Trees and Shrubs Bibliography
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Loosely speaking, plants that regrow from the ground each year are herbaceous plants, and are listed in the wildflowers bibliography. This bibliography covers trees and shrubs—plants that persist from year to year, and having woody stems or trunks. Note: book cover sizes in the list below are shown relative to each other. The list is organized by primary author. Some out-of-copyright books are available free at the supplied links. Where possible, range maps are taken directly from the books. |
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National Audabon Society Field Guide to New England Author(s): Alden, Peter; Cassie, Brian Publisher: Andrew Stewart Publishing, 1998 View at: Amazon.com Comments: Part of a series of regional field guides, this compact guide covers the most common members from all walks of life, as well as sites of interest and even some field astronomy. If you like the outdoors and are curious about nature in all forms, this is a great choice. Photos are great, though space is necessarily tight for such an ambitious range. 448 pages. |
Covers Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont |
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Author(s): Darke, Rich Publisher: Timber Press, 2002 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This book is about "capturing the spirit of the deciduous forest." It is lavishly illustrated with captivating photos of artistically balanced forest landscapes. Whether you are reading from the perspective of a landscape designer, or simply enjoy being reminded of nature's beauty, this is an engrossing book. Although not really intended as a field guide, it has a major section on various species of landscaping plants, organized by genus and species. 377 pages. |
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Author(s): Dirr, Michael A. Publisher: Timber Press, 1997 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This large format, 493-page book describes 500 species in detail, as well as 700 additional cultivars and varieties. The book includes extensive excellent photos, and Michael Dirr assesses suitability for planting. This isn't a field guide, it is a guide for landscapers, but it is nevertheless a very useful reference for those identifying wild and cultivated trees and shrubs. |
Covers America. |
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The Book of Forest and Thicket: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America Author(s): Eastman, John; illustrated by Hansen, Amelia Publisher: Stackpole Books, 1992 View at: Amazon.com Comments: I love these books! (See also The Book of Swamp and Bog and The Book of Field and Roadside.) Learning to identify a plant is one matter, a pleasant challenge to be sure, but one that leaves us with only the most superficial of introductions. What if you could be fully immersed in the world of the plant? Eastman's books describe a relatively small number of common species in rich but not overly technical detail. I feel like a tiny bee might, as I see the insects that frequent the plant, the fungal blights it must tolerate, the birds who favor its fruits, its friends and associates. Amelia Hansen's detailed line drawings focus sometimes on the plant itself, but often on some aspect of the plant's environment. These books aren't really field guides, but they are much more. 212 pages. |
Eastern North America |
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Author(s): Eastman, John; illustrated by Hansen, Amelia Publisher: Stackpole Books, 1995 View at: Amazon.com Comments: Describes "trees, shrubs, and wildflowers of eastern freshwater wetlands." This book, and others in the series, is not a guide in the traditional sense. It describes a relatively small number of common species in their full ecological context, providing deeper insight into the world that surrounds each plant. The author lists birds and other associated animals; insects that feed on (or in some cases are digested by) the plants; pollinators and gall-producing insects; and fungal threats. Descriptions are rich with detail, but not overly technical. 237 pages. |
Eastern North America |
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The Book of Field and Roadside: Open-Country Weeds, Trees, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America Author(s): Eastman, John; illustrated by Hansen, Amelia Publisher: Stackpole Books, 2003 View at: Amazon.com Comments: I love these books! (See also The Book of Swamp and Bog and The Book of Forest and Thicket.) Learning to identify a plant is one matter, a pleasant challenge to be sure, but one that leaves us with only the most superficial of introductions. What if you could be fully immersed in the world of the plant? Eastman's books describe a relatively small number of common species in rich but not overly technical detail. I feel like a tiny bee might, as I see the insects that frequent the plant, the fungal blights it must tolerate, the birds who favor its fruits, its friends and associates. Amelia Hansen's detailed line drawings focus sometimes on the plant itself, but often on some aspect of the plant's environment. These books aren't really field guides, but they are much more. 336 pages. |
Eastern North America. |
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Author(s): Fisher, Kathleen Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This guide, designed for gardeners, begins with a section with photos, typically two per page. Photos include basic information of interest to gardeners. The second half of the book, organized by genus and species, provides additional information about growing the species. About 500 ornamental or practical species are described. Not really intended for identification. 441 pages. |
United States |
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Peterson Field Guides: A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs Author(s): Foster, Steven & Duke, James A. Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2000 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This 411-page guide lists plants found in the eastern and central United States, listing their real or alleged medical properties. Descriptions cover historical beliefs about the plants as well as more recent research. Includes identifying photos. |
Covers states east of, but excluding, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico. It does not fully cover the southern half of Florida or the southern and western halves of Texas. Adjacent regions of Canadian provinces are included. |
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A Field Guide to Plants of Costa Rica Author(s): Gargiullo, Margaret B.; photos by Magnuson, Barbara & Kimball, Larry Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008 View at: Amazon.com Comments: Nearly 1400 photos illustrate 856 Costa Rican plants organized into broad plant types ("habits"); then by color; then by family, genus and species. Detailed identifying descriptions include range information. The author's writing style avoids excessive jargon. 494 pages. |
Covers Costa Rica |
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National Audabon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Eastern Region Author(s): Little, Elbert L. Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This 714-page guide consists of groups of color photos, arranged by leaf shape; flower color and shape; seed shape; as well as by berries. The second half of the book describes each species with a detailed description, habitats, and range maps. Some black & white line drawings also appear in this section. Describes 364 species, and contains 993 color photos. The text portion of the book is printed on very thin, but rugged paper, so the book is only about an inch thick. |
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National Audabon Society Field Guide to Trees, Western Region Author(s): Little, Elbert L. Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1980 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This 639-page guide consists of groups of color photos, arranged by leaf shape; flower color and shape; seed shape; as well as by berries. The second half of the book describes each species with a detailed description, habitat and range information. Some black & white line drawings also appear in this section. Describes 312 species, and contains 855 color photos. The text portion of the book is printed on very thin, but rugged paper, so the book is only about an inch thick. |
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Berry Finder: A Guide to Native Plants with Fleshy Fruits Author(s): Miller, Dorcas S., illustrated by Day, Cherie Hunter Publisher: Nature Study Guild Publishers View at: Amazon.com Comments: This diminutive 58-page guide uses black & white line drawings and plain english to provide a simple flowchart for identifying plants by their berries. Part of a series of such guides, it is a surprisingly effective aid. |
Covers Eastern United States and Canada. |
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Peterson Field Guides: Trees and Shrubs Author(s): Petrides, George A. Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1972 Comments: This 428-page guide contains numerous line drawings of leaf and twig shapes, along with a key that shows overall tree silhouettes, and some drawings of seeds and cones. Plants are grouped in five major categories (example: plants with needle-like or scale-like leaves), then by other similarities in shape. Dichotomous keys and drawings point to other pages that contain plant descriptions of 646 species of trees and shrubs. |
Covers north to Newfoundland, south to North Carolina and Tennessee, and west to the Dakotas and Kansas. |
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Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast Author(s): Pojar, Jim; MacKinnon, Andy Publisher: Lone Pine, 1994 View at: Amazon.com Comments: Describes 794 species, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers, aquatic plants, grasses, ferns, mosses and lichens. Includes 1100 color photos and 1000 line drawings and silhouettes. While many field guides cover wider regions and larger numbers of species, this provides deeper detail about each species in the more restricted region. If you search for wildflowers only in this region, this may be the only resource you need, and it is an excellent complement to other guides if you need to identify plants from a wider or different area. Includes keys that require moderate, but not advanced, understanding of botanical terminology. 528 pages. |
Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska, from the coast to the mountains. |
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Author(s): Sibley, David Allen Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009 View at: Amazon.com Comments: “Covers the identification of 668 native and commonly cultivated trees found in the temperate areas of North America north of Mexico.” This excellent 426-page guide uses over 4,100 superbly detailed paintings to distinguish features, and includes details of leaves, bark, seeds, flowers, as well as high resolution range maps. Start here when identifying trees. |
Includes detailed information on distribution in the United States, and less detailed Canadian data for some species. |
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Deutschlands Flora in Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen Author(s): Sturm, Johann Georg (Painter: Jacob Sturm) Publisher: Nrnberg: Gedruckt auf Kosten des Verfassers, 1796 See also: Download free from the Biodiversity Heritage Library Comments: This German guide contains color paintings and descriptions of a variety of plants. It is about 574 pages long. |
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Author(s): Symonds, George W. D.; photos by Chelminski, Stephen V. Publisher: Harper, 2003 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This book aids in identifying trees using more than 1,500 black & white photographs showing trees, trunks, leaves, seeds, and twigs. Photos are large, detailed, and the scale is often shown. Comparison information is used to discriminate among species. Detailed descriptions are not provided, but identifications for many common species are provided. |
Maine (extending into Canada), west to North Dakota and south into Texas and along the Gulf of Mexico to northern Florida. |
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Author(s): Symonds, George W.D. Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1963 View at: Amazon.com Comments: I didn't want to like this book. It is filled with black & white photos, over 3,500 of them, of shrub leaves, stems, branches, buds, flowers, berries, etc. Where possible, specimens are shown actual size. Similar ones are grouped together for comparison. The photos are high in contrast and the paper feels a bit like newsprint, undoubtedly concessions to cost. But this guide has successfully identified species that resisted identification by other means, and I now use it quite frequently. There is a companion volume for trees. |
Covers roughly the eastern half of Canada and the United States. |
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Author(s): Taylor, Patricia A. Publisher: Henry Holt and Company, 1996 View at: Amazon.com Comments: This book is a guide to selecting native American flowers, shrubs and trees in gardens and landscapes. It reviews the history of use of native plants. It presents eighteen public gardens in Canada and the United States. Finally, it describes over 500 plants, organized by plant type (e.g. trees, shrubs, groundcovers), then by common name. 325 pages. |
North America |
