Lawrence Newcomb's system of identification on wild flowers is based on natural structural features that are easily visible to the untrained eye and enables amateurs and experts to identify almost any wildflower quickly and accurately.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author's system allows even amateurs like me to quickly and accurately identify wildflowers.
It is as simple as answering five questions which point the user to the appropriate page in the book where the flower is described and pictured. The text is great. The first sentence of each description distinguishes that plant from all others in that group.
If you are looking for a wildflower guide, they do not get better than this one.
38 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you're going to buy just one book on wildflower identification, this is it. While not foolproof, this system is the best I've seen. It beats by far other methods using color and shape of flower, as used in the Audubon and Peterson field guides (though both the latter have their place, and you should get both if you're really serious).
A most unique aspect of this book is that it includes shrubs as well as plants normally considered wildflowers, adding greatly to its utility for the amateur observer.
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Newcomb's Guide is not the first field guide that I have ever used, but it is the one that I use most for identification of flowering plants in the Northeast. I found the key very easy to use, which results in rapid identifications. Eventhough it is not totally complete, it is an excellent guide for student botanists who want to learn about N.E. flowers with only this guide as instruction. More guides should be written in this style!
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
By James Wilson
Format:Paperback
I've noticed from other reviews that this guide is seen to be specific to the northeast. When I first wanted to learn about wildflowers I took a workshop in the western NC mountains and this was the the required text. Every wildflower that we identified was in the book. It seems that the cooler mountain elevations offer the same climate found in New England and Canada. Also, learning by leaf type makes it a lot easier to identify the plant when it's not blooming. I've had a copy of it in my car for the last 10 years and intend on keeping it there.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By gfweb
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Newcomb's guide is a great book, once you get past the initial training period. For those of us used to flipping through pictures of flowers and fruit until we think we have the right one, this book can be initially off-putting.
My advice...get used to it. Newcomb's system is more efficient and more certain than flower-flipping. A good book.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By C. Fry
Format:Paperback
After reading the other reviews, I feel that I should open this review with a caveat: this book is regional, and only covers the northeastern states. With that said, I have been using this guide almost exclusively for 10 years, and if you are serious about learning how to identify a wide variety of wildflowers, you can't go wrong with this book. The black-and-white illustrations are excellent, and while there are some color plates included, I have never felt they were essential to the presentation. If you are more interested in the casual identification of more common flowers, you might indeed prefer a guide that is organized by color. For the serious naturalist, however, flower color should really be the last characteristic you examine. Floral features such as petal shape, structure, and organization, as well as stem and leaf morphology are much more reliable. If you want to be able to quickly identify a variety of flowers in diverse habitats, a guide organized by color is simply impractical. The book makes use of a dichotomous key, whereby you answer simple questions about the structure of the flower to narrow down your final choices. For anyone who's spent ages flipping through the "pink" section of a color-organized guide, this will put an end to your frustration! Using the key does take a little practice, but once you've gotten accustomed to it, it's an indispensable tool. The book also contains flowering vines and shrubs, which are often left out of other guides. I have been recommending this book for many years, and I am just as enthusiastic about it now as I was when I first picked it up. I never go hiking without it!
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have yet to find a flower in the northeast that isn't in this book! It only takes a little practice to learn to use the key. I only wish they made a key like this for plants that aren't in flower. I own a comprehensive plant systematics book, but it's so daunting that I always reach for Newcomb's first. If you want to become a better naturalist, get this book!
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By redslam
Format:Paperback
Definitely a regional book. If you travel in N. Georgia up to New England, this is a must-have guide. The black and white line drawings do aid in identifying plants having structure and shape as the defining characteristic because light and shade of color do not come into play as they might in photos. As in birding, the preference for either photos or drawings is an individual one and, until Newcomb's landed in my library, I used photo guides for wildflowers but preferred drawn guides (like Peterson's) for birds. This is the book that changed my mind on that point.
Having said that, this is not a beginner's book. I think I would have had little use for Newcomb's 6 or 7 years ago when I started out with wildflowers. This is the only book whose key system did not leave me reaching for a photo guide out of frustration; the key works very well with this book, and helped make me a more educated plant photographer. Also, since using it, my tolerance for keys and ability to use them have both gone up markedly. I do still carry photo guides with me but, in the region covered, the photo guide is a back-up to Newcomb's and is often used for the additional text as opposed to the pictures.
Having said that, this is not a beginner's book. I think I would have had little use for Newcomb's 6 or 7 years ago when I started out with wildflowers. This is the only book whose key system did not leave me reaching for a photo guide out of frustration; the key works very well with this book, and helped make me a more educated plant photographer. Also, since using it, my tolerance for keys and ability to use them have both gone up markedly. I do still carry photo guides with me but, in the region covered, the photo guide is a back-up to Newcomb's and is often used for the additional text as opposed to the pictures.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Herbal Guide
My herbal class recommended this book. It's been a great tool to help identify herbs and plants out in the field. I recommend this book.
Published 1 month ago by Mariko Sharp
1.0 out of 5 stars
Limited help
Not as helpful as expected as a field guide for wildflower identification. It had very few color pictures, and the groupings were confusing.
Published 1 month ago by M. Dewberry
5.0 out of 5 stars
newcombs wildflower guide
excellent book to learn how to key plants and recognize different types of greenery and growth. great for my herbal apprenticeship.
Published 1 month ago by Cheryl Page
5.0 out of 5 stars
found it
I have been looking for the name of a wonderful small wildflower on our land for forty years. Found it here....Pimpernel. Read more
Published 1 month ago by patricia G Messer
4.0 out of 5 stars
I like this book.
This book has helpful lillustrations, and a wide variety of species. I needed this book for my Plant Taxonomy course.
Published 4 months ago by By Skyler O'Marrah
2.0 out of 5 stars
Look for more pictures
short on pictures disapointed! Illustrations are okay but no color I would prefer a book with real pictures. would not recommend!
Published 5 months ago by Russ Westcott
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best field guide!
This book may at first appear a little overwhelming to someone not familiar with keying out plants. However, if you have experience keying out plants or are not afraid to try it... Read more
Published 6 months ago by PRB
5.0 out of 5 stars
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide
This guide stands alone. The key system is intuitive, and easily employed. As president of an outdoor non-profit organization, dedicated to teaching young people about the... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Scott
5.0 out of 5 stars
Oldie but Goodie!
There's lots of wildflower guides these days, but this one is (for me) the most effective.
For some, like Peterson's, you have to flip through pages and pages of pictures once... Read more
For some, like Peterson's, you have to flip through pages and pages of pictures once... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Joe The Paddlwe
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite field guide
I have the original hardcover edition of this book and I've used it often for many years over much of the northeast. Read more
Published 10 months ago by biophile
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 1
book:
4
books
cite this book:
- Flowering Shrubs (RHS Practicals) by Royal Horticultural Society in Front Matter
- Wild Orchids Across North America: A Botanical Travelogue by Phillip E. Keenan on page 109
- Finding Wildflowers in the Washington-Baltimore Area (Johns Hopkins Paperback) by Cristol Fleming in Back Matter
- Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places by Steve Brill in Back Matter
- The Wildflower Book: East of the Rockies - A Complete Guide to Growing and Identifying Wildflowers (Stokes Backyard Nature Books) by Donald Stokes in Back Matter
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