front cover of Grasses of the Intermountain Region
Grasses of the Intermountain Region
Laurel K. Anderton and Mary E. Barkworth
Utah State University Press, 2009
Grasses of the Intermountain Region is a modification of the two grass volumes of the Flora of North America (FNA). It is designed for identifying members of the Poaceae in the region between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, and is intended for use by botanists working with the grasses in this intermountain region of North America. The reduction in number of taxa included from FNA has reduced the length of the keys and made it possible to include, in a single volume, descriptions and illustrations for all taxa treated as well as provide distribution maps for species that are established in the area. Another difference from the FNA volumes is that the maps in this volume show only records from IMR and adjacent areas rather than the full North America range of the taxa.
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front cover of Manual of Grasses for North America
Manual of Grasses for North America
Mary E. Barkworth, Laurel K. Anderton Kathleen M. Capels, Sandy Long, and Michael B. Piep
Utah State University Press, 2007
Grasses are the world’s most important plants. They are the dominant species over large parts of the earth’s land surface, a fact that is reflected in the many different words that exist for grasslands, words such as prairie, veldt, palouse, and pampas to mention just a few. As a group, grasses are of major ecological importance, as soil binders and providers of shelter and food for wild animals, both large and small. Some grasses, such as wheat, rice, corn, barley, rye, tef, and sugar cane are major sources of calories for humans and their livestock; others, primarily bamboos, are used for construction, tools, paper, and fabric. More recently, the seed catalogs that tantalize gardeners each winter have borne witness to an increasing appreciation of the aesthetic value of grasses.

The Manual of Grasses for North America is designed as a successor to the classic volume by Hitchcock and Chase. It reflects current taxonomic thought and includes keys, illustrations, and distribution maps for the nearly 900 native and 400 introduced species that have been found in North America north of Mexico. In addition, it presents keys and illustrations for several species that are known only in cultivation or are of major agricultural significance, either as progenitors of bread wheat and corn or as a major threat to North American agriculture because of their ability to hybridize with crop species. The Manual is a major reference work for grasses that will retain its value for many years.
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