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With a wide variety of habitats ranging from southeastern swamps to western deserts, Texas is home to numerous species of frogs, toads, and salamanders. Each area of Texas has a particular set of species that has evolved there over thousands of years. Indeed, most amphibians are not very mobile, and many live their entire lives within a few square meters. This makes them particularly vulnerable to environmental degradation and habitat destruction.

Texas Amphibians is the only field guide focused exclusively on the state’s frogs, toads, and salamanders. It presents brief, general accounts of the two orders and fifteen families. Then it identifies each of the seventy-two species in detail, including size, description, voice (if applicable), similar species, distribution (with maps), natural history, reproduction, subspecies (if applicable), and comments and conservation information. Color photographs illustrate the species.

The book also includes a general introduction to amphibian natural history, conservation, observation and collection, maintenance in captivity, museum and preserved specimens, and scientific and common names, as well as scientific keys to Texas salamanders and frogs and a generic key to amphibian larvae. This wealth of information, compiled by a team of experts who collectively have over a century of experience in field herpetology, will increase our appreciation for amphibians and the vital role they play as an early indicator of threats to the quality of the environment that we all share.

Northern bobwhites are one of the most popular game birds in the United States. In Texas alone, nearly 100,000 hunters take to the field each fall and winter to pursue wild bobwhite quail. Texas is arguably the last remaining state with sufficient habitat to provide quail-hunting opportunities on a grand scale, and Texas ranchers with good bobwhite habitat often generate a greater proportion of their income from fees paid by quail hunters than from livestock production. Managing and expanding bobwhite habitat makes good sense economically, and it benefits the environment as well. The rangelands and woodlands of Texas that produce quail also support scores of other species of wildlife.

Texas Bobwhites is a field guide to the seeds commonly eaten by northern bobwhites, as well as a handbook for conserving and improving northern bobwhite habitat. It provides identifying characteristics for the seeds of 91 species of grasses, forbs, woody plants, and succulents. Each seed description includes a close-up and a scale photo of the seed and the plant that produces it, along with a range map. Using this information, hunters can readily identify concentrations of plants that are most likely to attract quail. Landowners and rangeland managers will greatly benefit from the book's state-of-the-art guidance for habitat management and restoration, including improving habitat dominated by invasive and nonnative grasses.

“Texas offers the opportunity to observe lizard diversity like no other part of the country,” writes Laurie J. Vitt in the foreword to Texas Lizards. From the moist eastern Piney Woods to the western deserts, lizards can be found in every part of Texas. The state has forty-five native and six naturalized species of lizards, almost half of the 115 species that live in the continental United States. Yet Texas lizards have not received full coverage in regional field guides, and no other guide dedicated solely to the state’s lizards has ever been published.

Texas Lizards is a complete identification guide to all fifty-one native and established exotic lizard species. It offers detailed species accounts, range maps, and excellent color photographs (including regional, gender, and age variations for many species) to aid field identification. The authors, two of the state’s most knowledgeable herpetologists, open the book with a broad overview of lizard natural history, conservation biology, observation, and captive maintenance before providing a key to Texas lizards and accounts of the various lizard families and species. Appendices list species of questionable occurrence in Texas and nonestablished exotic species. Informational resources on Texas lizards, a map of Texas counties, a glossary, a bibliography, and indexes of common and scientific names round out the volume.

Hundreds of species of mushrooms flourish in Texas, from the desert and semiarid regions of West Texas to the moist and acid soils of East Texas, where species that can also be found in South America live alongside those that might be spotted in Malaysia and Europe. Texas Mushrooms was the first—and is still the only—guide to all of the state’s mushrooms.

This colorful, easy-to-follow book will surprise and delight uninitiated nature enthusiasts while also supplying the experienced mushroom hunter with expert identification information. Excellent color photographs and precise descriptions of over 200 species will enable the mushroom hunter—even the amateur—to make quick, careful, easy distinctions between the edible varieties and the potentially toxic ones. In addition, kitchen-tested recipes are included, along with charts giving spore sizes and a list of recommended further reading.

In Texas, mushroom hunting can be a year-round, state-wide activity, and with this enticing field guide, collecting, identifying, and preparing wild mushrooms will become an activity the entire family can enjoy while appreciating the beauty of Texas from a new and fascinating angle.

Texas has a large and diverse turtle population, with forms that are found nowhere else (Cagle’s Map Turtle and the Texas Map Turtle) and wide-ranging species that barely touch the state, including the Painted Turtles and the Rough-footed Mud Turtle. From the Sabine River to El Paso, and from the Rio Grande to the Panhandle, thirty-one native and established exotic turtle species are definitely known in Texas, along with one crocodilian, the American Alligator.

Texas Turtles & Crocodilians is the first complete identification guide to all the state’s turtles and to its single alligator. It offers detailed species accounts, range maps, and excellent color photographs to aid in field identification. The authors, two of the state’s most knowledgeable herpetologists, open the book with a broad overview of turtle natural history, conservation biology, observation, and captive maintenance before providing a key to Texas turtles and accounts of the various turtle families and species. Appendices provide brief accounts of species that occurred prehistorically in Texas and non-established exotic species, as well as a table of Texas’ major watersheds and the turtle diversity in each one. Informational resources on Texas turtles and alligators, a map of Texas counties, a glossary, a bibliography, and indexes of common and scientific names complete the volume.

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:

• 300 species descriptions, including engaging comments about the plants’ natural histories, landscape uses, edible or medicinal properties, and folklore
• A map of Texas’s vegetational areas
• Glossaries that define and illustrate botanical terms
• A bibliography of books for learning more about wildflowers
• Indexes to common and botanical plant names, as well as plant families, that distinguish between native and non-native species

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!”

Of all our childhood memories, few are quite as thrilling, or as tactile, as those of climbing trees. Scampering up the rough trunk, spying on the world from the cool green shelter of the canopy, lying on a limb and looking up through the leaves at the summer sun almost made it seem as if we were made for trees, and trees for us.Even in adulthood, trees retain their power, from the refreshing way their waves of green break the monotony of a cityscape to the way their autumn transformations take our breath away. 

In this lavishly illustrated volume, the trees that have enriched our lives finally get their full due, through a focus on the humble leaves that serve, in a sense, as their public face. The Book of Leaves offers a visually stunning and scientifically engaging guide to six hundred of the most impressive and beautiful leaves from around the world. Each leaf is reproduced here at its actual size, in full color, and is accompanied by an explanation of the range, distribution, abundance, and habitat of the tree on which it’s found. Brief scientific and historical accounts of each tree and related species include fun-filled facts and anecdotes that broaden its portrait. 

The Henry’s Maple, for instance, found in China and named for an Irish doctor who collected leaves there, bears little initial resemblance to the statuesque maples of North America, from its diminutive stature to its unusual trifoliolate leaves. Or the Mediterranean Olive, which has been known to live for more than 1,500 years and whose short, narrow leaves only fall after two or three years, pushed out in stages by the emergence of younger leaves.

From the familiar friends of our backyards to the giants of deep woods, The Book of Leaves brings the forest to life—and to our living rooms—as never before.

More than a quarter of the people on earth eat peppers every day of their lives, and true pepper lovers are always looking for better-tasting, hotter peppers. This handy, reliable guide makes finding them easy, as capsicum expert Jean Andrews shows you how to identify and use 42 peppers, both fresh and dried, commonly available in North American markets.

Andrews describes each pepper in detail, starting with its size, color, fruit shape, flesh, and pungency. She gives its common names, sources, and uses, and indicates other peppers that can substitute for it in recipes. Drawing on her vast store of pepper lore, she also includes notes and anecdotes about each pepper. Her color photographs illustrate all of the peppers.

In addition to the species descriptions, Andrews offers practical guidance on selecting and storing, roasting and rehydrating, and growing and harvesting peppers. She explains pepper nomenclature, describes the pungency factor, and notes the significance of color, aroma, flavor, and nutrition.

Combines current data and taxonomic classifications for tiger beetles in the Southeast with stunning close-up photographs, flight season charts, and distribution maps

Tiger beetles are brightly colored and metallic beetles, often with ivory or cream-colored markings. They are most abundant and diverse in habitats near bodies of water with sandy or clay soils and can be found along rivers, on sea and lake shores, on sand dunes, around dry lakebeds, on clay banks, or on woodland paths. Conservatively estimated, the group comprises more than 2,600 species worldwide.

Tiger Beetles of the Southeastern United States identifies and describes 52 taxa (42 species and 10 additional subspecies) of tiger beetles that occur in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Stunning close-up photographs accompany current taxonomic and biological information in a volume designed for a growing audience of enthusiastic amateurs and professionals alike.

The authors provide an in-depth description of the anatomy, life cycle, and behavior of tiger beetles; an overview of the various southeastern habitats in which they occur; instructions for finding, identifying, and photographing them in the wild; and the conservation status of various species. The individual species accounts include stunning, detailed images, flight season charts, county-level regional distribution maps, and discussion of identifying features, habitat, similar species, and subspecies when applicable. The appendix includes two species previously found in Florida but no longer known to exist there.

The result is the most complete field guide to date on tiger beetles in the region. With more than 230 images of beetles and their habitats, as well as life history and distribution data, this book is essential for tiger beetle enthusiasts, naturalists of all kinds, photographers, biologists, and teachers throughout the region.
 

First published by the Big Bend Natural History Association in 1988 as Trees & Shrubs of Trans-Pecos Texas, this book is the only keyed guide to the more than 400 species of woody plants native to the Trans-Pecos region and adjacent areas in eastern New Mexico and northern Mexico. A. Michael Powell has significantly revised and expanded this edition, including nomenclature changes for 62 genera and new distribution information for 60 genera.

From acorns to canopy: Alabama’s trees revealed in vivid detail.

From the understory flowering dogwood presenting its showy array of white bracts in spring, to the stately, towering baldcypress anchoring swampland with their reddish buttresses; from aromatic groves of Atlantic white-cedar that grow in coastal bogs to the upland rarity of the fire-dependent montane longleaf pine, Alabama is blessed with a staggering diversity of tree species. Trees of Alabama offers an accessible guide to the most notable species occurring widely in the state, forming its renewable forest resources and underpinning its rich green blanket of natural beauty.

Lisa J. Samuelson provides a user-friendly identification guide featuring straightforward descriptions and vivid photographs of more than 140 common species of trees. The text explains the habitat and ecology of each species, including its forest associates, human and wildlife uses, common names, and the derivation of its botanical name. With more than 800 full-color photographs illustrating the general form and habitat of each, plus the distinguishing characteristics of its buds, leaves, flowers, fruit, and bark, readers will be able to identify trees quickly. Colored distribution maps detail the range and occurrence of each species grouped by county, and a quick guide highlights key features at a glance.

This book also features a map of forest types, chapters on basic tree biology and terminology (with illustrative line drawings), a spotlight on the plethora of oak species in the state, and a comprehensive index. This is an invaluable resource for biologists, foresters, and educators and a great reference for outdoorspeople and nature enthusiasts in Alabama and throughout the southeastern United States.
 

A comprehensive and compact field guide, Trees of Central Texas introduces 186 species of tree life in Central Texas, an area roughly the region of the Edwards Plateau and bordered by the Balcones Escarpment on the south and east, the Pecos River on the west, and the Texas Plains and the Llano Uplift on the north. From the hardy oaks and rugged mesquites to the graceful willows, cottonwoods, and pecans, the tree life of Central Texas varies as much as the vast and changing land that hosts it. Full descriptions and superb illustrations of all the native and naturalized trees of the region as well as fascinating bits of history and lore make this an essential guide to the wealth of tree life in Central Texas.

Drawn from Robert A. Vines' monumental Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of the Southwest (University of Texas Press), Trees of Central Texas combines the essential detail of the larger work with the ease and convenience of a field guide.

This comprehensive and compact field guide covers the richest plant-life region in the state—the Upper Gulf Coast Prairie, the Post Oak Savannah, and the Pineywoods of east Texas. Eastern, northern, Gulf coast, and western Texas trees occur together in the Big Thicket area of the Pineywoods, where abundant rainfall and mild temperatures also make possible much tropical growth.

Trees of East Texas is drawn from Robert A. Vines' monumental Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of the Southwest (University of Texas Press, 1960). Without sacrificing the essential detail of the original work, this guide has been designed to travel info the field for on-the-spot identification. Meant to be carried and consulted, Trees of East Texas is conveniently organized, and virtually every description is accompanied by a finely executed illustration.

This book contains new and updated information, and every native and naturalized tree in the area is identified. In addition to the technical descriptions, the author provides, in his "Remarks" sections, common names and fascinating bits of history and lore on each tree cited.

More than 100 mushrooms in the genus Tricholoma have been reported in North America. Most are relatively large, showy mushrooms that grow on the ground near many species of temperate forest trees, both hardwoods and conifers. They typically fruit from late summer through early winter or even into spring in warmer areas. Some are fine edibles, including the matsutake. Others are inedible or even poisonous.

Filling the gap between technical publications and the limited representation of Tricholomas in general mushroom field guides, this book is the first comprehensive guide to North American Tricholomas. It contains more than 170 of the best documentary photographs available, often with more than one image of a species to illustrate the dramatic variation exhibited by many Tricholomas. The species descriptions provide extensive identification information including scientific and common names, macroscopic and microscopic features, occurrence/habit, edibility, and a comment section that addresses such things as synonomy, comparisons with similar species, varietial differences, explanations of species’ epithets, and other useful or interesting information. In addition, the authors provide a general introduction to Tricholomas that discusses identification features, ecology, simple chemical tests (for identification), and how to use the keys provided in this book.