Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (Timber Press Field Guides) [Illustrated] [Turtleback]

Mark Turner (Author), Phyllis Gustafson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Timber Press Field Guides | Publication Date: February 20, 2006

Featuring more than 1240 stunning color photographs, this comprehensive field guide will remain a trusted, authoritative trailside reference for years to come. It describes and illustrates 1220 commonly encountered species, both native and nonnative, including perennials, annuals, and shrubs. Encompassing the Pacific Northwest from southern British Columbia to northern California, from the coast to the mountains and high desert, this handy book is perfect for hikers, naturalists, native plant enthusiasts, and anyone wishing to learn about the amazingly diverse wildflowers of the region. Organized by flower color and shape, and including a range map for each flower described, it is as user-friendly as it is informative.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The Northwest's most complete field guide ever, this lovely volume pictures 1,220 wildflowers that grow from the Siskiyous to southwestern British Columbia."
—Sunset, June 2006 (Sunset )

Book Description

Featuring more than 1240 stunning color photographs, this comprehensive field guide will remain a trusted, authoritative trailside reference for years to come. It describes and illustrates 1220 species commonly encountered in the Pacific Northwest, both native and nonnative, including perennials, annuals, and shrubs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Turtleback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Timber Press (February 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881927457
• ISBN-13: 978-0881927450
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #380,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An instant classic, March 6, 2006

By 

Adam Schneider (Portland, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (Timber Press Field Guides) (Turtleback)

Since I moved to Portland, I've accumulated several wildflower guides trying to find a good one: The Audubon book has great photos but tries to cover the entire western half of the continent and so leaves a LOT unmentioned or at least unpictured. The Peterson "Pacific States" guide doesn't have ANY photographs (only drawings) and is similarly incomplete. "Wildflowers of the Columbia River Gorge" is very complete for its area, but is (obviously) geographically limited and also suffers from a terrible organizational scheme and a lack of text.

So, I've been looking forward for the publication of "Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest" since I first heard it was in the works. My first impression is that it lives up to its billing: over 1200 species, organized by color, then flower shape, then plant family. For every species, you get a description of its typical habitat and abundance; a 6cm x 4cm photo; a detailed paragraph about identifying features (and notes about similar species or subspecies, if applicable); and a map showing counties where it can be found in OR, WA, CA, and BC.

To make room for more species, they've omitted some less-showy varieties, but that's fine with me. The one quibble I have is with the index: the common (non-Latin) name given is not always the one you might be familiar with, and they alphabetize the flowers according to the beginning of their name, not the "important" part of the name. For example, you have to look up subalpine mariposa lily under "subalpine," not "mariposa lily" or "lily," and if you know it as "cat's ear lily," you won't find it at all.

But overall, I'd heartily recommend this book to anyone in Oregon, Washington, southern B.C., or far northern California. It costs a little more than the other field guides but is well worth it.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., July 9, 2006

By 

C. Roberts (Kalama, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (Timber Press Field Guides) (Turtleback)

Other than Pojar and MacKinnon's book and Cooke's wetland guide, this is the only general purpose, non-technical botanical books I'd recommend for the Pacific Northwest for wildflowers. Over 1200 species are covered, including many of those in oft-ignored areas covered by other guides such as southern Oregon and the Wallowa/Blue Mountains. Not every species is covered, of course, but chances are that if you see a plant growing somewhere in Washington or Oregon, this book would likely have it. Plant descriptions are solid, photographs are crisp and professional, and the county maps showing distribution are a tremendous addition (I cannot emphasize this enough). Anyone in the Pacific Northwest who is even a fleeting interest in wildflowers has to pick this up.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, June 24, 2006

By 

Aaron Jacobsen (Pullman, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest (Timber Press Field Guides) (Turtleback)

A great book for anyone wanting to identify all those wildflower pictures you took, but never have. Very user friendly, I was able to ID a bunch of pictures I took in a relatively short time. Beautiful color photos. It didn't receive the 5th star because of the index. For example, I knew I had a mariposa lily, but didn't know what species. The index didn't help because you won't find "mariposa"; you need to know the exact species name. Also, not all common names are listed (compared to the National Plants Database). Besides that, I am very satisfied with the book and highly recommend it.