35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Weeds of Canada and..., July 25, 2002
This review is from: Weeds of the Northern U.S. and Canada: A Guide for Identification (Paperback)
Strangely enough in Canada this book has "CANADA" writ large under weeds with the "& northern united states" in small letters on same cover!! Anyways, I bought this book because it is so clearly indexed by both seedling and adult stage (categorized by leaf type, and then subcategorized by flower color). It has very clear photos, so I am not sure what the other reviewer is talking about. The photos include separate photos of flowers, seeds, whole plant, and sometimes leaves and other distinguishing characteristics (ie leaf attachment in the grasses). There are a few places where a better photo of leaves would help, esp if the plant is in the between seedling and flowering stage.But compared with the three other books I have on weeds, the illustrations are much more precise and easy to reference.
This is definitely a book written for crop farmers, since there is more information on how much it depreciates crop yield ("Reasons for Concern"), than how to get rid of the weed for gardeners.However, I think that once you can identify a weed, it is very simple to find info (chemical, organic etc) on how to deal with it.
One feature that I find excellent is "Similar Species", which includes a photo.I find that this helps remove doubt in identification, or gives a hint where to look if one is mistaken.
Seeing as how I am trying to identify weeds in order to find edible ones rather than eradicate them, I would have appreciated an "edible/poisonous/inedible" designation for each plant. However once I have identified it, I can then refer to a more detailed book such as "Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide: by Elias & Dykeman" to see if the plant is edible and how to prepare it.
The main reason I am giving this book 4 stars vs 5 is that it seems to be lacking some fairly common weeds. I cannot find deadly (climbing) nightshade in it, which grows here in Montreal alleyways. Nor could I find goldenrod (Solidago L.). I really don't understand how such common weeds could be left out.
Basically an easy to use reference guide that is handy to flip through and consult while out in the field.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good addition to library, August 6, 2002
This review is from: Weeds of the Northern U.S. and Canada: A Guide for Identification (Paperback)
This is a good resource, although I prefer Uva's Weeds of the Northeast mainly because of its superior pictures. Some of the pictures in this book aren't very helpful for identifying plants. For example, I couldn't recognize first-year burdock leaves from the pictures. Some common northeastern US weeds are missing too, although that complaint can't also be made from the Uva book. The writeups are good though, and I'm sure it'll be a reference I'll use.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great resource for those doing battle with weeds, October 9, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Weeds of the Northern U.S. and Canada: A Guide for Identification (Paperback)
This reference guide aids in identification of weeds at all stages of growth. The easy to read text is complemented by excellent photographs. A must have if you need to know what the weed is.
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