Customer Reviews

An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Vol. 2

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Save your pennies for a copy of the 1952 edition (out of print) from a used book dealer. The 1913 edition uses a set of names known as "American Code" that botanists haven't used since the 1950's; the services of a professional taxonomist is practically required to update the changes, and few people will know what you're talking about if you use an "American Code" name for a plant. The 1952 edition updates all of that, and includes quite a few more species. In my opinion, Dover did a real disservice to botany by reissuing the 1913 edition. Kay Lancaster (plant taxonomist)

This book (and its companions) is cheap! It has illustrations of just about every species it covers. Despite the carping from the taxonomist it is a heck of a deal. Once you get the plant identified in B&B it is an easy matter to go to another, more recent book, which has synonyms (alternative botanical names) and find out what it is called these days. Plant names are forever changing in mysterious ways not at all understood by those outside the realm of taxonomists. No other publication has this many illustrations -- and most of them are at least adequate.

Avocational botanist

Plant taxonomists and systematists and other sticklers for keeping up on the most modern plant names (always changing as we learn more about DNA vs. observation alone) might balk at this book. Or even get their posies in a knot!
But for the rest of us mortals, Britton and Brown has some of the best drawings packed into these volumes. The attention to detail is incredible - the USDA PLANTS database uses these very drawings (and descriptions) in it's identification of species. These books simply are a classic guide for identification. It's true, once you've pinned down what it is here, you can go to a more modern guide for more modern information. But you're more likely to get a color photo of just the flower and not the rest of the plant! Very frustrating. My advice - have this book (this series) in addition to new field guides. Remind yourself how much work people used to put into this art and science of taxonomy.

Good, inexpensive material for starting out in the study of vegetation.