Comprehensive field guide to New England wild flowers is published

Just in time for spring, New England has its own guide to identifying wildflowers. Wildflowers of New England is the first comprehensive wildflower guide focused entirely on New England. Authored by Ted Elliman with New England Wild Flower Society, the six-color guide is the most current, up-to-date and easy-to-use information for the identification of New England's wildflowers. The book is an invaluable resource for hikers, naturalists, gardeners, scientists, teachers, students and anyone wishing to learn more about the region's diverse wildflowers, or just wanting to know the answer to "What's that plant?"

This portable, convenient guide describes more than 1,000 species of wildflowers and small shrubs encountered in the region. Wildflowers of New England makes plant identification easy. You just look up the flower by its color and then search by the number of petals and patterns of the leaves. Over 1,000 color photos ensure that you've got the right plant, and a handy ruler on the cover allows easy measurement in the field.

The guide provides state-by-state range information, notes which species are rare in each state, distinguishes native and introduced species, and indicates invasive species. The handbook also describes each plant's habitat, an important clue to identification.

Much has changed in plant classification in the past several decades as knowledge about plant relationships has advanced. The book updates the scientific names, ranges, and conservation status of hundreds of native plants. To de-mystify plant categorization, the book introduces the families of all the plants that occur in the book.

The book's preface teaches fundamental concepts about plants and New England's ecosystems. It includes an explanation of plant morphology, and the end papers show easily-understood diagnostic illustrations of flower and leaf morphology.

Plants adapt to the underlying landscape's features. The author describes the New England landscape: the geologic forces that shaped it, prominent features of topography, and climate. He details the types of forests, wetlands, and coastal plant communities that occur in New England, with landscape photos illustrating the different community types.

Provided by New England Wild Flower Society