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North American Plant Books
Mary E. Barkworth et al, (editors), Flora of North America, Volume 25Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, part 2
The seventh volume published in the thirty volume series, and the largest and the most comprehensively illustrated, covers over half of the grass family in North America north of Mexico. It and Volume 24 (containing Poaceae, part 1, still in preparation) differ from the other Flora of North America volumes in that they were originally going to be published under a separate title within a single volume—a successor to Hitchcock’s classic Manual of Grasses of the United States. With identification a key focus, this volume has many more illustrations than other FNA volumes: almost every species is illustrated. Like others in the series, it gives full descriptions of every known native and established non-native species. In addition, it also includes species that are known only from cultivation in the area (including those in agriculture and used as ornamentals), and even more unusual, includes grass species that are considered serious threats to American agriculture but which are not known from the region.
Like other volumes, it has range maps for each species. Unlike the others, the range maps are based on county-level records and as such may be more precise. Also, the range is not described in the text, as it is in the other volumes.
Volume 25 contains these tribes: Arundineae, Cynodonteae, Pappophoreae, Orcuttieae, Danthonieae, Aristideae, Centotheceae, Thysanolaeneae, Gynerieae, Paniceae, and Andropogoneae. Some of the larger genera included are Tridens, Leptochloa, Eragrostis, Sporobolus, Muhlenbergia, Chloris, Spartina, Bouteloua, Aristida, Digitaria, Echinochloa, Dichanthelium, Panicum, Urochloa, Eriochloa, Pennisetum, Setaria, Paspalum, Saccharum, Bothriochloa, and Andropogon.
Includes keys to tribes, genera, species, and lower taxa. (Volume 24 will include keys to all tribes in the grass family and an artificial key to the genera in both volumes.) Like all other FNA volumes, it stands alone and can be used independently. It is separately indexed.
Two illustration plates and two range maps were inadvertently left out of this first printing (replaced by duplicates of other plates and range maps). We have provided print-outs of the correct plates and maps obtained online at http://herbarium.usu.edu/grassmanual/fna25.
If you would like to get a preview of the excellent quality of the work, visit the above link!
Published by Oxford University Press, 2003. 783 pages, illus., about 8½ x 11 inches, hardcover. New.
Item #129. Shipping weight: 6.5 lbs. Publisher’s price: $95.00. Your price: $95.00
Flora of North America: Volume 26: Magnoliophyta: Liliidae: Liliales and OrchidalesThe fifth volume published in the series—a project unparalleled in the history of floristic publications in the United States and Canada. This one is larger than any other produced before it. It features the Lily, Iris, and Orchid families, as well as relatives in the same two orders of monocots (see below). As in previous volumes most, if not all, genera are illustrated by at least one representative species, with larger genera with multiple line drawings. Each species account includes a range map, and describes the characteristics of each in great detail.
There is also a 34 page introductory section which provides an overview of the latest thinking on the phylogeny and classification of the monocotyledons, which has progressed beyond the Cronquist system adopted as a standard by the Flora of North America Editorial Committee.
Like the other volumes, number 26 stands alone, and is completely indexed and features a comprehensive bibliography.
Beginners or casual plant-lovers won’t find much in this series that is comprehensible, but for the dedicated intermediate botanist, or the professional, each volume is a treasure house, a worthy monument to the botanical diversity of the continent.
Families included in Flora of North America, Volume 26
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Pontederiaceae
Pickerel-weed Family
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Haemodoraceae
Bloodwort Family
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Liliaceae
Lily Family
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Iridaceae
Iris Family
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Aloaceae
Aloe Family
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Agavaceae
Agave Family
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Stemonaceae
Stemona Family
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Smilacaceae
Catbrier Family
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Dioscoreaceae
Yam Family
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Burmanniaceae
Burmannia Family
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Orchidaceae
Orchid Family
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Oxford University Press, December 2002. 723 pages, hardcover, about 8½ x 11 inches. New.
Item #986. Shipping weight: 5.7 lbs. Publisher’s price: $95.00. Your price: $95.00
A.S. Hitchcock, Manual of the Grasses of the United States, Volume OneSecond Edition, Revised by Agnes Chase
Although published in 1950, Hitchcock’s Manual is still one of the most valuable works on US grasses you can own. This is because it illustrates over three-quarters of the species described, and all species of grasses known from the United States at that time are included. Only the new Flora of North America volumes on grasses (one of two published so far) have more illustrations as Hitchcock, for about 9 times the price! On the other hand, as with any botanical work published over half a century ago, the scientific names have sometimes been changed to reflect a better understanding of the genetic relationships of species and genera, so you will need to consult a more recent work for current names.
Hitchcock’s Manual was originally published by the US Department of Agriculture in 1935, and followed by Agnes Chase’s second revised edition in 1950. As any comprehensive manual to grasses must be, it should be considered technical. While a beginner can learn a few basic genera of grasses by picture-matching, identification of many (even most) species requires close inspection of anatomical features overlooked by the average plant enthusiast. It comes complete with full, detailed descriptions and dichotomus keys to facilitate this. It also describes habitat and range, and continent of origin if it is non-native. Most species are illustrated with line drawings, and these show the technical details you need to recognize to identify the species. These drawings, apparently all made from herbarium specimens, are even annotated with the collector and collection number, and in which state it was found. Many of the drawings are also accompanied by a small range map showing the states in which the grass has been identified.
Volume one covers the first 70% of the species described. See below for further information on volume two. Though sold separately, they are not meant to be used separately.
Published by Dover Publications, 1971 reprint of 1950 edition. 569 pages, illus., about 6 x 9 inches. Paperback. New.
Item #901. Shipping weight: 2.0 lbs. Publisher’s price: $14.95. Your price: $13.45
A.S. Hitchcock, Manual of the Grasses of the United States, Volume TwoSecond Edition, Revised by Agnes Chase
Volume two of Hitchcock’s Manual includes the remaining 30% of the species not described in volume one, and also a comprehensive synonymy, the glossary, and the index.
Published by Dover Publications, 1971 reprint of 1950 edition. 569 pages, illus., about 6 x 9 inches. Paperback. New.
Item #160. Shipping weight: 2.0 lbs. Publisher’s price: $16.95. Your price: $15.25
Elbert L. Little, Jr. Atlas of United States Trees, Volume 3: Minor Western HardwoodsIf I didn't already have a copy in my own botanical library, this one would not be available here! If you have a special interest in plant distribution as I do, this is a treasure to own. It is primarily a map book covering 210 species of trees, and shrubs that sometimes reach tree proportions, in 17 western states, specifically North Dakota south to Texas and west to Washington south to California (it does not include Alaska or Hawaii). Volume 1 of this series covered the conifers and more "important" (which generally means larger and/or more widely distributed) hardwoods, and this volume covers all the rest, including the acacias, alders, redbuds, dogwoods, ashes, walnuts, sycamores, the smaller oaks, sumacs, willows, elders, and many more.
Each atlas page is printed in two colors, with the outline map of coastlines, state and provincial boundaries, often county boundaries, major rivers, and lat/long lines in black, and the actual ranges printed in brown. The map scale depends upon the range of the species. Those with a limited range are shown in the most detail. When the species extends beyond the borders of the western US, the entire range (into Mexico, Canada, Alaska, and often the eastern US) is shown at small scale, with a separate more detailed map showing the western US distribution. Includes scientific and common name. The species included are more or less presented in alphabetical order by scientific name, departing from strict alphabetical when the format of the particular maps warrant it. The introductory text explains the methodology and gives extensive references.
Published by USDA, Forest Service, 1976. Miscellaneous Publication No. 1314. 13 pages text & 210+ atlas pages; about 9½ x 12 inches. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Used, very good condition; minor wear on edges of cover, light soiling on page edges, infrequent minor stains on pages, which are unmarked, binding sound, tight.
Item #EL-ATL-US-TREES-3. Shipping weight: 3.5 lbs. Out of print. Your price: $35.00
United States Department of Agriculture, Common Weeds of the United States Weeds have been called "plants out of place," and usually that means plants which grow where some human being doesn't want them. Botanists (at least those not working for farming or grazing interests) tend to restrict the term to those plants which do very well in disturbed areas such as cultivated areas and roadsides. This book uses the first definition, and so includes quite a lot of native species which someone considers weeds simply because they are poisonous to stock, for example, or grow well in irrigation ditches. But the majority of plants included here the botanist would agree are weeds, and each are given a paragraph or two of descriptive information, a range map, and a full page illustration: a line drawing of usually rather robust specimens. I would rate the drawings as good to very good—none achieving the excellence of some other works. There is a quality to many of them which suggests that the artists, too, thought they were just drawing weeds which didn't deserve the extra attention needed for the best work. Most if not all were obviously drawn from pressed specimens, and they look pressed.
I have this book in my library mostly because I collect botany books, not because it fills any purpose unmet by other works.
Dover Publications, 1971 (first published 1970). 463 pages, about 6½ x 9 inches, paperback. New.
Item #162. Shipping weight: 2.0 lbs. Publisher's price: $18.95. Your price: $17.05
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