An indispensable guide to finding and identifying the wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast. Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast describes and illustrates 1,250 species commonly encountered in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Washington D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. This comprehensive guide includes perennials, annuals, and bulbs, both native and naturalised. The book is organised by flowers colour and includes white, yellow, red, blue, orange, green, and brown flowers. Introductory information includes an explanation of the key plant parts and information on plant names. Species profiles include color photographs and range maps. Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast is for hikers, naturalists, gardeners, and anyone wishing to learn more about the region's diverse flora. AUTHORS: Laura Cotterman has worked as both a professional botanist and an editor. She received an M.S. in plant ecology from NC State University and a B.S. in biology from Vassar College. She began her career as a seasonal botanist/ecologist for the N.C. Plant Conservation Program and then a botanist/data manager for the N.C. Natural Heritage Program. She was publications and publicity coordinator for the North Carolina Botanical Garden from 2003 to 2014. Damon Waitt has broad responsibility for overall leadership and management of the North Carolina Botanical Garden and for ensuring that the garden fulfills its mission to inspire understanding, appreciation, and conservation of plants and to advance a sustainable relationship between people and nature. Waitt holds a Ph.D. in botany from the University of Texas in Austin, an M.S. in botany from Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, and a B.S. in biology from Tulane University. Alan Weakley is a plant taxonomist, community ecologist, and conservationist specializing in the southeastern United States. He holds a Ph.D. from Duke University and a B.A. from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has worked as botanist and ecologist for the N.C. Natural Heritage Program, and as regional and chief ecologist for The Nature Conservancy and NatureServe. Since 2002, he has served as director of the UNC Herbarium, a department of the North Carolina Botanical Garden.
Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast is an encyclopedic treatise of wild plants and flowers of the southeastern coastal states of the USA (they include WV also). Due out 25th June 2019 from Timber Press, it's 512 (!!) pages, and will be available in ebook and flexibound formats.
The book has a good introduction chapter segueing into a basic discussion of local terrain and climate. These introductions (roughly 10% of the content) lead into instructions for using the book efficiently for field ID. The individual plant entries are arranged primarily by bloom color, with the entry notes further specifying growth habits, foliage, and other distinguishing features. These are indexed in the table of contents for ease of ID in the wild.
Each entry includes both Latin and common names, a full color picture in bloom along with a range-map, as well as a full description of habits, estimated blooming times, and growth patterns. There are hundreds and hundreds of included species. There is a cross referenced index, an extensive glossary, as well as a solid reference list including online resources for further learning (obviously weighted toward readers in the southeastern USA).
My only quibble with the book is that the early eARC which was provided for review purposes had some formatting errors which caused severe pixelation of the entry photos. I am certain that this will surely be corrected in the publication version of the ebook.
This would be a wonderful library selection, support (or main) text for a botany class, or as a really complete and comprehensive field guide for personal use.
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
