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Wildflower Guide Lawrence Newcomb Newcomb's Wildflower Guide takes an approach to identifying wildflowers that one doesn't often see in field guides - a key system. Users are asked to evaluate the flower type, plant type, and leaf type of the plant they are trying to identify. There are 8 classes of flower type, 6 plant types, and four kinds of leaf type. Although it takes some getting used to, it isn't nearly as bad as might sound, and there is a nice introductory section that provides a detailed explaination of the system and how to use it. Once you get the hang of the system you can quickly sort your mystery flower into one of the 192 possible combinations of flower, plant, and leaf type.The plants in the main body of the book are grouped by these 192 combinations, and once you have properly categorized your plant, you need only examine the attractive line drawings and physical descriptions in that section of the book to identify it. On the downside, only a few of the illustrations are in color, and the geographic range covered by Newcomb is somewhat limited, including the northeast U.S. and the Great Lakes region, as well as Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and most of Tennessee. Recommended, if you live in this area and are willing to invest the 20 minutes it takes to learn how to use the system. M. Habeck Newcomb's Wildflower Guide Little, Brown Approx. 3cm x 12cm X 20cm |
