The Illustrated Book of Trees: The Comprehensive Field Guide to More Than 450 Trees of Eastern North America (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The serious student of trees should first become familiar with their general structure..." (more)
Key Phrases: solitary bundle scar, largest terminal bud, bud scale margins, North Carolina, North America, South Carolina (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

225 drawings
* 6 x 9
* Completely revised and updated, with range maps and quick-reference identification keys
* More than 30 new species described and illustrated

William Carey Grimm's classic Illustrated Book of Trees--the authority in eastern North American tree identification for over 40 years--is now available in a completely updated edition, describing recently-introduced species and incorporating changes in taxonomy, nomenclature, and geographic range.

By observing the leaves, flowers, and fruits of a tree in summer or its twigs, buds, and bark in winter, readers can easily identify a species through Grimm's full-page illustrations, classification keys, and concise species descriptions. Written in straightforward, non-scientific language for beginning botanists of any age. Glossary of terms and a complete index are included.

John Kartesz is a professor of botany and the founder/director of the Biota of North America Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 493 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; Presentable Ex-Library edition (May 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811722201
• ISBN-13: 978-0811722209
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #669,456 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Field Guides > Regional > Canada
  #2 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Field Guides > Trees
  #97 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Plants > Trees > Seed-Bearing Plants

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This Grimm is no fairy-tale, March 13, 2000

By A Customer

Very nice book! The edition I own is the 1983 printing, so I am unfamiliar with recent changes. Book has good drawings of leaves (often several), fruits, twigs, buds and leaf scars. Excellent info on summer and winter identification included in text and step-by-step outlines. The step-by-step outline starts at the front of the book and helps you identify the family in which the tree in question belongs. Then turn to the section on that tree family for help isolating which species you have on your hands. There are good text descriptions throughout to aid identification as well as information on history, growth, and commercial uses of the trees. Not a field guide for the size and weight conscious though. Keep it in your living room or SUV.

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More than identification, May 17, 2002

By	annette (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews

I bought my 1983 edition when I was active as a park district volunteer. What sold me on this book was that it went beyond the tree's identification, and told you more about the tree itself. For example, looking up the Sycamore it says "The Sycamore is also known as the Buttonwood, Buttonball-tree, and the American Plane Tree. It is one of the most massive of all our native trees, perhaps exceeding all others in the diameter of its trunk... The wood is heavy, hard, tough and coarse-grained; being difficult to work or split. It is used for furniture - both solid and veneer, interior finish, siding, musical instruments, boxes and crates. Practically all butcher's blocks are made from the Sycamore..." and so on.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best book by far for identifying trees, August 3, 2006

By	Sammy Madison (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Illustrated Book of Trees: The Comprehensive Field Guide to More Than 250 Trees of Eastern North America (Paperback)

The instructor I took field biology with in college highly recommended this book. He thought it was by far the best guide for identifying trees. Now, years later and having used (or attempted to use) many different field guides, I know why he was so crazy about this book. Winter or summer, if you are looking at the bark, leaf, or bud, the very clear and detailed pictures and unambiguous text will allow you to identify any tree with certainty.