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Southwestern US Plant Books
Leslie P. Arnberger, Flowers of the Southwest MountainsDrawings by Jeanne R. Janish
Great introduction to plants of the higher elevations, those growing in the ponderosa pine forests (ca. 7000 feet elevation) and above, in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado. Despite the title, it also includes a few non-flowering plants such as the most common pines, firs, and spruces which are so characteristic of the region. Although the remainder of the work primarily identifies the annual and perennial herbs we think of most often when we say “flowers”, it also includes some shrubs with prominent flowers.
The arrangement of the book is by flower color, with the text printed on colored pages which sometimes match those basic colors of whitish, red, pinkish, yellowish, bluish, and purplish, with a separate section for trees. Many species have a full page to themselves, with a few similar species sharing pages. All are illustrated with excellent line drawings showing key features needed for identification. The text describes the plant, lists its blooming period, elevational range and distribution. Uses and other interesting facts about the plant or its name are often given. There are 14 pages of color photos which enhance the book—though the quality of reproduction does not do them justice, since the colors appear muted.
You will undoubtedly encounter many species not included in this book; there are just too many wildflowers in the region to cover them all in one easily portable illustrated field guide. But this is a great book for starting to learn them.
Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1982. 139 pages, illus., about 6 x 9 inches, paperback. New.
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Lyman Benson and Robert A. Darrow, Trees and Shrubs of the Southwestern Deserts: Third Edition Revised and ExpandedOutstanding manual never surpassed, long out-of-print (except for inferior print-on-demand copies which cost more). Covers the woody plants of the deserts of southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas, not including cacti.
Most are illustrated with either line drawings, black and white photos, or both. The line drawings, by Lucretia Breazeale Hamilton, are excellent, and include enlarged details of diagnostic structures. All taxa are keyed, and the keys are very detailed. Each taxon is fully described, including extensive notes on range. Two-color range maps accompany most entries, a total of 252. A detailed synonymy is also included. The image below is a typical page spread.
An introductory section gives an overview of the southwestern deserts, which describes floristic associations. Several other pages give you an introduction to plant classification, including a well illustrated glossary. Twenty pages of color plates show plant associations and key species.This used copy is in very good condition, though the dust jacket has many wrinkles and tears along the edges, small pieces missing from upper end of spine. There are no stains or writing, the pages clean and unmarked; binding tight.
Published by The University of Arizona Press, 1981. 416 pages, about 9½ x 12 inches, hardcover. Used.
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Janice Emily Bowers, 100 Roadside Wildflowers of Southwest Woodlands Lightweight, basic field guide to the plants of mostly mid-elevation woodlands of oak, juniper, and pinyon. Each of the 100 species chosen is illustrated with a color photograph of very good to excellent clarity and described by one paragraph of text. The flowers are arranged by color, and both common and botanical names are given.
Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1987. Pages not numbered, about 64 by my count; about 6 x 9 inches, saddle-stapled paperback. New.
Item #167. Shipping weight: 0.7 lb. Publisher's price: $7.95. Your price: $7.15
Janice Emily Bowers, Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest DesertsIllustrations by Brian Wignall
Excellent guidebook for identifying common species of trees and shrubs throughout the deserts of the southwest, including the Great Basin, Mojave, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts. The plants are grouped by color of flower—even the color of the pages match these groups: greenish (or inconspicuous) flowers; white, yellow; red or reddish; and purple or violet (including blue or bluish). The line drawings are excellent: they clearly detail the flowers and often the fruits of each species, along with an image of the “habit” or general appearance of each tree or shrub.
People who feel all plant identification guides should have color photos will be disappointed. There are several pages of introductory color photographs showing habitats, but only line drawings on each species page. This is actually good. In my experience, beginners who rely on picture-matching from color photos alone often misidentify their subjects. This is because many unrelated plants, including trees and shrubs, look superficially very similar. Proper identification requires careful attention to structures which are usually better depicted in a line drawing than a photo. Color of the flower or leaf is usually of little importance in determining the species. So beginners! If you want to learn what plant is what, get used to looking at details shown in drawings!
Most of the over 120 species represented in this book have an entire page devoted to each, with the drawing occupying about half the page. Accompanying text is very informative; besides describing the plant, it may tell a bit about its ecology, and the uses humans and other animals have made of it, and the meaning of its names (common and botanical).
Published by Western National Parks Association, 1993. 140 pages, illus., about 6 x 9 inches, paperback. New.
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Michael P. Cohen, A Garden of Bristlecones: Tales of Change in the Great Basin“Since Edmund Schulman discovered in 1958 that individual bristlecones live nearly 5,000 years, the trees have been investigated primarily for the elaborate record their rings contain.
“The trees have been ‘read’ closely, with major consequences for natural and human history. Historians have read local and global environmental change. Archaeologists have rewritten the history of civilization. Writers have transformed them into figures pertinent to the human dilemmas of time and eternity. A Garden of Bristlecones investigates professional and popular conceptions as a set of narratives drawn from the outside and from the inside of the trees. It reveals the premises of the investigators, the nature of their inquiry, and the extent of their knowledge, while also revealing the Great Basin bristlecone itself.”
Contents
Introduction: A Book of Changes
1. Somewhere between Colorado and California
2. The Calculus of Change
3. The Purloined Tree
4. Capturing a Cloud: On the Stability and Movement of Bristlecone Forests
5. The Upper Edge
6. Recovering the Forest
7. How Bristlecones Came to the Great Basin
8. Figures of a Tree
9. An Aesthetic of Bristlecones
10. The Trees in Town
11. The Trees Just Out of Town
12. Walks in Woods
Afterword: Ron and Charlie
References and Acknowledgments
Index
Published by University of Nevada Press, 1998. New. 308 pages, illus., about 6½ x 10 inches, paperback.
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William A. Dick-Peddie, New Mexico Vegetation: Past, Present, and FutureWith contributions by W.H. Moir and Richard Spellenberg
“This book is the first comprehensive study of the biological history and evolution of New Mexico’s vegetation and includes a detailed account of the distribution of plant communities in the state today. Originally published in 1993, it remains one of the few authoritative compilations for a western state.”
CONTENTS:
1. Physical Environment of New Mexico
2. History of New Mexico Vegetation
3. Vegetation and Ecology
4. Terrestrial Vegetation of New Mexico
5. Alpine Tundra and Coniferous Forest
6. Woodland and Savanna Vegetation
7. Grassland Vegetation
8. Scrubland Vegetation
9. Riparian Vegetation
10. Vegetation of Special Habitats
11. Species of Special Concern
12. The Future of New Mexico Vegetation
Separate reference lists for each chapter are provided.
Published by University of New Mexico Press, 1993. 244 pages, illus., about 8 x 10 inches, paperback. New.
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Francis H. Elmore, Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest UplandsDrawings by Jeanne R. Janish
A great book for learning the names and a bit about 168 common species and varieties of trees and shrubs found above 4500 feet elevation in the mountains and plateaus of the southwest, particularly Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas, and adjacent areas. It is by no means complete; there are many species not included, yet this selection is representative, and all 23 conifers from the region are described. Like the companion volume, Shrubs and Trees of the Southwest Deserts, the pages are color-coded; but unlike that other fine work, the page colors represent differing vegetation “belts” at increasing altitudes: Pinyon-Juniper, Pine-Oak, Fir-Aspen, and Spruce-Fir.
Each species is illustrated with excellent line drawings by one of the nation’s foremost botanical illustrators, Jeanne Janish. They reveal the details of form of flowers, fruit, and leaves needed to positively identify a tree or shrub. Most species have an entire page devoted to them, with the illustration dominating the page. Text not only tells you how to identify the plant, but a bit about its ecology and uses, and the derivation of its name(s). It gives the range and habitat as well.
There are 16 pages of color photos in the center of the book, which show the habitats, flowers or cones of some species, and fruit or bark when that is especially notable of some species. At the end of the book, there is an appendix giving pronunciations and meanings of the scientific names used (the author uses the anglicized pronunciation of Latin common in this country not only to amateur and professional botanists, but which is also used in medicine and law—which in other words, sounds quite different than the restored Classical Latin used by most modern Latin scholars). The book is fully indexed.
Published by Western National Parks Association, 1976. 214 pages, illus., about 6 x 9 inches, paperback. New.
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Pierre C. Fischer, 70 Common Cacti of the SouthwestExcellent guidebook covering the desert regions of southern California, southern Nevada, far western and southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western Texas. Many of the cacti described are found in areas beyond the specific area mentioned as well. Each species is provided with a non-technical description, and one or two excellent color photos. Common names are given preference, but notes also list scientific names, plus size, elevation range, and distribution within the coverage of the book (i.e., if the cactus grows in other areas outside of the scope of the book, it won’t tell you).
Introductory pages briefly describe the cactus family and its characteristic features, list other plants often confused with cacti, and describe the deserts that are covered in this work. A brief glossary, a list of suggested reading, and an index are also provided.
Published by Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1989. Unpaginated, about 76 pages., about 6 x 9 inches, paperback. New.
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Samuel H. Lamb, Woody Plants of the Southwest: A Field Guide with Descriptive Text, Drawings, Range Maps and Photographs As a field guide, this book has its limitations. With the descriptions arranged alphabetically by family, a beginner or newcomer to the region may have to flip through the entire book to find the tree or shrub she is looking for. And many of the black and white photographs are not very clear. Yet, those drawbacks aside, this is an invaluable reference, for each species entry includes a range map, most are illustrated with very competent line drawings, and the text gives you identification information and notes on habitat and biology, plus the etymology of the botanical names. I picked up a used copy a couple of years ago for my own library, and am delighted to see it is still in print.
Published by Sunstone Press, 1989. 177 pages, 8½ x 11 inch paperback. New.
Item #181. Publisher's price: 14.95. Your price: $13.45 (out of stock)
Ronald M. Lanner, The Piñon Pine: A Natural and Cultural HistoryWith a Section on Pine-Nut Cookery by Harriette Lanner
The dominant tree in much of the uplands of the inland southwest, the piñons (pinyons) or nut pines are a key group in the ecology of the region and in the cultures of native peoples. Lanner focuses on the two US species most widespread in the southwestern US: Pinus monophylla (Singleleaf Piñon) and Pinus edulis (Colorado Piñon). He covers many aspects of the life of these small trees, including their distribution, origins, value to wildlife, use by settlers, their importance to Native Americans, modern management (or mismanagement) on ranches and public lands, and recipes which include pine nuts which you yourself can enjoy.
Lanner is the author of Conifers of California and Made For Each Other: A Symbiosis of Birds and Pines.
Published by University of Nevada Press, 1981. 208 pages, illus., about 5½ x 8½ inches. Paperback. New.
Item #267. Publisher’s price: $16.95. Your price: $15.25 (out of stock)
Dorothy Baird Mattiza, 100 Texas WildflowersGreat guide to common species arranged by color of the flower. The entry for each species covers half a page; each entry features a very good to excellent color photograph, with text describing the plant and often giving interesting facts about it as well. The range of each species is described by reference to 10 vegetational zones of the state, shown on a colorful map. The text also gives size, blooming period, and duration (annual, perennial, etc.). While common names are emphasized, the botanical name is also given, and common and scientific names of the plant family as well.
Published by Southwest Parks and Monuments Association, 1993. Pages not numbered, about 60 pages., about 6 x 9 inches, paperback. New.
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Hugh N. Mozingo, Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History With drawings by Christine Stetter. The Great Basin stretches across most of Nevada to western Utah, and north to southeastern Oregon. This hefty two pound tome is not so much a field guide for the pack as a reference book for your library. While the beautifully drawn full-page line drawings and outstanding color photographs will aid you in identifying the shrubs of this varied region, it is the text you may most want this work for. Each species receives one to many pages of treatment here, rather than the paragraph you may be lucky to get in most field guides. The author discusses the distribution, relationships, ecology, and etymology of each in a very readable prose.
University of Nevada Press, 1987. 342 pages, about 7 x 9½ inches, paperback. New.
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Theodore F. Niehaus, A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers Peterson Field Guide Series
Illustrations by Charles L. Ripper and Virginia Savage
A comprehensive guide to 1505 species of wildflowers of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and all but the upper corners of Colorado. Also covers the canyon country of Utah, the Oklahoma panhandle, southern Arkansas, and all but the delta region of Louisiana. While no book of field guide size can be very complete for such a large area, this one does a remarkably good job, with the descriptions concise and limited to identification features (no text on folklore, ecology, or etymology) and the illustrations compact yet clear. It also gains by limiting coverage to annual and perennial wildflowers, rather than include trees and shrubs better identified in other works.
Persons who are convinced that color photos are the only way to identify wildflowers will not like this one, and in fact only a small percentage of the illustrations are in color at all. But color can be very deceiving, and this book demands that you concentrate on more important qualities such as number of petals and form of the plant, and that will, in the long-run, enable you to identify more plants more accurately. As a concession to beginners, the plants are arranged in the book by flower color with related and similar species on the same page.
There is a simplified key to the families in the back of the book, which will help you narrow down the possibilities if you are having trouble matching up the pictures or simply want to learn more about plant families.
Published by Houghton Mifflin, 1984. 449 pages, about 4½ x 7 inches, paperback. New.
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Larry Ulrich, Wildflowers of the Plateau & Canyon CountryInterpretive text by Susan Lamb
An album of Ulrich's outstanding color photos displaying southwestern wild plants in their natural habitat. This is not an identification guide, though visitors to the area will recognize many of the species they see in the parks and roadsides of the region and each photo is carefully labeled with common and scientific names, and the location and date of the photo. I particularly enjoy the mixture of closeups and landscapes which do not isolate the plant from its surroundings.
Published by Companion Press, 1996. 136 pages, about 10 x 9½ inches, paperback. New.
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May Theilgaard Watts & Tom Watts, Desert Tree FinderA Pocket Manual for Identifying Desert Trees
Handy illustrated key to identifying common trees (including large cacti) of the deserts of southern California, far southern Nevada, western and southern Arizona, and southern New Mexico. Well-illustrated, most entries including clear illustrations of foliage, flowers and/or fruit, and the tree as a whole. Also has rainge maps. Terminology is strictly non-technical, yet common names are supplemented by botanical names enabling the user to find out more about the species in other references. Besides common wild trees, also includes some very common trees of "man-made oases"—the common alien trees of desert cities and towns.
Published by Nature Study Guild, 1974. 59 pages + index, about 6 x 4 inches, paperback. New.
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