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May Theilgaard Watts

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Tree Finder: A Manual for Identification of Trees by their Leaves (Eastern US) (Nature Study Guides) Paperback – January 1, 1991

by May Theilgaard Watts (Author)

4.6 912 ratings

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Easily Identify the Trees You Find!

This essential guide by celebrated ecologist May Theilgaard Watts helps readers identify native (and some widely introduced) trees of the United States and Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains. With this handy, easy-to-use guide, you'll be able to identify all sorts of trees in no time.

Features include:

A dichotomous key, leading the user through a series of simple questions about the shape or appearance of different parts of a tree
Includes 161 species
Illustrated with line drawings
Small (6- by 4-inch) format that fits in a pocket or pack to take along on a hike

From the Publisher

Step-by-Step Identification

Tree Finder provides a simple, fun method for identifying trees. Examine a leaf. Then answer a few short questions that guide you to the correct species.

Positive Results

When you’ve made your final choice, compare a leaf with the illustration, and check the other features shown. This will help you confirm your identification.

Wide Range of Trees

This guide is applicable to a vast area. It covers most of the eastern USA and eastern Canada. At 6" x 4", it’s lightweight and pocket-sized to bring with you.

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

To identify deciduous trees (trees that drop their leaves in the fall) east of the Rockies in winter, use Winter Tree Finder.

This book is one of the "Finders" series of pockets guides to native plants and animals of North America, which includes similar tree keys for the West: Pacific Coast Tree Finder, Rocky Mountain Tree Finder, and Desert Tree Finder.

About the Author

May Theilgaard Watts (1893-1975) was a teacher, writer, illustrator, and naturalist. Born in Illinois, she was a pioneer in the field of ecology.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Nature Study Guild Publishers; Revised Editon edition (January 1, 1991)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 64 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0912550015
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0912550015
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.25 x 4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #38,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #9 in Tree Gardening
- #25 in Trees in Biological Sciences
- #67 in Outdoors & Nature Reference

Customer Reviews:
4.6 912 ratings

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May Theilgaard Watts

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May Theilgaard Watts was a poet, artist, gardener, and above all, a teacher. She is best known for her book Reading the Landscape: An Adventure in Ecology (later published in an expanded edition as Reading the Landscape of America,) and as founder of the Illinois Prairie Path.

May was born to Danish parents in Chicago, on May 1, 1893. Her first teaching job was in a one-room schoolhouse. At the start of the school year, she would take a train out to a rural school district, where she lived with a farmer's family. During the summers, she came home to her parents' house in the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago, and attended the University of Chicago. There, she took classes from the pioneering American ecologist, Henry C. Cowles, whose work she would popularize in her books.

After graduating from college, May she taught at a Chicago-area high school until her marriage in 1924 to Raymond Watts. While raising her family, she spoke and wrote widely about native plants and landscapes. From 1941 until her retirement, Watts worked as staff naturalist at the Morton Arboretum, west of Chicago, where she created the Arboretum's innovative education program.

May and her husband, Raymond Watts, started the publishing imprint Nature Study Guild Publishers to publish her pocket guides Tree Finder and Flower Finder.

In 1963, at the age of 70, she instigated the movement to convert an abandoned railroad right-of-way into the Illinois Prairie Path. May died in her home in Naperville, Illinois, in 1975, with a piece of unfinished writing waiting for her in her typewriter.

When Reading the Landscape was first published, in 1957, its jacket included a quote from the naturalist Edwin Way Teale: “Mrs. Watts has a valuable and original idea in considering the whole ecological interrelationship represented by each different landscape in turn." Her publisher appended a definition of the word "ecology," evidently not expecting readers to be familiar with the word.

Ecology is no longer an arcane term, in part because of May Theilgaard Watts’ work, through her books, lectures, and field trips, to interest non-scientists in nature and its interrelationships.

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Customers say

Customers find the book small and portable, making it convenient for trips to the woods. They find it user-friendly, concise, and easy to understand. Many consider it a useful guide for beginners, providing step-by-step guidance for identifying trees. Many consider it 'a great resource' and a good value for money. However, opinions differ on the illustrations, with some finding them well-illustrated and well-organized, while others criticize them as simplistic and lacking full tree illustrations.

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Pocket size Ease of use Use Tree identification Value for money Fun to use Illustrations

56 customers mention "Pocket size"47 positive9 negative

Customers appreciate the pocket size of the book. They find it convenient to carry and easy to use, making it a great addition to any outdoorsman's backpack. The book is small enough to fit in their pockets and does not weigh them down in the field.

"Nice pocket sized guide. Good intro to tree identification" Read more

"...The size of it is great, fits into a pocket, and has a handy ruler printed on the back so you can measure leaf size and other things...." Read more

"...It's small enough to fit into a back pocket without a bulge, which means I'm more likely to have it with me when I want it...." Read more

"...For the great price, extremely convenient size, and ease of use, this book is amazing all around and well worth it." Read more

51 customers mention "Ease of use"42 positive9 negative

Customers find the book user-friendly and concise. It provides a step-by-step guide for identifying trees in the forest. They find it detailed and packed with information for a pocket-sized booklet.

"Bought this book for my kids, great pictures to help them determine what tree is what." Read more

"This is a great little book that guides you step by step through identifying trees that grow the USA...." Read more

"...Very easy to follow guide which allows you to take leaves from trees and identify them. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a little gem!" Read more

"...For the great price, extremely convenient size, and ease of use, this book is amazing all around and well worth it." Read more

48 customers mention "Use"48 positive0 negative

Customers find the book useful and informative. They say it's a great little guide for beginners, perfect for school projects, and an excellent resource for novice nature lovers who want to go exploring.

"This is an excellent book for novice nature lovers who want to go exploring...." Read more

"...It is to small to be all inclusive but it is great to start with...." Read more

"...Eg. Are the leaves alternating, if yes then...The perfect book for beginners.It easily fits in the back pocket...." Read more

"Using this little book is a great learning experience on trees and gets you to the right ID." Read more

43 customers mention "Tree identification"32 positive11 negative

Customers find the book helpful for identifying trees. They say it's an excellent source for beginners, simple to use, and has a reliable method for identification that works. The book contains over 100 common trees and is accurate.

"Nice pocket sized guide. Good intro to tree identification" Read more

"...won't find hybrids, some imports (garden) trees, but it packs in over 100 common trees & can lead anyone into a quick, accurate identification with..." Read more

"...This is the easiest and quickest way to identify a tree by it's leaves...." Read more

"...The drawings of the leaves in some cases are too similar to identify the leaves...." Read more

15 customers mention "Value for money"15 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They find it nice for the price and well worth it.

"...For the great price, extremely convenient size, and ease of use, this book is amazing all around and well worth it." Read more

"...It is a tiny book, which is why it is so affordable -once you have one, you'll wonder how you survived without it!" Read more

"...How can you go wrong at this awesome price." Read more

"...tree by the shape and design of the leaves, very good information, good price and travel size." Read more

5 customers mention "Fun to use"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to follow and engaging for adults. They appreciate the clear pictures.

"...Lots of fun. Using with 5yo little naturalist now, who loves it, too!" Read more

"...I've found it engaging for adults as well. Simple to use, clear pictures." Read more

"Very easy to follow, and a lot of fun to use." Read more

"This is a great book for kids!" Read more

25 customers mention "Illustrations"16 positive9 negative

Customers have mixed reviews about the illustrations in the book. Some find them well-illustrated and easy to read, with a simple layout. Others feel the illustrations are simplistic and difficult to match to the real thing. There are no illustrations of the whole tree, just leaves, which makes identification difficult.

"...The drawings are good and the format makes it reasonably easy to use...." Read more

"...Although she says the sketches are a bit difficult to match to the 'real thing', she has an open mind and I believe will adjust...." Read more

"Well laid out and very complete. Easy to use and concise...." Read more

"the layout on this book is practically idiotproof..very simple and straight forward you start out w/ the basics and work your way up..." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

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carj
Handy little guide
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2024
Verified Purchase
Nice pocket sized guide. Good intro to tree identification

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Boater man
Great quality, would buy again.
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2024
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Bought this book for my kids, great pictures to help them determine what tree is what.

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Jean Bowden
Wonderful gift to give
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2024
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I love these books to give as gifts and bought one for myself this last order.

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shadowmib
It's useful, but not comprehensive
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2012
Verified Purchase
This is a great little book that guides you step by step through identifying trees that grow the USA. The main problem I have been having is in the city, there are a lot of trees around in the city that have been brought in by landscapers and city parks that are not in the book. Probably if you are out in a more natural woods, you will find all the common species of trees that the book catalogs.

The book ONLY helps you to identify the trees, so you want to get a book with information about trees to look them up after you figure out what it is.

The size of it is great, fits into a pocket, and has a handy ruler printed on the back so you can measure leaf size and other things.

I definitely am glad I bought it.

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4 people found this helpful

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Yelena
Good size
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
Good information

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Luckydog
Excellent little guide
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book for novice nature lovers who want to go exploring. Very easy to follow guide which allows you to take leaves from trees and identify them. I would definitely recommend this book. It’s a little gem!

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5 people found this helpful

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M. Atwell
Helpful, but doesn't give you all the tools to ID trees, concentrates just on the leaves.
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2020
Verified Purchase
Title says it all but it does provide some guidance for figuring out what you have. It was helpful, just not as much as I was hoping.

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One person found this helpful

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James S. MacLachlan
Excellent & Portable!
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2009
Verified Purchase
For such a small book, it packs a lot of trees into it - Eastern North America only. You won't find hybrids, some imports (garden) trees, but it packs in over 100 common trees & can lead anyone into a quick, accurate identification with very little practice. It's small enough to fit into a back pocket without a bulge, which means I'm more likely to have it with me when I want it. That's the biggest plus. The more comprehensive books are OK, but they're always back at the house when I need them or in the way as I walk through the woods & want to take a picture. Not this book!

I have several tree ID books & keep thinking I'll outgrow this one, but I haven't yet & I've been using it for a couple of years on a pretty regular basis. Often I'll think I've found a tree that won't be in it, but there it is. It's been so worthwhile that I got a second copy to keep in the truck.

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6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

R. Gray
Handy, useful and innovative.
Reviewed in Canada on January 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
A different take on the dichotomous key - it uses leaf diagrams instead of numbers. This book is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket yet covers a surprising number of North American trees complete with distinctive, clear leaf diagrams and native range maps for each. Also includes a very small diagram of the general tree shape and, rather cleverly, its size and, in some cases, where it's apt to be found (city, mixed forest, bogs, etc.) or whether it's non-native. A great little guide for anyone, but especially for beginners.

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Silvia K
So helpful!
Reviewed in Canada on April 8, 2017
Verified Purchase
I love this little manual. It takes you through a series of guided questions to help you accurately identify many types of trees.

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HorticulturalHomo
Awsome
Reviewed in Canada on April 26, 2019
Verified Purchase
Great to identify trees.

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