National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America [Paperback]

David M. Brandenburg (Author), Craig Tufts (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2010 | Series: National Wildlife Federation Field Guide

Wherever even the smallest green thing grows, there you’ll find wildflowers, be they huge, showy tropical blossoms or pretty, tiny bloomers. North America alone is home to thousands of species—and the National Wildlife Federation Field Guide celebrates that wide diversity in grand fashion. From Acanthaceae to Zygophyllaceaei, this beautiful, portable volume provides the common and scientific names for each flower family; information on the flowering season; leaf, stalk, and blossom descriptions, with measurements; and color range maps of more than 700 species for both native and introduced types. There’s no better guide to take along while camping, hiking, or enjoying a nature walk.

 

- More than 2,200 species of

- More than 2,200 species of wildflowers in a single, portable volume

- 4,019 stunning color photographs by leading nature photographers

- Wildflowers arranged by genus and include genus descriptions and range maps
- Captions highlight important field marks

- Information on season and habitat for each species

- Fruit illustrations included for several plant families

- Range map shows U.S. distribution

- Separate section on species introduced into North America

- Quick-identification key arranged by color and shape

- Detailed, illustrated visual glossary of flower parts and leaf types

- Essays on wildflower habitats and conservation

- Waterproof cover for use in the field

 

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Sterling; First Edition edition (April 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402741545
• ISBN-13: 978-1402741548
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Comprehensive Guide May 3, 2010

By David B Richman

Format:Paperback

I found this wonderful guide in a local bookstore and wanted it right away. This is not my usual reaction to some of the new guides to natural objects, but the remarkably detailed range maps on the same page as the descriptions and the excellent color photographs won me over. In fact the "Field Guide to Wildflowers of North America" is a rare book indeed, a guide that with a few exceptions, covers the ground about as well as it can be covered in a book even of its size. David M. Brandenburg and his editorial staff have produced as close to an encyclopedic guide to wildflowers as may be possible, and still have it remotely portable.

Brandenburg notes in the introduction that he has mostly maintained the classic families while changes based on modern DNA analysis are still not completely settled. I well understand this problem as we have it in the arthropods as well. Lately it has taken me a while to accept some changes simply because when I accepted earlier ones I found them either changing back with new evidence or being reinterpreted to a wholly new taxonomic grouping. I think he is wise not to jump on the bandwagon too soon, while noting that there will almost certainly be some major shifts.

This book is a feast for the botanically-minded naturalist (and we specialists in the Arthropoda have to be, as many of our subjects are plant-feeders and even the carnivores use plants for retreats, egg-laying sites and sites for building traps) and at least a first read for identifying non-woody, non-grass flowering plants. Such families as the Orchidaceae are wonderfully covered. Others, like the Cactaceae, are much less so, but this family in particular is difficult to characterize as a non-woody plant and generally wildflower books do not offer much on them. Otherwise considering the huge flora (at least 10,000 can qualify as wildflowers) the book's coverage of about 22% of these in over 600 pages is pretty good.

I recommend this guide for those who want a good first source for North America before delving into a local complete flora. This should serve well to get at least to the right family and possibly genus and species for some of the most common wild flowers in the United States and Canada.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I love these books May 2, 2012

By PeterEmie

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Length: 1:07 Mins

I just gave a brief run through, hope it helps! I love all of these books!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource! October 18, 2011

By pollinators.info

Format:Paperback

I like this field guide for several reasons. First, it has thousands of species in it, so you're likely to find what you're looking for, if not something closely-related. Second, it's friendly for beginner and experienced flower enthusiasts. The beginning of the book can teach you everything you need to get started identifying flowers from scratch- flower structures and shapes, leaf shapes, growth habits, and habitats. There's a color- and shape-coded section you can use to find flowers that look like the one you're trying to identify. The book is also arranged alphabetically by plant family, so you can jump right to that section if you know the family of your unidentified flower. There's a section showing invasive species and the natives they resemble, and a reference section that gives ideas for other field guides you might find useful. The index lists plants by common AND scientific name. There are a few drawbacks; it's several inches thick! Not something to tuck into your back pocket! And, even though it claims to be for flowers of "North America," none of the range maps show outside the US, and I haven't found a species in it yet that is in Canada or Mexico, but not the US. Overall, a very useful reference. Visit pollinators.info for a video tour inside this book!