CREDITS [HOME]
It is impossible to give adequate credit to all those giants of botany (past and present) that have left such a rich legacy of plant studies. I stand in awe!
1. USDA PLANT WEB SITE
I have used the plant web site of the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) extensively. In most cases I have used their nomenclature as to plant name and their distribution map is present on each species page. This web site [ http://plants.usda.gov] is a must for all those interested in plants. Obviously, any mistakes in identification or misuse of the USDA materials is entirely of my doing.
USDA, NRCS. 2008. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 28 September 2008). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
2. FIELD BOOKS
To me, field books are those that can be carried in a daypack for field use and of course would be different for different regions. I have quite a collection, to many to list here, but three I use extensively.
a) Wildflowers (Northeastern/North-Central North America), Peterson Field Guide Series, by R.T. Peterson and M. McKinney, Houghton Mifflin Co. -- This is the simplest wildflower book and is based on color - one can browse a particular color for a match. A great book for beginners. Several other books of this type are found in most large bookstores.
b) Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, by Lawrence Newcomb (Northeastern/North-Central North America), Little, Brown and Co. -- This book is a major step up in having a fairly good key for identification.
c) Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers, by Kay Yatskievych, Indiana University Press -- this is a great book in that it has both common and more rare plants with small color pictures. Plant descriptions are short but it gives the key identification points. It does not have a true key but the plants are listed by family which is a great help once one gets started in botany.
d) Tree and shrub identification guides - there are many - in Ohio I use The Woody Plants of Ohio by E. Lucy Braun, Ohio State University Press and the most recent Peterson guides as well.
3. RESEARCH TEXTS AND WEB SITES
There are many professional texts on plant taxonomy - most states have or are in the process of publishing multiple volumes as well as less technical books on plant identification (search the web for "flora" of any particular state). In addition, both a web site and several volumes of the Flora of North America (Oxford Univ. Press) have been published with many more volumes to come. These professional texts are excellent but like most disciplines, the technical terms can be somewhat overwhelming but - as I once read in an old calculus text "what one fool can do, another can". There are also many web sites (from simple to quite elaborate) that can also help.
Listed below are some of the professional texts that I use in the Midwest. Be careful, book collection can be dangerous to your wallet.
-------------------------------------------------
Antonio, T.M. and Masi, S., 2001, The Sunflower Family in the upper Midwest, Chicago Botanic Gardens, Glencoe, IL, 419 p.
Braun, E.L., 1967, The Monocotyledoneae (of Ohio, Cat-Tails to Orchids, with Gramineae by C.G. Weishaupt), Ohio State University Press, Columbus, OH, 464 p.
_____, 1989, The Woody Plants of Ohio, Ohio State University Press, Columbus, OH, 362 p.
Cooperrider, T.S., 1995, The Dicotyledoneae of Ohio, Vol. 2, (Linaceae through Campanulaceae), Ohio State Univ. Press, Columbus, OH, 656 p.
Fisher, T.R., 1988, The Dicotyledoneae of Ohio, Vol. 3, Asteraceae, Ohio State Univ. Press, Columbus, OH, 280 p.
Gleason, H.A. and A. Cronquist, 1991, Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (2nd ed.), The New York Botanical Garden, New York, New York, 910 p.
Holmgren, N.H., 1998, Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist’s Manual, Illustrations of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, New York Botanical Garden, New York, New York, 919 p.
Steyermark, J.A., 1963, Flora of Missouri, Iowa State University Press, Ames, IA, 1725 p.
Voss, E.G., 1972, Michigan Flora, Part 1, Gymnosperms and Monocots, Bull 55, Cranbrook Inst. of Science and University of Michigan Herbarium, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 488 p.
____, 1985, Michigan Flora, Part 2, Dicots (Saururaceae-Cornaceae), Bull. 59, Cranbrook Inst. Of Science, Cranbrook Institute of Science and University of Michigan Herbarium, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 727 p.
_____, 1996,
Yatskievych, G., 1999, Steyermark’s Flora of Missouri, Vol 1, The Missouri Dept. of Conservation (in cooperation with The Missouri Botanical Garden Press), Jefferson City, MO, 991 p.
Yatskievych, K., 2000, Field Guide to Indiana Wildflowers, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, IN, 357 p.