Plants and Trees Books

This book(let) has much to commend it. It is excellently printed on glossy paper. Picture quality generally is excellent. The text is neatly organized, with botanical names properly written (even synonyms provided where necessary, in footnotes).

Still, it feels like something is missing. Maybe it is that I would expect a book(let) that focuses on 44 species to offer extensive pictorial coverage. Ususally a book will have many species with few pictures each or few species with many pictures each (or at least full-sized ones). Maybe it is the fact that although the title promises "shrubs" the plants covered are all over the place (including two Cacti, one Yucca, many trees and even a "perennial shrub" on p84).

There does appear to be nothing really wrong here (disregarding the allegation that Ephedra has "fruit") and it is a really nice book(let), but still somewhat unsatisfying.

I use this book with 7th and 8th grade students when doing field ecology studies. The reason I really like it is because it not only provides a closeup photograph of the leaves, wood and seeds but ALSO provides a photograph of the entire plant, as it looks to a student walking up to it. Additionally it gives data on the nutritional value to wildlife and livestock as well as native uses. Botany is a personal weakness, but I find the book easy to use. A field guide for botany bozos. Experts may like it too, but I cannot speak to that. (We use it to identify vegetation in West Texas too.)

This is a good book on wildflowers, vines, shrubs, trees of Texas and adjoining parts of Louisiana. Pictures are generally very good and are grouped by color and in a section by themselves. Each picture has a number reference and looking up the number gives you plant ID information and a range map. My biggest criticism of the book is that it just doesn't cover enough species - for what it does cover, it is excellent.

I own several field guides to Texas wildflowers, and I find this one to be the best among them. There are books with bigger and better photographs, but none come close to having the nearly 400 color photos this one has. This one also has maps of growing areas for each plant identified and very clear descriptions of each plant. It even has sections on Texas' endangered species and landscaping with native plants.

The book divides the plants into five sections for easy use. The wildflowers are further divided into colors to help find and identify them quickly. The five sections are (1) herbaceous wildflowers, (2) vines, (3) trees and shrubs, (4) cacti, agaves, yuccas and other succulents, and (5) miscellaneous plants, weeds and growths on trees. These are followed by appendices on how to identify common plant families and "plant watching" as a hobby (collecting plants, how to make a plant press and save your specimens, and a sample wildflower documentation sheet). Finally, there are three glossaries and an index.

While some might complain that the plant photographs are not printed with the specimen entries (they are grouped together in the center of the book), this is really quite handy. Each photo is numbered identically with the entries, so matching the photo with the description is really very simple. Indeed, it is quite easy to find the flower by its photo and then look up the corresponding plant description by the photo number.

All in all, this is the only wildflower field guide Texans will need. If you want a desk reference, that's another matter.

This book was required text for a 400+ level undergrad (Junior/Senior) and graduate course at the University of Maine. I thought the text was very engaging, and adequately and thoroughly covered the major themes in Forest Ecology. This text continues to serve as a reference for me as I used this text for comprehensive examination review and in writing my dissertation. I have not reviewed other Forest Ecology books, however can say that this text is outstanding in the presentation of material and in its readability for those who have an understanding of general ecology.

This book is the required text for a class on trees and forests that I am currently taking at UC Davis. It is an imposing text and reads much like a journal of ecology. It is far from a good study aid for undergrads and grad students in forest ecology. However, given its copious literature citations, it could easily serve as a reference text for an advanced undergraduate course or graduate seminar.

The book comes full of graphs, charts and pictures, but much of it is superfluous. Key terms and concepts are not fully explained for initiates, a glossary of terms is non-existent for quick reference, and brief, detailed summaries of each chapter are not provided at the end of each chapter for time-pressed students. The book also contains numerous photographs of forest stands, maps, diagrams, and charts; however, because none of these are in color, they lose much of their visual impact, detail and valuable utility. Furthermore, there are no study questions at the end of each chapter for exam preparation. As such, initiates to forestry or landscape ecology looking for a good introduction to the field are pretty much out of luck.

Although the book has gone through four editions, it is still quite far from being a good textbook. In addition to the above mentioned comments, the writing style needs to be tighter. However, negatives aside, teachers and educators looking for examples of many of the concepts in forest ecology for use in class discussions will find this an invaluable text.

This is a good book on the past uses and folklore of plants. It contains not just Texas plants but plants that are common throughout the U.S. Each chapter is relatively short (two to five pages) and on a different plant. It makes an interesting book to share with others and pass the time on a rainy day.

This charming book captivated and amazed me with its blend of whimsical legend and fascinating fact about many of our most common wildflowers. For example, simply imagine driving on a set of tires made from goldenrod! This book is a must-have addition to the library of any student of native plant lore.

This "Bible on Tree Biology" raises mixed emotions.

First impression (positive): a neat hardback with very many pictures on glossy paper, accompanied by a separate xi + 132pp Dictionary (paperback).

Second impression (negative): the pictures are b&w photographs and many are small (ok, there is one drawing). The items to be noted are marked by arrows. There are up to four different kinds of arrows in a single (often small) picture and sometimes it is hard to find even the arrows, let alone what they are pointing to. The text is sometimes hard to understand (dr Shigo does not have a gift for a well-turned phrase).

Third impression (positive): all the pictures are from authentic material and represent the results of almost thirty years work. Obviously Alex Shigo cares passionately about trees and has applied himself. The text moves from dr Shigo's own field into neighbouring fields and all in all quite a lot of ground is covered to bring tree biology to life for the reader.

Fourth impression (negative): whenever dr Shigo moves to another field he is not very careful to use correct terms. He does not shy away from misapplying terms and causing confusion. [To put it popularly: as dr Shigo moves from playing field to playing field he keeps his eye on the ball, but does not pay attention to the rules of the game and commits many fouls.] He invents terms of his own, where this does not appear necessary. There are some weird generalisations here. The Dictionary often is more a restatement of the content of the book than an explanatory aid.

Summing up: this is a great book for looking at trees and tree troubles from an unexpected angle, but it falls well short of the standards of a textbook. A good editor could have done invaluable work here.

Quite simply, this is the best book ever written on the subject of trees. Although aimed for an audience of aborists, this work is filled with personal experiences, observations, and keen insight into mankind's association with trees. I commend this text to all with even the slightest interest in trees, or for Nature in general.

This is just a small book but it contains all the basics of the ecology of a tree. As the writer says, "Life in a tree community is so rich that only representatives of major groups of animals and plants are discussed and illustrated...."

Starting by explaining the web of life the writer goes on to point out some of the major plants and animals that interact within a tree community. The book is beautifully illustrated with line drawings. The writing is clear and direct.

This is an easy introduction to an important topic. It's a primer on ecology that contains a wealth of information.

This is just a small book but it contains all the basics of the ecology of a tree. As the writer says, "Life in a tree community is so rich that only representatives of major groups of animals and plants are discussed and illustrated...."

Starting by explaining the web of life the writer goes on to point out some of the major plants and animals that interact within a tree community. The book is beautifully illustrated with line drawings. The writing is clear and direct.

This is an easy introduction to an important topic. It's a primer on ecology that contains a wealth of information.

Palms of South Florida
Having considerable experience in using analytical methods for scientific identification,this book was perfect for my needs. It might be daunting to a beginner who is looking for photographs to match an unknown plant at hand. However if the student of plant identification is willing to take the time to learn the defined botanical terms and to use the Keys to focus on observable features, the line drawing format is a superior reference basis for making a correct identification.

While an excellent and detailed explanation of the confusing world of palm botany, I have two problems with this book. 1) It contains comprehensive, detailed drawings of the trees reviewed, but not a single photo! Of course it costs a publisher more to use the type of paper that color can print on, not to mention the ink itself, but a garden book with no photographs at all?? 2) It would be most helpful for us beginners if the pronunciation and the derivation of the botanic names was listed. It's hard to remember a plants proper name when you cannot even pronounce it!

I foun this one a very good book, it doesnt have any photos, but color illustrations are very descriptive and useful.
Its a must have because it covers all kind of trees, even some palm and cacti.

You wont find any problem to identify any tree, differences are very well noted on this book.

I give it four stars because it doesnt have an overview of trees forms, it only shows leaves, thorns, fruits, but not the tree form and dimensions.

this little book is perfect to take along on a trip or picnic to identify trees. lots of information in an easy to understand format, especially for kids but not bad for the adults either.

The CD has some pretty good high resolution pictures in it, better than most pictures on the web. It certainly beats looking up high resolution pictures on google or yahoo. I have many great books on desert plant, shrubs and trees, but sometimes I like to be on the computer and this is a fun CD loaded with great landscape plants of the desert southwest. Besides the pictures you get brief descriptions of the following: Recommended Temperature Zone, Heat Tolerance,Origin, Sun Exposure, Growth Habits,Watering Needs and Propagation. If you don't think of it as a book but an alternative way to learn via your computer, it is an excellent buy for the price.

As I understand it this CD is a copy of a website, and has two purposes. Firstly to offer better pictures (higher resolution, no download time) than is possible over the internet. Secondly to raise some money towards the upkeep of the site.

In view of these goals the quality of the pictures leaves a lot to be desired. Not all pictures are in color, and of those that are most are of a so-so quality. There are very few really good pictures, certainly not enough to justify buying the CD.

For those who support the second aim or for those who want to have a reference that will run on a computer not connected to the internet this may be a good buy. Personally I would rather have a good book

The first thing to strike the eye when taking this book to hand is the full color and the beautiful glossy paper (no expense spared at the printer's!). The second thing to be noticed is the lay-out which is only just short of crummy (looks as if this was farmed out to India or the like). It looks pretty silly to have beautiful color pictures printed on expensive glossy paper and then having to look hard to make out the details. Without extra expense or effort the pictures could have been printed 25 to 50% bigger and this would have made the book twice as valuable. The quality of these pictures varies. There are some really great pictures here while others are ... mediocre.

The text was written by a committee and it looks it. This makes for easy comparison and reference, but for an uninspiring read. This fact distinctly decreases its value as a coffee-table book or as an object for delicious browsing. I am hoping the contents of the text are allright (I only browsed through it, but did spot some errors)

The botanical names appear mostly in order (I noticed only a few slips), which is not always so in horticultural books. Still these look a little silly because of the lay-out. Pity. Also the age of the book means that recent name changes have not been incorporated (I assume the reader will compensate for this).

I guess this is an OK book, that will look decent on the bookshelf, but that falls well short of what it could be.

I am very impressed with this unique book of rarely seen trees that will add interest to any garden. The book starts with a glossary of botanical terms with b/w illustrations of the anatomy of leaves, flowers, fruits & conifers.

Information includes botanical name, common name, zone, native habitat & date introduced. There is a general description of size, spread, & shape as well as descriptions of leaves, flowers, & fruit.

Culture, including soil quality, ideal sunlight, & disease tolerance, as well as transplanting & propagation advice are included also. Three clear photos include the full-size tree & two others show close-ups of leaves, flowers or trunk.

It also gives information on winter appearance & landscaping value. Even gardens where the trees can be seen are listed. I really appreciated this type of information. It is so rarely seen in most reference book.

The appendices are extremely helpful they list botanical gardens & nurseries. A source for each species can easily be found. Trees are also listed by characteristics. Some include zone, light requirements, soil conditions, resistance, color of bloom & fragrance.