Rocky Mountain Tree Finder: A Pocket Manual for Identifying Rocky Mountain Trees [Paperback]

Tom Watts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003 | ISBN-10: 0912550058 | ISBN-13: 978-0912550053

Pocket-sized guide to identifying native trees of the Rockies and Great Basin, in the U.S. and Canada, from the plains to the alpine zone. Like all the plant guides in the Finders series, this book uses a key format that leads you through a series of choices to identify the plant by its leaves, needles, and other features. Explains life zones in the Rockies. Heavily illustrated with line drawings and range maps.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Rocky Mountain Tree Distribution
Climate limits where trees can grow. The very things people like about the Rocky Mountain climate--cool summers and deep snow at high altitudes, year-round dry sunshine in the low altitudes--are hard on trees. The Rockies have abundant water and warmth, but not in the same places. Trees here must adapt to extreme temperatures, intense sunlight, and drying winds.

Each tree's range has an upper limit, the altitude above which it's too cold for the tree to grow, and a lower limit, below which it's too dry.

Some trees are adapted to hot, dry foothills: A three-inch ponderosa pine seedling may have roots two feet long. It can take soil surface temperatures of 180 F (82 C), but a heavy frost can kill it.

Other trees can survive short summers and bitter winters: The new needles of subalpine fir resist frost, and its branches shed heavy snow. But its roots are shallow and could not survive the dry heat of the foothills.

The next pages describe five LIFE ZONES found at different altitudes in the Rocky Mountains. Some trees grow in several zones, but if you know what zone you're in you can usually tell what trees you'll find. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 59 pages
• Publisher: Nature Study Guild Publishers (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0912550058
• ISBN-13: 978-0912550053
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 3.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,102,006 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great, practical, tiny and easy to use, August 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rocky Mountain Tree Finder: A Pocket Manual for Identifying Rocky Mountain Trees (Paperback)

This is a great little pocket guide to the native trees in the intermountain west. It uses a key system that asks you simple questions about the shape or size of different parts of the tree, and finally leads you to the species. It's great for someone like me with no experience.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book Review, November 4, 2006

By 

Rex G. Kemp "Desert Ghost" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rocky Mountain Tree Finder: A Pocket Manual for Identifying Rocky Mountain Trees (Paperback)

Simple concept, not a lot of detail, but for a pocket book appears to contain all of the essentials to accurately identify trees.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Classification Book!, March 13, 2009

By 

Caroline Hickerson "Live Simply so that Other... (Wyoming) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rocky Mountain Tree Finder: A Pocket Manual for Identifying Rocky Mountain Trees (Paperback)

This company makes a very good series of classification books. The pictures and descriptors are accurate and easy to follow. I use them for my high school Botany and Biology classes with ease!