailed surveys conducted in the 1970s and 1980s by the Minnesota DNR, The Nature Conservancy, and individual researchers are included in this volume.
The flora of Minnesota is of special interest because it represents the western limits of the vast eastern deciduous forest flora, the northern and eastern boundaries of the flora of the prairies and great plains, and the southwestern limits of the northern coniferous forest. These three contrasting continental floras meet more sharply in Minnesota than in other regions.
The Checklist section provides both an authoritative summary of the nomenclature of Minnesota plants and extensive references to taxonomic literature. As such, it is the most complete list ever prepared for the entire state. Arranged alphabetically, group within group, the Checklist provides both Latin and common names for all species, subspecies, and varieties.
Gerald B. Ownbey is an emeritus professor in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. As the curator of the University Herbarium for more than thirty years, he developed its collection of almost 750,000 specimens to make it the largest in the Midwest. Professor Ownbey is the author of Common Wild Flowers of Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press, 1971).
Thomas Morley is also an emeritus professor in the Department of Plant Biology at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. In addition to introducing hundreds of students to Minnesota flora in his popular course "Minnesota Plant Life," he is widely recognized for his pioneering efforts to protect remnants of Minnesota's native habitats. Professor Morley is the author of Spring Flora in Minnesota (University of Minnesota Press, 1966).
Gardeners of today take for granted the many varieties of geraniums, narcissi, marigolds, roses, and other beloved flowers for their gardens. Few give any thought at all to how this incredible abundance came to be or to the people who spent a good part of their lives creating it. These breeders once had prosperous businesses and were important figures in their communities but are only memories now. They also could be cranky and quirky.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, new and exotic species were arriving in Europe and the United States from all over the world, and these plants often captured the imaginations of the unlikeliest of men, from aristocratic collectors to gruff gardeners who hardly thought of themselves as artists. But whatever their backgrounds, they all shared a quality of mind that led them to ask “What if?” and to use their imagination and skills to answer that question themselves. The newest rose from China was small and light pink, but what if it were larger and came in more colors? Lilac was very nice in its way, but what if its blossoms were double and frilly?
While there are many books about plant collectors and explorers, there are none about plant breeders. Drawing from libraries, archives, and the recollections of family members, horticultural historian Judith M. Taylor traces the lives of prominent cultivators in the context of the scientific discoveries and changing tastes of their times. Visions of Loveliness is international in scope, profiling plant breeders from many countries—for example, China and the former East Germany—whose work may be unknown to the Anglophone reader.
In addition to chronicling the lives of breeders, the author also includes chapters on the history behind the plants by genus, from shrubs and flowering trees to herbaceous plants.
Best of Show Award, Society for Technical Communication International
From the East Texas swamps and forests to the Edwards Plateau canyons and the Trans-Pecos mountains, Texas hosts a surprising number of native orchids. Their exquisite beauty endears them to everyone from wildflower lovers to professional botanists and conservationists.
This beautifully illustrated book presents all 54 wild orchids of Texas. The species descriptions that accompany Joe Liggio's lovely color photos discuss the plant's flowers, blooming season, pollinators, typical habitats, and range (also shown by map), including its distribution within and beyond Texas. The species are grouped by genus and also listed by color, county, and habitat for easy reference.
In addition to the species accounts, the authors offer a general natural history of Texas orchids that discusses such topics as pollination and reproduction, special growing requirements, and threats to orchids from loss of habitats and careless collecting. They also describe the many orchid habitats in Texas and the species that grow in each. This wide variety of information, which has never before been collected in one volume for a general readership, makes this book the essential guide to Texas' wild orchids.
Winner, Carroll Abbott Memorial Award, Native Plant Society of Texas, 2002
Many visitors to Texas beaches see only the sands between the surf and the first low dunes. Because few plants grow there, it's easy to get the impression that Texas beaches consist mostly of barren sand—while just the opposite is true. Beyond the dunes grow an amazing variety and abundance of native plants. Many of them, like Indian Blanket, Goldenrod, and Seaside Gerardia, produce great splashes of flowering color. Others display more modest flowers or are interesting for their growing habits. In all, over seven hundred species of flowering plants grow on Texas beaches and islands.
This handy field guide will aid you in identifying some 275 common and/or noteworthy flowering plants of the Texas beaches and islands from the Rio Grande to the Louisiana border. Each plant is illustrated by a color photograph, accompanied by a description of its appearance, habitat, and blooming time. The plants are grouped by families, which in turn are arranged according to relationships and similarities for easy reference. An introduction to beach habitats and plant life, references for further reading, and a glossary of terms make this book fully useful for everyone who wants a good, general understanding of beach plant life and wildflowers.
You'll find them throughout the year in Houston—lyre-leaf sage, Drummond skullcap, silver-leaf nightshade, snow-on-the-prairie, lemon beebalm, scarlet pimpernel, plains wild indigo, spring ladies'-tresses, deer pea vetch.
These wildflowers and hundreds of other species flourish in this part of Texas, but until this book was published in 1993 no guide had focused exclusively on the Houston area. John and Gloria Tveten spent years seeking out both the common and the rare flowers. They describe here more than 200 plants. A color photograph of each one will make identification easy.
The guide is arranged by color, with each entry tracing the history and lore of a species. Many plants—for example, prairie Indian plantain and self-heal—were used by Native Americans for medicinal purposes. Others, like poke-weed and wapato, are edible. Southern dewberry and giant ragweed are used as natural dyes. And some, like rattlebush and milkweed, are poisonous.
At the end of each species account is a list of key identifying characteristics for quick reference in the field. Summaries of plant families are also included, as well as tips on where and when to look for wildflowers.
Many recreational hikers have stopped along the trail to admire a wildflower only to wonder what, exactly, they are looking at. Wildflowers of the Mountain West is a useful field guide that makes flower identification easy for the general outdoor enthusiast.
Many available plant guides are too technical or cumbersome for non-specialists to embrace. Covering New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Oregon, this book is perfect for the enthusiasts who has little botanical knowledge but would like to know more about the wildflowers they are seeing. Organized by flower color for easy reference, plant records include the common and scientific names, a description of typical characteristics, habitat information and distribution maps, look-alike species, color photographs, and informative commentary. In addition, the book provides a useful introduction to the Mountain West region, along with line drawings to illustrate basic flower parts, shapes, and arrangements; a glossary of common botanical terms; a quick search key; and an index.
The book is spiral-bound, making it easy to bring along while hiking, backpacking, or biking, and stunning full color photographs make visual confirmation of flower type simple and straightforward.
This classic of midwestern natural history is back in print with a new format and new photographs. Originally published in 1989, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie introduced many naturalists to the beauty and diversity of the native plants of the huge grasslands that once stretched from Manitoba to Texas. Now redesigned with updated names and all-new photographs, this reliable field companion will introduce tallgrass prairie wildflowers to a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts in the Upper Midwest.
Each species account is accompanied by a brilliant full-page color photograph by botanist Thomas Rosburg. In clear, straightforward, and accessible prose, authors Sylvan Runkel and Dean Roosa provide common, scientific, and family names; the Latin or Greek meaning of the scientific names; habitat and blooming times; and a complete description of plant, flower, and fruit. Particularly interesting is the information on the many ways in which Native Americans and early pioneers used these plants for everything from pain relief to dyes to hairbrushes.
Runkel and Roosa say that prairies can be among the most peaceful places on earth; certainly they are among the most beleaguered. Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie will inspire both amateurs and professionals with the desire to learn more about the wonders of the prairie landscape.
Native orchids are increasingly threatened by pressure from population growth and development but, nonetheless, still present a welcome surprise to observant hikers in every state and province. Compiled and illustrated by long-time orchid specialist Paul Martin Brown, this pocket guide to the woodland and bog rein orchids forms part of a series that will cover all the wild orchids of the continental United States and Canada.
Brown provides a description, general distributional information, time of flowering, and habitat requirements for each species as well as a complete list of hybrids and the many different growth and color forms that can make identifying orchids so challenging. For the woodland and bog rein orchids, which make up some of the most delicate and subtly colored of all wild orchids, he includes information on nineteen species, four subspecies and varieties, and seven hybrids.
The genus Platanthera is the largest genus of orchids to be found in North America north of Mexico; the woodland and bog rein orchids comprise a significant group of species found throughout much of temperate U.S. and Canada. The luminously green rein orchids, so-called because of the resemblance of some of the flowers to the reins used on horses, are especially abundant in rich woodlands, wetlands, and bogs in the more northerly and cooler habitats. Most are easy to identify based upon their general appearance, range, and time of flowering. Answering three simple questions—when, where, and how does it grow?—and comparing the living plants with the striking photos in this backpack-friendly laminated guide and the information in the simple key should enable both professional and amateur naturalists to achieve the satisfaction of identifying a specific orchid.
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