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The most comprehensive guide available to Alabama’s publicly accessible natural destinations.

Exploring Wild Alabama is an exceptionally detailed guide to the most beautiful natural destinations in the state. From the rocky outcrops of the Appalachian plateaus to the sugar-white beaches of the Gulf Coast’s Orange Beach and Dauphin Island, Alabama offers a wealth of remarkable sites to explore by car or canoe, bicycle or motorcycle, or on foot.

Intrepid explorers Kenneth M. Wills and L. J. Davenport divide Alabama into eleven geographic regions that feature state parks and preserves, national monuments and forests, wildlife management areas, Nature Conservancy and Forever Wild properties, botanical gardens and arboreta, as well as falls, caverns, and rock cliffs. Exploring Wild Alabama provides detailed site entries to one hundred and fifty destinations. Each section is beautifully illustrated with color photographs and area maps.

Exploring Wild Alabama includes a large state map and numerous local topographic maps to help readers locate each site. Individual site entries include
·         written directions to each site and GPS coordinates;
·         engaging notes about the ecology, landscape features, and local species of plants and animals of the sites; and
·         international recreation symbols for hiking, fishing, boating, camping, hunting, and other fun outdoor activities.

Wills and Davenport guide travelers to Alabama jewels such as Sand Mountain’s Chitwood Barrens, which harbors the rare Green Pitcher Plant and other exotic botanical species; Blowing Springs Cave in Lauderdale County, named for the cool air and the clear spring flowing out of the cave opening; Jackson Prairies in the Lime Hills region; and Booker’s Mill in Conecuh County, offering diverse habitats and historic structures.

Long a favorite destination for outdoor sports enthusiasts, Alabama is fast becoming a major “ecotourism” destination, with thousands of travelers discovering the state’s unsung natural treasures. Exploring Wild Alabama will be used and trusted by anyone who loves the outdoors—birders, botanists, cave explorers, cyclists, hunters, fishermen, rock climbers, canoeists, teachers, and other outdoor enthusiasts.
 

Explore Nature. Record Wonder. Keep Your Own Journal.

Nature Journal is an innovative presentation of the best columns and photographs from L. J. Davenport’s popular column in Alabama Heritage magazine. Readers of the magazine have come to relish his artful and often witty descriptions of common species encountered in the Alabama outdoors. But Nature Journal is designed to be much more than a mere collection of entertaining essays; it is also an educational tool—a means of instructing and encouraging readers in the art of keeping a nature journal for themselves.

Each of the 25 chapters is a self-contained lesson in close observation of species morphology, behavior, and habitat; research in the literature; nondestructive capture of the subject by photography or drawing; and written description of the total observed natural phenomenon. At the end of each account, stimulating questions and gentle directives guide the reader into making his or her own observations and recordings.

This book is intended for broad nature-study use in Alabama and throughout the southeast by the general reader and nature enthusiast alike, as well as visitors to museums and outdoor centers, and students of nature and nature writing at the high school and college levels. Beautifully designed to look like a personal journal, it is a perfect gift and treasured keepsake for all lovers of the natural world.  

Publication supported in part by Samford University  

A modern, beautifully illustrated guide revealing the hidden relationships, stories, and dazzling diversity of Alabama’s wildflowers across every corner of the state’s landscapes

Wildflowers of Alabama is a comprehensive, visually rich field guide to the state’s naturally occurring flowering plants, showcasing both familiar favorites and remarkable discoveries. Covering 125 plant families and more than 400 species, the book pairs clear, authoritative text with more than 500 color photographs that highlight the beauty, structure, and fine details of each plant across Alabama’s diverse ecosystems.

Organized using a modern, genetics-based classification system, this guide presents flowering plants according to their evolutionary relationships. Each family opens with an accessible overview, followed by detailed species accounts featuring botanical descriptions, insightful photographs, and contextual notes on names, natural history, and plant-human connections when available. A separate color key and native species list offer additional pathways for identification and discovery.

Building on decades of botanical expertise, authors L. J. Davenport, W. Mike Howell, and Brian R. Keener deliver an up-to-date, engaging resource that reflects the current state of plant science. More than a simple identification manual, Wildflowers of Alabama is an educational and inspiring celebration of the state’s extraordinary botanical diversity, designed for enthusiasts, students, and educators alike.