Customer Reviews

Wildflowers of the Western Plains: A Field Guide (Corrie Herring Hooks Series)

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I'd like to address the very thoughtful response to the book as written by the first reviewer. As noted, field guides are necessarily limited. It would be impossible to have field guide that works perfectly for all users; however, this one comes as close as any I have found for my region. It may not be perfect for the plains of Montana, but it is spot on for those of west Texas. I've tried others, and have found them wanting for the same reason the other reviewer found this one wanting. Even other field guides for my state are frustrating to use, since Texas consists of five different ecosystems, and therefore the guides cover many wildflowers that are not found here and leave out many that are.

As for organizing it acording to families instead of color, it is true that beginners might find it more useful to have to guide accroding to color, but I appreciate the fact that organizing it in this way encourages people to learn the families, since that arguably has more to do with the overall "nature" of the flower than the color of its bloom (i.e., this is a mustard, or this is a legume...).

Finally, I agree that the natural history notes at the end of many of the descriptions are entertaining and useful. I'd like to see these expanded as well.

There will never be a perfect wildflower field guide. There are too many conflicting requirements. Reflect on what a perfect field guide would be if it existed. It would be small enough to carry in the field. This one is that; 8 inches by 6, about 250 pages.

A perfect field guide would allow a person to recognize plants easily from the illustrations. Color photos are probably best, although there are some very useable field guides using sketches all or part of the time. Plant identification is about equally dependent on blooms and leaves, with seed heads important part of the year, so the field guide would include those. "Wildflowers of the Western Plains" has nice color photos, but they do not always show leaves; seed heads, when included, are usually relegated to the text. Field guides should always give both the Latin name and frequently used common names for plants. This book does that. Telling us the range, abundance, habitat, and season are some of the characteristics that separate good field guides from the not-so-good. The text of this guide indicates the range, as well as the abundance or scarcity, of each plant. It often tells us something about the habitat that the plant favors and its blooming season.

One cannot expect a field guide to include all plants in its area. However, the mark of a good field guide is one that allows a person to identify the plants that they choose to identify -- admittedly, an unreasonable requirement. Furthermore, we want the identification to be easy and quick. Thus, what one person thinks is good will not work as well for others. I have not tested this guide in the field; but for reasons mentioned later, there are some indications that it will come up short.

Some the shortcomings for which we criticize a field guide are a matter of preference and/or the field book omitted it deliberately because of size limitations. The territory each covers is a case in point. The map in this guide shows that its coverage reaches from Texas to North Dakota. There is some unexplained light shading that I take to indicate some coverage into Mexico, Montana, and Canada. Examining a representative selection of the plants included shows that the guide covers Oklahoma, New Mexico, and northwest Texas better than the other plains states. A book on the "western plains" should do better than that.

A very unsolvable problem is how to organize a field guide. This one is organized by plant families. That is fine for a person who knows the families but organization by colors may be a better choice for amateurs and beginners who do not take the time to become familiar with family characteristics.

The size of the book also limits how much detail it provides. It seems adequate in this case, although I have not the expertise to judge the reliability of the descriptions. The guide spends less time on varietal differences than some other guides do. Authors of wildflower field guides face an arbitrary decision on how many shrubs or trees to provide. Whether to include non-native plants that have become common in the wild is also a question. Again, this guide seems to keep an acceptable balance.

This guide contains a "Remarks" section for each of its plants. The content varies from plant to plant. I found that it added to the usefulness and readability of the text. The author provides us various tidbits as to whether the plant is edible, how Native Americans might have used the plant, whether it might prove weedy. It often includes additional characteristics useable in identification. I wish this author had chosen to tell us the meaning of Latin names where pertinent, but that is just me.

There is a reasonable glossary, with sketches of common plant parts. That is useful. There is not a plant key to aid a person in getting to a plant or plant family. Authors who organize their books by plant family should seriously consider a key as an aid in narrowing a plant down to family, or at least the more common families.

"Wildflowers of the Western Plains" will go with me on my next trip to the plains. Unfortunately, the plains I usually visit are in the area that the map shows in light shading. Since the guide does not include Oenothera caespitosa (gumbo lily or evening primrose), Anemone patens (prairie crocus or pasque flower) or Calochortus nuttallii (sego lily or mariposa lily); I will carry a backup guide such as "Audubon (Western Region)" or "Jewels of the Plains." Yucca glauca is also missing and I find the common name bear grass used for Yucca angustifolia; most guides reserve the name bear grass for Xerophyllum tenax. The proof of any field guide for any user is how well it works in the field.

One man's "weeds" are another man's "forbs". Learning the names of plants helps get involved in the environment. This book aids that process.