A Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers: Washington, Oregon, California and adjacent areas (Peterson Field Guide) [Paperback]

Theodore F. Niehaus (Author), Roger Tory Peterson (Editor), Charles L. Ripper (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0395910951 | ISBN-13: 978-0395910955 | Publication Date: January 15, 1998 | Edition: 2nd

Here are descriptions and illustrations of 1,492 species from 77 families - virtually all of the wildflowers found from British Columbia to Baja California, from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Grouped by color, each species description includes field marks, size, habitat, range, flowering season, and common and scientific names.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dr. Theodore F. Niehaus became interested in plants at an early age: his father, a U.S. forest ranger, taught him the names of the plants at the Sierra Nevada ranger stations where they lived. He has since studied plants throughout the Pacific states and in Alaska and Latin America and has discovered and named a number of new species. He holds a doctorate in taxonomic botany from the University of California at Berkeley and has taught at Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now engaged in writing and research, he is the author of "Sierra Wildflowers", "A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers" (no. 32 in the Peterson Field Guide Series), and several scientific papers.

Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world"s greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides® are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement.

Charles L. Ripper, one of the world's leading wildlife and nature artists, has illustrated dozens of books and magazine articles and has also painted stamps for the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Postal Service. His work has been published in many forms and is in many private collections.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 2nd edition (January 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395910951
• ISBN-13: 978-0395910955
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #309,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Biological Sciences > Plants > Flowers

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Field Guide to help identify Wildflowers, July 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers: Washington, Oregon, California and adjacent areas (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

I take this guide (and the Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers-- west) on all my field trips to identify wildflowers. Though Peterson has fewer real photos, it does have better aids to identify specific wildflowers, as it is organized by color, as well as number and types of petals. The sketches help me do a preliminary id on the wildflower.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Field Guide to Western Wildflowers, June 11, 2005

By 

Rosemary T. Flynn (Newport Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers (The Peterson Field Guide Series 22) (Paperback)

Personally, I think the Peterson Guides are far more helpful than the Audobon publications. As mentioned in other reviews, Peterson uses illustrations organized by color and flower configuration. The illustrations are very well done. Audobon uses photos. The idea is that you match your specimen to the photo it most closely matches and follow further identification from there. The books are complimetary and work well together; however, if you can only choose one-- get the Peterson book. Overall, I have had much better success keying out plants with Peterson and repeatedly have found the plant I am looking for overlooked in the Audobon text. The truth be known, I doubt I will ever buy a Audobon plant book again-- perhaps they are better with birds.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Tool, April 3, 2000

By 

Karen Burns - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers: Field Marks of Species Found in Washington, Oregon, California, and Adjacent Areas : A Visual Approach ... Detail (The Peterson Field Guide Series ; 22) (Hardcover)

Though this title may be a little pricy, it is a must have for residents of California, Oregon, and Washington. At any rate, any family within which there is a flower collecter, should have a copy of this excellent resource. Though my family originally purchased this title because of a biology project assigned to my daughter, it has since opened up an interesting world of the natural plant life of this area and even those farther away.