Wildflowers of the Desert Southwest [Paperback]

Meg Quinn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Natural History Series | Publication Date: January 2002

Spring is a very special time in the desert Southwest. An astonishing variety of wildflowers, nurtured by the winter rains, can bloom in wondrous profusion and carpet the desert floor and mountainsides with glorious color. Indeed, thousands of visitors time their trips to the Southwest to coincide with wildflower season. In Wildflowers of the Desert Southwest, botanist and educator Meg Quinn identifies and describes more than eighty of the most common and showy species. Flowers are further arranged by color for ease of identification.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Meg Quinn also authored Wildflowers of the Mountain Southwest and Cacti of the Desert Southwest for Rio Nuevo Publishers. She is the former director of education at Tucson Botanical Gardens, has worked for the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, and is active in the Arizona Native Plant Society.

Product Details

• Paperback: 80 pages
• Publisher: Rio Nuevo (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887896252
• ISBN-13: 978-1887896252
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #675,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides > Regional
  • #2 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Field Guides > Flowers

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to wildflowers of the southwest U.S., January 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wildflowers of the Desert Southwest (Paperback)

A great introduction to the common wildflowers of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan, and Mojave deserts of the southwestern United States. This little book has great photographs and simple clear concise descriptions of each species. There are even some very interesting ethnobotanical tidbits for many of the species, which I found fascinating. Each flower is conveniently grouped by color, which contributes to its ease of use in the field. I highly recommend it to anyone visiting our southwestern deserts in the springtime!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learning the names... and a bit more..., July 4, 2011

By 

John P. Jones III (Albuquerque, NM, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: WILDFLOWERS OF THE DESERT SOUTHWEST (Paperback)

If you "blink" you might miss them. Not literally, of course, for each year some desert wildflowers bloom, particular in the shady areas of arroyos. Every few years or so, conditions in the desert become more optimal, better amounts of moisture coupled with the right temperatures and sunlight, and then suddenly the proverbial "carpets" of desert flowers erupt. Either way, the flowers of the desert can attract, and even seduce. Meg Quinn has written a solid guide about the flowers along the way on your desert hikes.

The book contains a good map outlining the extent of the four principal deserts of the American Southwest: Chihuahuan, the Great Basin, Sonoran, and Mojave. She admits that her selection of flowers is weight more towards the latter two. Eighty-four desert flowers are identified: one to each page, with a quality picture sufficient for identification purposes. The common name of the flower heads each page, followed by its scientific (Latin) name, along with the flower's "family." This is followed by a brief (3-5 sentence) description of its habitat and characteristics. The flower's range and elevation are highlighted. At the end, there is a brief glossary and bibliography.

Favorites? The Desert Paintbrush, and the Sacred Datura. Certainly they are easy to identify!

Overall, a solid, useful guidebook, for anyone living in the Southwest, or passing through. 4-stars.