Customer Reviews (4)

Great book for a serious plant person
A great guide to the native plants of Florida.Recommended to me by a botanist.The book is a very comprehensive reference for identifying Florida's native plants.Not for the casual gardener.

Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida, 2nd edition
This is the definitive guide to the vascular plants in FL.It is not
a field guide, but is oriented at botanists of all levels.Highly
recommended.

A must-have for the true florida naturalist.
I never realized how often I would use this book in my studies of florida's ecosystems until I purchased it.It is an extremely thourough "all-in-one" botanical description of the state that appears tobenefit those roughly familiar with our flora.My only wish is that morecomplete descriptions and illustrations were given for each species i.e."A Flora of Tropical Florida" and "Flora of the BahamaArchipelago".These enhancements would no doubt increase the cost ofthe book though and at its price it is still affordable.For itscompleteness though once again there is no equal and I consider it anecesity.

The only book of its kind covering the entire state.
This book is a series of keys to identify all Florida vascular plants from ferns to sunflowers; from the temperate to the tropical. Although mainly for a more serious botanist, the keys seem to home in to the main non-technical characters for field identification.This brevity is perhaps a problem when plant material is limited.There are no illustrations except a map of Florida counties (and one plant picture below the title). A synopsis of the flora is given (covers 3,834 species of which 1,180 are introduced and 155 endemics).A glossary will assist the laymen and the forgetful with terminology.

Good features:

1. Taxonomy/nomenclature appears to be open to the recent revisions that were unfortunately not accepted by more conservative authors such as Cronquist (e.g. Eupatorium is treated as several genera here).

2. Explicitly states whether the plant is native, endemic, or introduced, and where in Florida (no maps, but a complete atlas available online.

3. All in one very portable volume for reasonable price; pages sturdy with legible sized print.

4. The book includes endemic species (e.g. Boltonia apalachicolensis) which were new discoveries since Clewell (1985) wrote the guide to the panhandle region.

The main complaints that I have (beside not being in Florida to test it out) are:

1. Families arranged by Englar/Prantl system and not shown in page header, hindering search for families (although genera are arranged alphabetically).

2. Aloe vera is listed in Agavaceae but doesn't appear in the key to genera.

3. No descriptions (but will be in future work according to author) END ... Read more

Product Description

In the present volume - the sixth of this series - 48 flowering plant families comprising a total of 712 genera are treated. They represent the newly designed eurosid orders Celastrales, Oxalidales and Rosales and the asterid orders Cornales and Ericales. The recognition of these ordinal concepts is the result of numerous recent gene sequence analyses which, for the first time in angiosperm systematics, have provided a reliable higher order classification. The concept of Ericales is largely expanded beyond its conventional limits to make it monophyletic and now includes parts of the erstwhile Ebenales, Lecythidales, Primulales and other orders. The revised circumscription of families such as Ericaceae, Celastraceae and Cunoniaceae owes much to the application of recent molecular studies, and for the same reason in the primulalean families, a complete remodeling of family limits is proposed. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

Good from a technical aspect
I was required to purchase a copy of this book when I attended a plant identification class.In the classroom, using a microscope, this book was a great asset.It is very through.It is not for the casual wild flower enthusiast who is just going for a walk in the park.

Good technical key
This is an excellent key for trained botanists (or very knowledgable amateurs) who want to identify the flora of the Blue Ridge Mountains of the southeast United States.However, it is not a book for the untrained, casual observer of wildflowers.The dichotomous key is easy to follow,though I wished the habitat descriptions were more detailed.The lack ofillustrations is distressing -- sometimes a picture IS worth a thousandwords!However, I appreciate that illustrations are expensive and wouldhave increased the size of the book.It is easily carried in the field --always a plus. ... Read more

Product Description
Vascular Transport in Plants provides an up-to-date synthesis of new research on the biology of long distance transport processes in plants.It will be a valuable resource and reference for researchers and graduate level students in physiology, molecular biology, physiology, ecology, ecological physiology, development, and all applied disciplines related to agriculture, horticulture, forestry and biotechnology.The book considers long-distance transport from the perspective of molecular level processes to whole plant function, allowing readers to integrate information relating to vascular transport across multiple scales.The book is unique in presenting xylem and phloem transport processes in plants together in a comparative style that emphasizes the important interactions between these two parallel transport systems.

* Includes 105 exceptional figures
* Discusses xylem and phloem transport in a single volume, highlighting their interactions
* Syntheses of structure, function and biology of vascular transport by leading authorities
* Poses unsolved questions and stimulates future research
* Provides a new conceptual framework for vascular function in plants ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Bookcondition
The book is great and I am enjoying using it - however it was in really bad condition and the binding completely fell apart,I only paid $1.50 so it still was worth it.

edition not clarified
I have the 1981 edition of this book.It should prove useful as I create my own taxonomic keys for smaller areas of botanic interest within the northern Califorina region.It might be important to consider that there are numerous editions most recent was 1993.Also, the one advertised here on Amazon as 'new' does not specify the edition or publishing date. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Considered To Be A Particular Need
"This book has been written to satisfy what is CONSIDERED TO BE A PARTICULAR NEED.
After teaching vascular plant morphology at the university level for the past seventeen years and finding no recent book written in sufficient detail and depth to serve as both a text and a reference, I found it necessary to attempt one....."
[from the book of the preface by D. W. B.] ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

THE essential flora of the West
The seven volumes of the Intermountain Flora (the final one will be published in the next few years) are the finest works ever on the flora of the West.Intermountain Flora is noted for the accuracy and abundance of its information and the beauty and usefulness of its thousands of line drawings.All authors are among the most respected botanists of their time so one can feel very confident in the information presented.

Complete keys are provided leading to detailed descriptions of family, genus, and species with a number of drawings for each species.There are many extras included about each species making the Intermountain Flora even more valuable: many synonyms, derivation of names, historical information, recent research on the species and the authors' views about the accuracy of the research, habitat, references, etc.

These are not texts you carry in the field; they are texts you study, admire, and learn from at home.

What they do not tell you..
What is not disclosed is this (is probably) volume 4 of the 7 volume set (volume 3 is in two parts: A & B).Volume 2 (I think) is next to impossible to find, and volumes 4 and 5 are tough to find.

Botanist's Bible
The six volumes that comprise the Intermountain Flora serve as indispensable references for anyone studying plants in Western North America.The broad distribution of most of the plants in the Intermountain Flora make the books useful to those working in adjacent areas.We keep these sturdy, clearly-written and detailed volumes close at hand.

Botanist's Bible
The six volumes that comprise the Intermountain Flora serve as indispensable references for anyone studying plants in Western North America.The broad distribution of most of the plants in the Intermountain Flora make the books useful to those working in adjacent areas.We keep these sturdy, clearly-written and detailed volumes close at hand. ... Read more

Product Description
Plant Life of Kentucky is the first comprehensive account of the native and naturalized ferns, flowering herbs, and woody plants of Kentucky.

Ronald L. Jones has compiled detailed identification keys to families, genera, and species. The plant family descriptions contain information on wildlife and human uses, important weeds, poisonous plants, and medicinal herbs, and the species accounts provide scientific and common names, flowering periods, habitat, physiographic distribution, state and federal designations, and wetland ranking. A total of 179 families, 856 genera, and 2,600 species and infraspecific taxa are included, and nearly 2,000 line drawings illustrate the volume.

The extensive introduction includes information on a variety of topics, including the history of the flora, vegetation types, and current conservation issues.

Plant Life of Kentucky is an authoritative, accessible guide to Kentucky's flora, and an indispensable resource for students, teachers, researchers, wildlife biologists, farmers, county agents, amateur naturalists, land planners, environmental consultants, foresters, and conservationists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An excellent introduction and good comprehensive key to Kentucky plant life...
Jones' book is a much needed contemporary and comprehensive volume to the vascular flora of Kentucky.But be warned, the keys focus mainly on the reproductive stages for identification and the illustrations are somewhat vague.The book has an excellent first hundred or so pages which introduces the history of floristic botany and conservation in Kentucky, the state's physiographic conditions, and different habitats and plant communities.The book also contains an extensive glossary (a big help).All together a valuable addition to the professional or amateur botanist's library. ... Read more

Product Description
Western Riverside County, California, supports a diverse and interesting flower with over 1,300 taxa of vascular plants. For the first time, all native and naturalized plants known to be documented within this region are found in a single reference. Each species include common name, status, abundance, and distribution information. The book is also includes three appendices (excluded taxa, rare plants, and a detailed nomenclatureal cross-reference with author commentary), two reference maps, and line drawing illustrations of 33 species. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

It's a list, but well-researched and pretty complete.
Depends on what you expect.It's not a flora, or key, or guide.There is no dichotomous key or photos or drawings (well, a few nice ones, but not really) for helping to identify species.It's an annotated checklist of species in this area.In other words, it's just an academically updated list, grouped by relationship.You'd still need to get any number of floras to actually identify the species when you find them in the wild.The Jepson and Munz floras are the big ones, but definitely not field capable.I'd also suggest the Oscar Clark et al guide to the Santa Ana River Watershed and the San Diego County flora.The Santa Ana River guide is limited to just those biozones along the river's course, so is quite limited, but it's beautiful, with color pictures and it's well researched.The San Diego County Flora is a plain-Jane dichotomous key.If you know the morphology, this is the one I'd suggest.It's compact and covers 99% of species you will find in western Riverside County.The Vascular Plants of Riverside County list makes a great companion to the San Diego flora, in that it lists all present species, so when you encounter one not in the San Diego flora, you can cross reference in the western Riverside list.Usually this can narrow it down to a single possibility.Then you can always double check when you visit the Munz or Jepson at the library.

One note: there is an annotation to the annotated list online.It has some updates on local populations, some possible disappearances and a couple plants that were left out.It is a relatively short list of annotations, but if you are geeky enough to buy this thing, you may just be geeky enough to want this information.
... Read more

Product Description
This volume, the tenth in the series, comprises modern treatments for the families and genera of the eudicot orders Sapindales and Cucurbitales. The circumscription of the orders, families and genera conforms to the most recent systematic studies. The family treatments include descriptions of the families and the genera, genera classification keys, discussions of relationships and data on their morphology, reproductive biology, distribution, ecology and economic importance. Sapindales and Cucurbitales, as understood in this volume, comprise 16 families with 637 genera and roughly 9,240 species. Sapindales include large tropical and southern temperate tree families such as the Anacardiaceae, Sapindaceae (these in the modern circumscription, which includes Aceraceae and Hippocastanaceae), Meliaceae and Rutaceae, which have long been considered to be closely related. Cucurbitales represent a relatively new ordinal concept; apart from some small woody groups, the order contains two large families, Cucurbitaceae and Begoniaceae, which are predominantly, and likely basically, herbaceous.A detailed treatment of the tropical and southern temperate woody family Myrtaceae (itself comprising 142 genera and 6,700 species) is an addendum to the treatment of the Myrtales in Vol. IX of this series. ... Read more

Product Description
The Vascular Plants of Orange County, California, includes information on abundance, habitat, and distribution for over 1,500 taxa of plants documented within Orange County, California. Breaking from tradition, the book follows the APG 2 system for family arrangements, which will be used by Jepson 2. The book also includes four appendices (excluded taxa, rare plants, historic plants, and a detailed nomenclatural cross-reference with author commentary), four reference maps, and line illustrations of 42 species. Latin and English names are provided for each plant listed.This is the third book by the author covering the flora of Orange County. Vascular Plants provides far more information then the checklist it replaces and will be useful to the expert, consultant, and the amateur. This book is a sister book to the Vascular Plants of Western Riverside County by Roberts, White, Sanders, Bramlet, and Boyd (2004) and follows the same layout. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

HEFTY!
Anyone who is seriously considering living in Alaska/Northern Canada and wants to know *everything* about the local flora would be wise to get this book. More than a "manual", this is pretty much the textbook on vascular plants of the arctic/subarctic. Information ranges from identification to cultivation to history and evolution. Great reference!

Only drawback is the lack of photos. Lots of detailed line drawings, but very few full color photos which can sometimes very critical when differentiating plant species.

photographer
This is an excellent book for plant identification.I owned a prior issue which had been used so frequently that a replacement was necessary.Well worth the money paid.The author left very little to doubt as to the plant described.

MIKE

THE Alaska plant book!
This book is the most helpful book for identification of Alaska's plants that I've ever found. The plants are correctly organized and well described, and listed by their latin name rather than the ever-confusingcommon names used in many books. This book is a must for anyone seriousabout researching and identifying the plants of Alaska or it's neighbors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Tansaction went alright
Got a tan envelope in the mail that said received without contents.The envelope was not the right package for a 1 inch thick book and must have fallen out due to the lack of adhesion.However, the company was nice enough and felt sorry so they repaid me back

the definitive reference
this book is not for the novice trying to identify the tree is his or her backyard. It is the most complete, thorough, up to date, and expansive identification manual for vascular plants for the eastern side of north America: A large, heavy textbook with no pictures, full of complex scientific descriptions and nomenclature in dichotomous key format. If you don't know what that means, you most likely will not find this book user friendly. That being said, it is a wonderful book, providing answers where other high end, professional botanist volumes leave ambiguity or contradiction. Excellent, clear, easy to use. A must have for anyone seriously studying plants in this region from the undergraduate to the post graduate level.

The most complete manual for northeast US
If you know your plant terminology, and want to learn about the plants of the northeast US, this is the book to have.Unless you want to spend bigbucks on your plant guides, however, you will have to trust yourdescriptive abilities, since there are no pictures (the illustratedcompanion is about $125).A very complete guide that can be applied acrossthe area. ... Read more