The first flora of Illinois was prepared in 1846 by Dr. Samuel B. Mead, a physician from Augusta, Illinois. Between 1846 and 1963, several people published plant lists and floras for various parts of Illinois. In 1975, Robert H. Mohlenbrock published his first edi­tion of Guide to the Vascular Flora of Illinois, followed by a second expanded and revised edition in 1986.

 

This latest Vascular Flora of Illinois includes over thirty-two hundred species, an increase of almost three hundred since 1986. In addition, for the first time, taxa below the rank of species are recognized and may be identified by keys. Investigating seldom-visited patches of prairies, wetlands, and forested canyons, Mohlenbrock has added several native spe­cies to this flora. And while there has been extensive exploration for plants, Mohlenbrock has also re­searched the herbaria in an attempt to verify previous reports of records of Illinois plants.

 

Because of a reinterpretation of existing genera, the number of genera of Illinois plants has increased markedly. Recent biosystematic techniques have be­gun to substantiate the genera that botanists such as John Kunkel Small, Per Axel Rydberg, and Edmund C. Greene proposed nearly a century ago.

 

The sequence of groups in this book is ferns, coni­fers, and flowering plants, with dicotyledons given before monocotyledons. Within each group, the fami­lies are arranged alphabetically, as are the genera within each family and the species within each genus.

 

For each taxon recognized in this book, Mohlenbrock gives a common name if one is gener­ally used in Illinois. He follows this by an indication of flowering time for flowering plants and of spore-production time for ferns and their relatives. He also provides a habitat statement and a general comment on distribution in Illinois for each taxon. Synonyms for some other scientific names used previously for a taxon appear in italics. This book contains indexes both for common names and for family and genus names.

This latest edition of Vascular Flora of Illinois includes over thirty-four hundred species of flora from Illinois, adding more than 250 newly-recognized plants to this definitive collection. Because cataloguing our heritage is foremost in importance among naturalists, this book compiles essential information about plants in Illinois. Mohlenbrock includes all known taxa native to Illinois either at present or in the past and all non-native vascular plants that grow spontaneously and appear able to maintain themselves year after year without cultivation. The sequence of groups in the guide is ferns, coni­fers, and flowering plants, with cotyledons given before monocotyledons. Within each group, the fami­lies are arranged alphabetically, as are the genera within each family and the species within each genus. For each taxon recognized in this book, Mohlenbrock gives us a common name if one is generally used in Illinois. He follows this with an indication of flowering time for flowering plants, and of spore-production time in the case of ferns and their relatives. He also provides a habitat statement and a general comment on distribution in Illinois for each taxon.

Containing information on Illinois flora not available anywhere else, this fourth edition of Vascular Flora of Illinois is essential for ecologists, environmentalists, and land developers. Those interested in wildflower identification will also find this guide helpful.

Perhaps no legal case has done more to reshape America's debate over the death penalty than Illinois's prosecution and conviction of Rolando Cruz. This updated and significantly expanded edition of Victims of Justice tells the pivotal story of Cruz and his two co-defendants after the 1983 murder of ten-year-old Jeanine Nicarico of Naperville, Illinois. The book follows the story from the day the crime occurred to the groundbreaking trial of seven law officers accused of conspiring to deny Cruz a fair trial.

The kidnapping of Jeanine Nicarico from her quiet suburban home and her brutal slaying sparked a public demand for justice. But the longer authorities strove to execute Cruz and the two other men, the more evidence emerged that the defendants were innocent-and that the death penalty process in America itself was deeply flawed.

Here is the start of a chain reaction that led to a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois and the clearing out of Death Row, as Illinois Governor George Ryan-worried about unfairness in death penalty convictions-granted clemency to all those awaiting execution. This is a detailed study of a nationally known case that should be cited whenever serious scholars examine how capital cases are prosecuted in America. Here is the most thorough investigation yet published into the background of the man who-after Cruz already was on Death Row-claimed to be the real killer.