Trees of Pennsylvania and the Northeast (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The importance of trees in Pennsylvania is implicit in the state's name: Pennsylvania is Latin for Penn's Woods, the woods of William Penn, the Quaker..." (more)
Key Phrases: state forest natural areas, red oak group, bigtooth aspen, New England, North America, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With populations of both northern and southern trees, Pennsylvania is home to a truly diverse array of species. This book describes more than 60 species of trees found in Pennsylvania and the northeastern United States in a straightforward, informative style. Includes identification details, range, growth patterns, seasonal adaptations, natural history, past and present uses, and current and future population trends, along with the author's personal observations of the trees themselves-what their nuts taste like, their barks feel like, or what it's like to see them in the wild. An invaluable addition to any nature-lover's library.

About the Author

Charles Fergus in the author of numerous books on nature and the outdoors, including "Wildlife of Pennsylvania" (0811728994), "Natural Pennsylvania" (0811720381), "Thornapples" (081172946X), and "Summer at Little Lava." He lives in central Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1 edition (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811720926
• ISBN-13: 978-0811720922
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #712,171 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Head for the Vast PA Forests, November 13, 2002

By	doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Here's another winner from Charles Fergus on the natural side of Pennsylvania. Many people are unaware of the vast forests of Pennsylvania, and the surprisingly varied trees therein. Here Fergus, who is quite a readable writer, describes just about every tree to be found in Pennsylvania, both naturally or in some cases ornamental. Descriptions of the bark, leaves, fruits/nuts, ranges, and life spans of most of the trees are described in detail. A refreshing aspect of this book is that Fergus has made real efforts to see specimens of many of these trees himself, sometimes extremely remote and rare specimens. One interesting chapter covers trees that are not native to PA but were introduced either purposefully or accidentally, with either good or bad consequences for the ecosystem. I was not aware that weeping willows and apple trees are not native to Pennsylvania. The only problem with this book is a general shortage of illustrations, meaning you'll have to rely on text descriptions of leaf shape or bark texture alone, making it hard to prospect for noteworthy trees yourself. But this is probably just a production constraint, and pictures can be found elsewhere without too much trouble.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a book for beginning ID, February 12, 2004

By A Customer

If you have a background in forestry and already know your trees then this book is fine for such things as additional research. If you are looking for a book to help you with tree identification in the field look elsewhere. There are very few pictures to help the beginner and flipping through to read the descriptions to figure it out gets annoying.