National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (Eastern Region) (Paperback)

by William A. Niering (Author), Nancy C. Olmstead (Author), Susan Rayfield (Author), Carol Nehring (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
This compact guidebook, produced to the National Audubon Society's high standards of quality, gives full descriptions of more than 650 species found east of the Rocky Mountains, along with notes on several hundred more. The eminently sensible organization relies on first-impression visible characteristics rather than the elaborate keys of some older texts--a format well suited to beginning wildflower enthusiasts. If, for instance, you wanted to identify a long-stemmed, tubular red flower that you found in a grove of loblolly pines, you would first turn to the color plates, find the section devoted to red flowers, find a likely match from the 30-odd choices, and then turn to the text to see that the flower's habitat and range made a good fit, ruling out those species that do not. After a few minutes' looking, you'll have identified a trumpet honeysuckle. Well written and richly illustrated, this peerless guide makes the ideal companion for an expedition to eastern wood or prairie. --Gregory McNamee

Product Description
Nothing is as colorful as a field of wildflowers in full-bloom so what could be more appropriate than a magnificent field guide with beautiful full-color photographs? More than 1,000 species are covered in full detail, with notes on more than 400 others. The 700 identification photographs show wildflowers-including grasses and sedges, and many flowering vines and shrubs-in their natural habitats.

Note: the Eastern Edition generally covers states east of the Rocky Mountains, while the Western Edition covers the Rocky Mountain range and all the states to the west of it.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 888 pages
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf (June 12, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394504321
• ISBN-13: 978-0394504322
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 3.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #408,557 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, July 4, 2002

By	"bonogirl19" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers--E: Eastern Region - Revised Edition (Turtleback)

I had to collect wildflowers during the summer for an Honors Biology class. The field guides we were given were ones with drawings instead of photographs. It was very hard to correctly identify the wildflower with only a drawing. This field guide is excellent. You identify the flowers with color photographs, and the book gives a fairly in-depth description on the flower, habitat, range, and other comments about the flower. I would recommend this guide to anyone who has to identify wildflowers for school, or just enjoys identifying for pleasure.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide, Easy to Use, June 6, 2001

By	A. Y. Smittle (Winchester, VA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers--E: Eastern Region - Revised Edition (Turtleback)

I have another wildflower guide which I tried using and was very frustrated with their drawings and color plates. I bought this guide out of desperation---and am completely satisfied. Its simple and easy to use. The flowers are easier to identify with color photography, complete with close up caption. Descriptions are listed later. Not everything is jumbled together, so that your'e fumbling out there around through so many pages. So easy to use. The flowers are more generalized than specific---you won't find 50 examples of a violet--but you'll find several at best. It depends on how detailed you want to get. Quick, ready to use guide that fits perfectly in your husbands fishing vest or in a backpack. Go for it!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best I've seen, December 20, 2000

By A Customer

Excellent guide -- good photographs organized by color and blossom shape, cross-referenced to detailed classification and habitat information. By far the easiest classification guide I've used (and I've tried many).