Booklist |
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This is a booklist of recommended books about wildflowers. These are books that
I have found the most useful. Books about Goldenrods & Asters
are farther down the page. |
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| Start with these ("must-haves") |
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Newcombe's Wildflower Guide
by Lawrence Newcombe
This is the main reference tool used by serious naturalists in the field to identify wildflowers. It utilizes a unique key system to zero in on the plant quickly.
Along with Peterson's (below) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers. |
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A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America
Peterson Field Guide series
by Roger Tory Peterson & Margaret McKenny
Along with Newcombe's (above) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers.
This book is based on flower colour. |
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Wildflowers in Ontario |
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The ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of
Ontario
by Jennifer Bull, Richard Dickinson, Timothy Dickinson, Deborah Metsger
ISBN 0771076525
416 pages.This is a new field guide, just published in 2004. It's an
excellent comprehensive book, with photographs, range maps, and detailed descriptions
of each species. The photographs are small, but are still very helpful.
Includes keys to help find a plant. |
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Ontario Wildflowers
Linda Kershaw
ISBN 1551052857
144 pages.
This book is mainly about plants that you'll find along
roadsides. Good photos of each species, but rather limited in scope. |
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Forest Plants of Northeastern Ontario
by Karen Legasy, Shayna LaBelle-Beadman, & Brenda Chambers
ISBN 1-55105-064-1, published by Lone Pine
Similar to Forest Plants of Central Ontario |
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Forest Plants of Central Ontario
by Brenda Chambers, Karen Legasy, & Cathy Bentley
ISBN 1-55105-061-7, published by Lone Pine
An excellent field guide with every plant illustrated with a colour photograph. General
edible and medicinal information on each plant is also given. |
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Wetland Plants of Ontario
by Steven Newmaster, Allan Harris, & Linda Kershaw
ISBN 1-55105-059-5, published by Lone Pine
Similar to Forest Plants of Central Ontario |
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Asters & Goldenrods in
Ontario If you try to use Newcombe's
and Peterson's field guides to learn the Asters and Goldenrods of Ontario you
will simply end up very confused. Only a portion of the species featured in
those books occur in Ontario. |
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The Asters, Goldenrods, and Fleabanes of
Grey and Bruce Counties
by The Bruce-Grey Plant Committee (Owen Sound Field Naturalists)
ISBN 0-9680279-3-8
56 pages.An excellent book for learning Asters and Goldenrods
in Ontario. Although this book focuses on Grey and Bruce Counties, most
(but not all!) of the Asters and Goldenrods of Ontario are featured in this book. There
are detailed "specs" for each species, along with a detailed sketch.
Copies may be obtained from:
The Grey-Bruce Plant Committee
c/o Owen Sound Field Naturalists
Box 401, Owen Sound, Ontario N4K 5P7 |
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The Goldenrods of Ontario
University of Waterloo Biology Series, Number 39
by John C. Semple, Gordon S. Ringius, and Jie Jay Zhang
ISBN 0317-3348
90 pages.A very scientific, but also very complete work on the
Goldenrods of Ontario. Even if you can't understand all the scientific
jargon, this book is very valuable for the range maps and detailed
drawings. This book is a must-buy if you are intent on learning
Goldenrods.
This book can be obtained from the University of Waterloo bookstore.
Sometimes the
University of Guelph bookstore has copies. |
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The Asters of Ontario
University of Waterloo Biology Series, Number 38
by John C. Semple, Stephen B. Heard and ChunSheng Xiang
94 pages.A very scientific, but also very complete work on the Asters of
Ontario. Even if you can't understand all the scientific jargon, this book is
very valuable for the range maps and detailed drawings. This book is a
must-buy if you are intent on learning Asters.
This book can be obtained from the University of Waterloo bookstore.
Sometimes the
University of Guelph bookstore has copies. |
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General Wildflower Books |
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Newcombe's Wildflower Guide
by Lawrence Newcombe
This is the main reference tool used by wildflower enthusiasts in the field to identify wildflowers. It utilizes a unique key system to zero in on the plant quickly.
Along with Peterson's (below) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers. |
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A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America
Peterson Field Guide series
by Roger Tory Peterson & Margaret McKenny
Along with Newcombe's (above) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers. Based on flower colour. |
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Field Guide to Wildflowers - Eastern Region
National Audubon SocietyI've never found this book to be very useful. One
problem is that it includes wildflowers from southern areas of the US, and this
simply adds to the number of species you have to sift through to find the one
you're trying to identify. It has lots of photos, but they are of poor quality,
and not every species is featured. |
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Books published by the Bruce-Grey Plant Committee:
(c/o Owen Sound Field Naturalists, Box 401, Owen Sound, Ontario N4K 5P7)
Website:
http://www.osfn.ca/pubs_osfn.html
- A Guide to the Ferns of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
- A Guide to the Orchids of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
- Rare and Endangered Species of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
- The Asters, Goldenrods and Fleabanes of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
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General Wildflowers - Technical References |
Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United
States and Adjacent Canada
Henry A. Gleason, Arthur Cronquist
A two-part set (with the Illustrated Companion). Rather costly, but
if you're really into plants, these are must-haves. May not
be available from Amazon. You may have to search around for it. I
purchased my copies from the
University of Guelph bookstore (Ontario, Canada). |
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Manual of Vascular Plants of
Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada
Henry A. Gleason, Arthur Cronquist |
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Illustrated Companion to Gleason and
Cronquist's Manual
Noel H. Holmgren, Patricia K. Holmgren (Editor), Henry A.
Gleason |
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An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada
Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown (otherwise referred to as "Britton &
Brown")
3 volumes
The definitive work on plant identification for the NE USA/Canada.
Originally published in 1913, no other guide since has come close to
matching it for its completeness and detail (except for
Gleason & Cronquist). |
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An Illustrated Flora of the Northern
United States and Canada (Vol. I)
by Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown, published by Dover |
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An Illustrated Flora of the Northern
United States and Canada (Vol. II)
by Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown, published by Dover |
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An Illustrated Flora of the Northern
United States and Canada (Vol. III)
by Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown, published by Dover |
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Edible Plants |
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Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America
by Merritt Lyndon Fernald & Alfred Charles Kinsey
published by Dover
Originally published in 1958. A comprehensive guide. |
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| Natural History (focus on plants) |
Books by John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator):
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these books! These books are an essential
addition to the library of anyone interested in natural history. They
are detailed, informative, and very readable. You will learn a lot from
them. There are also three more books by John & Amelia about birds.
I have reproduced a few pages about goldenrods from the Field and
Roadside book: click
here. |
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The Book of Field and Roadside:
Open-Country Weeds, Trees, and
Wildflowers of Eastern North America
John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator) |
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The Book of Forest and Thicket:
Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers
of Eastern North America
John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator) |
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The Book of Swamp & Bog:
Trees, Shrubs & Wildflowers of
the Eastern Freshwater Wetlands
John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator) |
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Locating Natural Places (Ontario & Canada) |
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A Nature Guide to Ontario
by Federation of Ontario Naturalists, edited by Winifred Wake
ISBN 0-8020-6802-2, published by University of Toronto Press
A comprehensive (450 pages) guide to most of the natural areas of Ontario. For each area, it includes a description of the natural attributes, species found and directions to the area. An indispensable guide for the Ontario naturalist. |
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The Complete Guide to Walking in Canada
by Elliott Katz
ISBN 0-920361-03-X, published by Great North Books
A chapter for each province, including day hiking and backpacking.
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A Bird-Finding Guide to Ontario
by Clive Goodwin
ISBN 0-8020-6904-5, published by University of Toronto Press
Includes detailed directions to each area, along with expected species. Even if you're not interested in birding, this book will show you where natural areas are.
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