Plants and Trees Books

Informative, authoritative overview of plant life in a beautiful part of the world. Great for preparing for or reminiscing about your trip to the woods.

This is a wonderful book to take on any Northwoods canoetrip as the author includes most of the flora one is likely to encounter there (all entries are grouped under the major headings: Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers, Ferns, Clubmosses, Horsetails, Moss, Lichens, and Fungi; there are about 90 entries in total). Designed for the layman (like myself), the sections are brief but informative, without all kinds of hyper-technical jargon. Especially nice is that the author includes the [non]edibility of most of the entries, along with fun ideas and useful tidbits. His own kid-like love for the flora of the North is also evident and is always refreshing. My only "complaint" is that there are only black and white drawings of the entires. For the layman like me, this makes identification harder (hence only four stars, though, I gather this is also what makes the book affordable!). I've supplemented my copy by printing out color pictures of each entry. All told, entirely worth the money for Northwoods hikers, canoeists, and nature lovers.

A great read, either at home or in the woods. Sparky describes many of the trees and plants you're likely to encounter in the Northwoods and adds historical uses, points of interest and random facts. Each entry is accompanied by a decent line drawing. The book is a bit awkward for a field guide (9x8) but it's such an enjoyable book to have along I always end up carrying it. Indespensible for Northwoods canoeing.

This is an excellent book if you would like to get an overview and history of Washington DC's Cherry Blossom Festival. There's some really good historical photographs and drawings and it was enjoyable to read about the development, meaning, symbolism, etc. of the Cherry Blossom Festival. I would rate this book 4.5 stars only because while there are some great photos of the spectacular trees there aren't nearly as many as there should be. This is a great book if you are new to Washington and/or looking for a gift.

Lots of illustrations and facts about the role of the cherry blossom tree in diplomacy and landscapes. Info on the trees' cultivation, how the U.S. got the trees, places outside of Washington, DC to see them.

The author has worked at the Smithsonian and is a resident of D.C.

The book is very detailed and wonderfully illustrated. It starts with the traditions and roots of Cherry Blossom Festivals from Japan. Then it explians how the cherry blossom trees came to Washington and how the US picked up the traditions of the Cherry Blossom Festival. It ends with a chapter about how to care for cherry blossoms and how they exist, not only in cities of Japan and Washington, D.C., but also in other parts of the US, such as New York and Ohio, Missouri and California. Lovely book.
Funny enough, the book was printed in China.

As an amateur grower of Cape Bulbs I can say that this book has brought me more joy than any other on my book shelves. The 500 pages are crammed with detailed text on every bulb found in the Cape region right up to the Sundays River and the quality of the color photography is outstanding. Of course anyone who recognises the three authors names will not be surprised at the quality of this publication.

Each genus is given an overview and then all the species falling into the region is detailed, usually with a photograph. That is a total of 1 200 species - about 75% of them unique to the region!

The flora of South Africa is a stunning example of bio-diversity in the world. Due to a large variety of habitats many plant families have developed a wide range of species, a lot of them endemic to this region. While botanical enthusiasts worldwide focus on succulent and caudiciform plants the unbelievably rich geophytic flora of the Cape (including the orchids) is not fully discovered for cultivation yet.

The Color Encylopedia of Cape Bulbs is a wonderful approach to overcome this situation. The authors present essential information about everything concerning this topic. Their book provides a general survey of the physical and biological features of the habitats. The topics cultivation and gardening are included as well. The information given is concise and precise and a very helpful background for botanists and cultivators, too. A glossary, a key to the species, a table of synonyms and a suppliers list at the end of the book finish the bulk of basic information.

The encyclopedic part of the book offers detailed descriptions of a wide range of bulbous plants of different monocot families. It is built up following an alphabetical order of the genera which allows to quickly find a species without expert knowledge about botanical taxonomy. Specified information about habitat and cultivation is given in the genus description.The species descriptions include all necessary items and are accompanied by wonderful photographs of many of these impressingly beautiful plants. It is astonishing to see what a variety of different looking species some genera have produced, for instance Gladiolus and Moraea from the Iridaceae family.

In summary, I highly recommend this book for botanists, for travellers to the Cape region with botanical interests and for gardeners as well. When I opened the encyclopedia for the first time I was fascinated for hours. The species descriptions and pictures alone are worth the prize of this book, in my opinion! Along with Karsten Wodrich's books about the South African orchids, the Encyclopedia of Cape Bulbs gives an impression of the geophytic plant treasures this region offers to all enthusiasts. And, last but not least, these books are an indispensable help to successfully cultivate them.

An excellent reference book on cape bulbs. A wealth of photo's and information. Aspects of the book are on the technical side for a layman. But worth having.Highly recomended.

It's a complete book for general Cycad lovers, also with plenty of color pictures in this book. It lists almost every kinds of Cycad species nowadays recognized, corrects the chaos nonmeclature of Cycad. It's also in good price and available.

I highly recommend this book.I will also follow the next edition.

Today's cycads are but relics of a worldwide population that flourished during the Mesozoic Era. Although superficially similar to palms, cycads are not flowering plants, and have a much more primitive structure. Many cycads have become inceasingly rare because of limited habitat and human encroachment. Only in recent years have people become aware of the great aesthetic value of cycads and incorporated them into gardens and lawns as useful, ornamental plants.

This book covers the worldwide variety of cycads in encyclopedic fashion. Beginning with a distribution map, the first half of the book introduces the history of cycads, their conservation and propagation, and their biology, structure, cultivation, and economic importance. Pests and diseases are also addressed.

The second half of the book addresses the different genera and species in turn, with an understandable, easily read text and good photos of each plant in its native state. The discussion covers plants in all areas of the tropics.

Anyone deciding to select a different form, or forms, of cycad cannot let this book go unread. Even if the reader lives in a climate where cycad cultivation is difficult or impossible, the book is an extremely interesting read about plants the dinosaurs lived near every day. Any person with an interest in botany will treasure ths book. I recommend it very highly.

NOTE: I am reviewing the 1993 edition. A revised edition is coming out in August, 2002. I will buy it immediately.

A very nice to read and study text, with plenty of pictures and drawings, undertandable also by someone like me that reads english only from time to time... I think it is a must for all of us loving cycads and relateds, with a lot to learn. More than only an introduction to all that beauty..

Anybody in the plant diagnostics or pathology field must have this book on their shelf.

This book compiles a GREAT deal of useful information about plant pathology. It covers, as any good work about plant disease should, fertilization, nutritional deficiencies, and environmental factors such as drought, freezing, lightning, air pollution, water contamination etc. before attempting to fix the problem, the work stresses the causal effects and ,similarly, the visual pitfalls that may provide evidence of an unseen insect symptom (galling, nematodes, etc.) The work was written mainly for the temperate zone, but using it in my home sub-tropics was an eye-opener! Reccomended reading for Horticulturalists in the upper echelon, or for Pathologists as a reference, and a reminder to look to the outlying areas for an answer, It's always there!

Here is another one for my short list of horticulture references.

As someone who makes a living looking at these diseases, let me tell you: The photos are top notch! The pictures alone tell the bulk of the story and really make this book worth it. All the latest diseases are here including Sudden Oak Death. A text like this could easily be beyond the understanding of most gardeners, but the authors use an excellent mix of common and scientific names and a wealth of descriptive text to bring things back to earth. Be a little careful making a field diagnosis from just the photos. A quick look through the book, especially the last section on physical and environmental damage, will demonstrate that a lot of things look alike.

An included CD contains a complete reference list in a 333 page Word document, but nothing else. This is very useful if you are looking for more information or a specific cross-reference.

My ONLY complaint is that the plants and diseases are combined into one index rather then two like the similar book "Insects that feed on Trees and Shrubs".

This is a helpful guide. We take it with us hiking in the Northwest and since it is laminated it works well in the drizzle we often have here.

This is just a laminated square foot of paper, so don't expect too much, but it's a great way to identify conifers in the field. I use a full field guide for detailed information about whatever I've found, but this is a great little thing to bring on hikes, because it barely weighs a thing. It's very detailed, and makes it a breeze to identify any NW conifer. Highly recommended for pure identification of trees (although minimal information beside identification tips, range, etc).

This is an excellent guide to the conifers of the PNW. It is complete, unlike some of the other cards available which show a subset of the PNW's conifers. The format is well-thought out: excellent photos of needles and cones with highlighted descriptions of unique identifying features. It comes as a laminated tri-fold. I used the card on a hike down the CDT last summer, and found it most helpful.

This slim volume is fascinating, easy to read and beautifully illustrated. While it is not a thorough scientific treaty on the subject and doesn't provide information on the locations of ALL old growth (something I kind of expected from the title) it is nevertheless an exquisite introduction.
Having contacted Larry Eifert about the book I have to also say that he and wife Nancy are extremely friendly and helpful, not only pointing me in the direction of other information and advising on the best places to visit but also sending me further of his works gratis! In particular, a wonderful little chart describing the creatures and plants of the Redwoods which was the perfect suppliment to the Field Guide.

Larry Eifert assumes that only Portlanders and Seattleites will be reading his book. This book only mentions the old growth forests closest to Seattle. It fails to mention any old growth locations North of Mt. Rainier. If you live in Bellingham you would find this book close to useless. Although Washington has more old growth locations, he seems to cover the old growth sites in Oregon with more depth. Keep searching, you'll find a better book.

Field Guide to Old Growth Forests isn't a scientific treatise on old growth forests, but a guide to accessing and appreciating them, blending a science guide with a travel handbook. A review of the natural history of old growth forests blends with the author's pen and ink drawings and tips on where to find the remaining old growth forests.

Narrows down to the crabapple, and does a nice job of it. Found it very readable for a deep look intothis fruit. For a wider view might suggest Story of the Apple (Juniper).

If you love beautiful Spring color and have lots of room to try lots of flowering trees this book is a must. From a Horticultural point of view I have never seen anything like it. It provides brilliant photos and great detailed information on more Crabapple varieties than I ever knew were out there. In making selections for our campus properties I use Fr. Fiala's disease notations and make marginal references in my wholesale tree catalogues to improve our selection for climate adaptability as well as disease resistance. If you live in colder areas of the country and deal much with plant specification for 'park type' landscape this book is a must.

This book sorts out the very confusing nomenclature of crabapples and explains all there is to know about the origin of the noumerus cultivars (among other things). It is an outstanding refrence for anyone with an interest in crabapples. The only thing I was a bit disapointed with is that it doesn't have much information regarding hardyness. I really recomend this book for anyone with an interest in crabapples.

Physically the book is attractive with nice layout, color photographs, calendar paper, and sewn binding. Timber Press usually does well in this regard. It'll make for an interesting winter-time diversion. It brings to mind another Timber Press book, "Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden" by Lee Reich. Both books seem to target the backyard orchard enthusiast. "Fruit & Nuts" is much more encyclopedic in organization, style and number of fruits covered (i.e. many tropical/subtropical entries). Mr. Reich's book focuses on a few, less-common fruits that can be grown in temperate areas, so his would be the better choice for the average enthusiast in most areas of the U.S.

Weaknesses with "Fruit & Nuts": Minor ones: wish Fahrenheit instead of Celsius had been used for the North American edition - I find having to do the converting to be annoying; and the cultivar lists for each entry are short and underdeveloped. More serious are several errors (both of omission and commission) I saw in the Ficus carica entry (a tree that I'm fairly well acquainted with). I won't enumerate them here, but makes me wonder if just as many errors were made with the fruits that I'm not so familiar with.

This product is everything it advertises to be and more, simply a must have for any fruit enthusiast. The book is very reader friendly and is filled with an enormous amount of information regarding the nature, use, and the benefits of more than 300 plants. Another wonderful feature of it is the amount of high quality photographs used to facilitate the flow of information seamlessly, so that nothing is left to uncertainty. A person would be hard pressed to procure the kind of knowledge provided by this book elsewhere. I definitely recommend it to anyone who is even remotely interested by exotic fruits.

I'm into all kinds exotic fruits. This book is actually one of my favorite reference books. It describes 300 or so fruits in plain language yet comprehensive. Scientific names, cultivars, and common names are listed making this book very useful. Each plant article divided into separate sections with heading, which makes it easy to find the information. Food, health and other uses are highlighted. The book provides very important info regarding hardiness (not easy to find this info everywhere and this is important when deciding what to grow), growing conditions, sun/shade, water requirements, etc. Many high-quality photos. Will definitely recommend this book as exotic fruit reference.

Has a lot of good information. I recomend it to anyone starting out.

The American Indians had no SuperWalmart to run an buy some ibuprofan or aspirin at 10 o'clock at night. Oh, the pain, what would the do??? Why not chew on the bark of a white willow tree! This is a good book detailing over one hundred herbs commonly used by the American Indians for a variety of treatments. The book details the treatment, gives methods of application and a drawing. Would be better (but more expensive) with color pictures. Helpful to a degree, limited without enough scientific information for my own needs.

This book is a great handbook of many Native American Herbs available to the public some of which can be found in an ordinary supermarket. However, if you truly believe in holistic healing amd homeopathic medicines like I do, you would be better off goiing to the source or to your health store. Some vitamins and herbs need to be taken on a daily basis so you can get the maximum results.
It explains the different medicininal uses, their origins, and the history behind it. A very informative book, and a must for those interested in holistic medicines.