A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers (Peterson Field Guide) [Paperback]

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

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998 | Series: Peterson Field Guide

This guide, covering 1,505 species of wildflowers, groups flowers by color and plant characteristics for easy matching of pictures with specimens. With descriptions facing the more than 1,500 illustrations, all the information you need can be seen at a glance.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395936128
• ISBN-13: 978-0395936122
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #955,275 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Very Useful For This Novice, June 7, 2006

By 

Frank Dutton (Many, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

This book seems to be a Southwestern and Texas version of Newcomb's Wildflower Guide - though the organization is different as this one is organized based on color (with B&W drawings?). Descriptive information is pretty much the same as well as the drawings - the vast majority of which are in black and white - and the color ones don't have enough detail to help much with identification - at least not for this beginner.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The handiest pocket guide to flowers of the SW USA, October 16, 2006

By 

Christopher J. Sharpe "Chris Sharpe" (Caracas, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

According to ecologist Paul R. Ehrlich, "In this century, no one has done more to promote an interest in living creatures than Roger Tory Peterson, the inventor of the modern field guide." Peterson's "Guide to the Birds" - "the first modern field guide" - was published in 1934. Its pioneering approach relied on the use of visual characters rather than technical descriptions to identify species. This was achieved by grouping similar species together on a plate, using clear, two-dimensional illustrations, and pointers to key field marks as well as succinct text, a combination known as the Peterson Identification System. That revolutionary style was later applied to a host of field guides covering anything from the night sky to moths and geology to mushrooms and including the present volume.

"Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers" is Number 31 in the Peterson Field Guide Series, published in 1984 and still in the original edition. The format will, of course, be very familiar to all who have ever held or used a Peterson Field Guide - and to those it will probably be self-recommending. This volume treats 1,505 species found in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. Over 1,500 illustrations are provided, some in colour, but the majority as clear line-drawings. The succinct text for each species is conveniently set opposite the plate depicting the plant.

Clearly this guide cannot and does not attempt to be a comprehensive guide to the flora of the region. However, I have found it to be an indispensable guide on my travels to Texas and Arizona. Personally, I much prefer the concise, densely packed format of the Peterson Field Guides to the newer photographic guides, of which there is now a plethora. However, beginners often seem to prefer the latter. In that case, a handy alternative for Texas might be Tull & Miller's "Wildflowers, Trees and Shrubs of Texas" which treats 600 species or, for Arizona, Epple and Epple's "Plants of Arizona" which covers 850 species.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aout time, February 6, 2010

By 

Robert Holbrook "Inca Tern" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers (Peterson Field Guide) (Paperback)

For decades I've tried to use the old Eastern Flowers Guide which is great as long as you live on the East coast but when you move inland (like Oklahoma)...well...My old guide was shot and needed updating so I went online and was surprised to see this book out! WOW! Now the rest of the U.S. needs good guides as well.