2
cities now have at least one
store devoted to nature and
wildlife.
Nurseries frequently offer
field guides to plants, and your
local County Extension Service
or Government Printing Office
are other sources of
information, as are botanical
gardens and special interest
organizations, such as native
plant societies.
Don’t neglect the children’s
area of the bookstore or library.
Although guides designed for
younger readers won’t go into
as much detail, they are a great
way to get the whole family
involved and often have larger,
clearer illustrations than adult
books.
Additionally, check out the
categories marked “Nature
Writing" or “Ecology." While not
traditional field guides, these
books often offer not only
methods of identification, but
also a sense of humanity’s
relationship to nature. Here you
can find such diverse topics as
Native American uses for
plants, wildflower folklore,
conservation efforts on public
lands, or ways to use your
knowledge of nature to develop
survival skills.
If you have access to the
Internet, whether at home or
through computers at the
library, you will discover a wealth
of online field guides. These can
be especially helpful when
researching a subject such as
dragonflies where there are
many family members yet very
little printed material available.
Most sites will also suggest
links to additional resources.
In this electronic age, action
and sound can become part of
your guides when you choose
videos, CD ROM’s, or cassettes.
Choosing a Field Guide
Most guidebooks are
illustrated, but some use
photographs (generally in color)
while others rely on drawings
(sometimes in color). Both have
their merits.
Some people, especially
beginning naturalists, find it
easier to recognize a specimen
from a photograph, and feel
more comfortable with color
pictures because they “look
real." These do, however, have
their limitations.
The field specimen you are
trying to identify won’t
necessarily match the photo
unless you are looking at it at
the same time of year and at
the same point in its life cycle.
Drawings or paintings, on the
other hand, generally include
the flower, leaves, seed
capsules, and other distinctive
characteristics and are useful
no matter what time of year
you begin your search.
Ideally, your personal library
should eventually include both
types of guidebooks.
Those books which rely on
photographs are often arranged
according to dominant colors.
For example, a wildflower guide
might be broken down into
“...each plant is unique;
each has its own stories,
legends, and
superstitions and its
own uses for medicine,
food, magic or beauty – in
short, each has its own
folklore. Learning this
folklore is an excellent
way to begin to truly
know the plants – their
nicknames and proper
names, their virtues and
uses, and their tales and
legends."
– Wildflower Folklore
Laura Martin
Tree Shapes
Pyramidal Conical Columnar
Spreading Vase-shaped
Broad Rounded
–Audubon Society,
Field Guide to North American Trees
