Customer Reviews

The Guide to Florida Wildflowers

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Guide to Florida Wildflowers by Taylor has been most helpful to me, a photographer, in identification for cataloging of my images. The book is well organized and probably one of the most complete on the subject of Southeastern wildflowers that I own or have been able to borrow. The only drawback, which presents itself as a major problem at times, is that many of the images in the book are ill-defined. The flowers in some of the images are either out of focus (ex: Buttonweed, pg. 105) or so small in relation to the picture (ex: White Lobelia, pg. 107) that even a magnifying glass is of no use. Overall though, I give the book a very good rating. I have read a great many books on the subject of wildflowers and have yet to find anything to replace it. MAB

I have used this book to identify many wildflowers in my neighborhood and undeveloped areas. It is well-organized by flower colors. Also included are excellent and clear sketches regarding flower parts. I highly recommend it for the natural hobby botanist.

I can't get over the amazing range of wildflowers growing in Central Florida. Finding this book was a thrill, as now I can identify them all. There's forsythia salvia, pinkish horsemint, beach sunflower, pine lily, and so many more. Unfortunately not all of the photos are clear enough to aid in identification.
For each flower, he provides the scientific and common names, a brief description, flowering time, habitats, geographical range, color photo, and miscellaneous comments. The descriptions of the leaves and growth is very scientific and doesn't mean much to someone who doesn't know the difference between a bract or a pedicel. I should devote some time to reading and understanding the front section of the book (Structural Characteristics of Wildflowers).

I enjoyed this book on wildflowers. The pros: the pictures, for the most part, are nice. I was able to identify numerous plants that I've seen locally. The information is good but basic: latin name, description of flowers, where it is found, habitat and flowering time. Of course, nothing is written in stone. It may say you can grow it in the north but you may find it in Leesburg, FL (central region).

The cons: I would like to have known if the plant was invasive. If not; how do you propagate it. Also, whether the plant was in danger. I would like to have known if it is good to grow for butterflies/birds or is a food source for beneficial insects. Perhaps some kind of simple key could have been used with each description?

Japanese honeysuckle is a good plant that needs more information to to lay individuals. I found out there are 52 species of Lonicera and the one shown in the book is invasive in numerous states including FL. Yet I've seen it for sale in nurseries and on websites.

Lantana is another plant people need to be leery of. On the USDA website it is listed as a native plant in FL (L. depressa) and is now considered endangered but the book does not include it. The problem is the native Florida lantana is often confused with the invasive species. Lantana is found in almost every county in Florida. I had an instance where a bird must have dropped some seed and the plant took over a certain area in my yard. It was very hard to pull up and, though I was careful to get the whole plant, I must have dropped some seed and it started again next year. It took several seasons to get rid of it. And people grow it intentionally....

My ideal book on Florida wildflowers would be one that has great clear, concise and colorful pictures, good basic information and the additional symbols (key) as listed above. I realize that an author can't include everything but maybe another symbol (key) that could tell the reader to get more information if they are considering growing it. I know that some of the "wildflowers" are weeds to me and I wouldn't dream of growing it or giving the plant away.

I live on the Treasure Coast of Florida (between Sebastian and Hobe Sound) and up till now I relied on various websites to help me ID plants. Because this method of searching is very time consuming I thought it was time to invest in a field guide.

Armed with 20+ plants already identified I used these as my starting point. My search through the index of this book concluded with 8 listings out of 20+ plants. Such low results are a tremendous disappointment!

While time consuming, I will return to the internet for more current and accurate plant identifications.

When I am out stalking the wild vegitation of North Florida and South Georgia this is one of several books I put in my backpack. I agree with another reviewer that sometimes the flowers get lost in the photos but most of the time the plant structure and habitus provide useful information. What makes this book a great carry-along is that the plants are color-coded by their flowers. I recommend it highly.
Matt Cohen

This is a must have book on Florida wild flowers. It has excellent photos and is easy to use.
If you love our state the try to learn more about it! This book is a good way
to start. I have lived here since 1957 and learned a lot from this book.
the Lumber Jack

Excellent, easy to use book. Flowers are identified by color, making it simple to recognize. I would have given up trying to figure out what kind of Florida wildflower I was looking at until I found this book. Makes discovering a new flower (new to me) fun! Thank you Mr Walter Kingsley Taylor for writing this helpful book.

The division of flowers by color makes this really easy to use. It is very extensive in the amount of flowers in the book. It doesn't have them all, though.

The organization of this book (by flower color) makes it so incredibly easy for you to find the flower you're looking at or for. The photos are clear and helpful, as is the writing. A very handy guide to finding sturdy, attractive, and low-maintenance flowers for a butterfly garden or easy-care back yard as well as being a superb field guide.