A Field Guide to Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guides) (Paperback)

by George A. Petrides (Author), Roger Tory Peterson (Editor), Janet Wehr (Illustrator) "Larches (Larix): Needles numerous at ends of warty spur branches; dropping in autumn, leaving tree bare..." (more)
Key Phrases: twigs hairless, leafstalk glands, clustered end buds, May June, Flowers April-May, Ashleaf Maple (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This field guide features detailed descriptions of 455 species of trees native to eastern North America, including the Midwest and the South. The 48 color plates, 11 black-and-white plates, and 26 text drawings show distinctive details needed for identification. Color photographs and 266 color range maps accompany the species descriptions.

From the Author
Drawings on page 3 show both leaf scars and bundle scars. Immediately beside the map for Osage Orange, too, the text says "Once native to n. Texas, e. Oklahoma, etc., home of the Osage Indians, this species was widely planted before the invention of barbed wire. It is now widely distributed in our area".

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Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2nd edition (July 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395904552
• ISBN-13: 978-0395904558
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,140 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good guide to a difficult subject, April 15, 2000

By	Shawn Moses (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Peterson's has about the best pocket-sized tree guide out there (I much prefer it to the Audubon guide, which I also own), but I won't kid with you - identifying trees is hard. It takes time, patience, and a keen eye. Just looking at leaves is usually not enough to make a positive identification. Depending on the species and the time of year, you may also have to examine bark, the twigs, flowers, buds, or fruits. The best part of the Peterson guide is that it has summer and winter keys in the back - don't ignore them just because the keys have no pictures! They are invaluable. Without them, you might find yourself lost among the many pages of illustrations. Perhaps the best resource to supplement this guide would be contact with an expert on the flora of your area - perhaps a naturalist at a local park or a forestry professor at a nearby university.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not the flashiest, but the clearest, June 22, 1999

By A Customer

I use other field guides for browsing, but this is the guide I use when I go out into the field and I really want to identify things. It uses a very clear key to subdivide trees into specific groups (like needleleaf/broadleaf or opposit-leaved/alternate-leaved), narrowing down the choices and making identification much easier. The drawings are very clear, and as a bonus, you get a tiny map for each species identifying its exact geographical range. Highly recommended.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars alot of information for the size and cost, December 30, 1998

By	[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

Eastern Trees is very concise. It contains alot of photographs and drawings. It truly is a field guide not an encyclopedia. Although, there were times when I desired more information to identify trees first hand, I can't imagine how it could be fit into this pocket size volume. The only complaint I would have would be the photograph size since, they are about 2x3 inches they don't always show enough for identifying purposes. However, the book would have to be much bigger if the photographs were larger, size and cost would definitely increase.