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Post by John Pappus on Jul 11, 2015 15:31:59 GMT
Hi all, just thought this may be an interesting thread - what books are you using to identify wildflowers? I live in the UK and have built up quite a nice collection of books, including of course 1 or 2 that have become my favourites for various reasons... I started with the smaller photographic guides and have gone on to use 'keys' - that is to say, books that use a 'key-system' for identification. What do you think of some of the following examples.... Here's a great book that starts with and requires examination of a flower, a very good book beautifully illustrated to boot!
This book requires no flower at all - the keys will identify a plant purely from it's vegetative features when examined! Yes, it really works!
Now then, the Daddy-of-them-all, the powerhouse from Stace, this awesome tome will use any features of a plant you're able to discover and lead you through a very detailed, comprehensive and reliable set of keys to your ultimate identification.... This book is a real beauty - it's not really a 'field-guide' - it's too heavy - but boy what a book to have to hand. My personal favourite. The above two books are extremely good but this one is phenomenally so.
I've several others of course, but these are my 'trinity of excellence' and I use them constantly for identification. I also am lucky enough to have a couple of microscopes, with which very close examination is possible - and sometimes this can be the only way to be reasonably sure of an ID, for example when examining some grasses - a real challenge - great fun. The 'scope is also great for the study of pollen, another fascinating area that's pretty easy and accessible to everyone. Anyway, just thought I'd put this thread up & see if anyone finds it interesting...   scan002 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr  scan004 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr  scan006 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr |
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Post by monkeyrepublic on Jul 11, 2015 17:26:11 GMT
Books: always a good subject, johnpappus.
I used to borrow Cassell's Wild Flowers from the library. Constantly.
Concise with beautiful, clear illustrations (photos are rubbish for IDing).
Now I want my own copy. But it's out of print.
Looking for an alternative, so will explore your recommendations.
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Post by matt52 on Jul 11, 2015 19:47:13 GMT
If you have a spare £60 you can still get cassells
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Post by monkeyrepublic on Jul 11, 2015 20:02:21 GMT
I ordered it on Amazon for £30 last year. They pootled for 5 months then sent an email saying 'no can do'.
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Post by John Pappus on Jul 11, 2015 20:10:02 GMT
Books: always a good subject, johnpappus. I used to borrow Cassell's Wild Flowers from the library. Constantly. Concise with beautiful, clear illustrations (photos are rubbish for IDing). Now I want my own copy. But it's out of print. Looking for an alternative, so will explore your recommendations. Well I always have an eye open in 2nd-hand bookshops, charity-shops etc and only 2 weeks ago I snapped up a copy of the equally superb Cassell's Trees for £6.50! Always worth a keeping a lookout - you never know! |
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Post by John Pappus on Jul 11, 2015 20:22:38 GMT
I've just started a blog on wildflowers and I've posted a complete 'walk-through' with many pictures, of an interesting ID I worked through with the superb Rose's book (see above) while we were away for a week in Scotland a couple of weeks back - if anyone's interested I've gone through the complete ID using Rose's book... I mainly use my blog as an attempt to keep notes for myself, I'm not really into world-wide internet fame, I just thought the blogging-platform was pretty handy as a start to my attempts to improve and organize my borderline-chaotic current 'system' of record-keeping! Here's a link to the first page of the ID - An interesting wildflower ID using Rose's bookI hope posting this link is OK and not bad etiquette, I'm not trying to promote my teeny blog, just hoping someone may get a taste of the fun of using such a fine book for IDs - a good book really enhances the adventure! Please say if this link is inappropriate or annoying - I'm pretty new to blogs and forums and such... |
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Post by stigofthedump on Jul 12, 2015 9:11:33 GMT
Interesting blog John, looking forward to more instalments .
I agree, Rose is a cracking field guide, I never could "get on " with Stace. I still use my old copy of CTM. Excursion Flora by Clapham, Tutin and Warburg For tricky taxa. Woefully out of date but still reliable.
Vince |
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Post by John Pappus on Jul 12, 2015 14:17:57 GMT
Interesting blog John, looking forward to more instalments .
I agree, Rose is a cracking field guide, I never could "get on " with Stace. I still use my old copy of CTM. Excursion Flora by Clapham, Tutin and Warburg For tricky taxa. Woefully out of date but still reliable.
Vince Thanks Vince you're very kind. Perhaps I could make a walk-through using each of the 3 books - would a different plant for each book be the way to go, or should I give the examples using the same (i.e. Red Campion - S. dioica) plant as an aid to better comparison of the books? Would this be appropriate for the forum, or a bit too dull? |
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Post by rowanberry on Jul 12, 2015 19:18:05 GMT
I think it would be interesting to see how the different books compare when it comes to correctly identifying plants... it can be a struggle to find a really good one that covers everything. At the moment I have two I depend on- "Wild Herbs of Britain and Europe" which has handy little keys to identification along with the properties of the plant, (I've done several herbalism classes, and found it invaluable for that reason) and the Kingfisher Guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe. Both were found in book sales in libraries. The Wild Herbs one is a bit battered, but such a useful book! |
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Post by stigofthedump on Jul 12, 2015 20:31:42 GMT
It wouldn't be at all dull John. I personally would think by choosing a common species that most folk could find and running said specimen through each key would be the way to go. It would be a great thread.
Vince |
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Post by John Pappus on Jul 12, 2015 23:15:50 GMT
It wouldn't be at all dull John. I personally would think by choosing a common species that most folk could find and running said specimen through each key would be the way to go. It would be a great thread.
Vince Yes, something that's everywhere - maybe a Thistle or a Willowherb, a composite might be interesting such as a Dandelion maybe... The Red Campion got a tad complicated when I discovered it was dioecious - I didn't know what plant it was when I started - but it was absolutely everywhere in Scotland a couple of weeks back. If anyone has a choice and I can find one, we'll use that maybe? Back soon. |
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Post by stigofthedump on Jul 13, 2015 10:39:38 GMT
Anything common would do I suspect John, a clover might fit the bill ? I don't have Stace so it would be interesting to observe that key in progress.
Vince |
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Post by faith on Jul 24, 2015 14:28:54 GMT
For people who find Stace a bit too much for the present, and the keys in Francis Rose less than straightforward, might I recommend the Collins Flower Guide (Streeter et al). It has good family keys, excellent illustrations and includes grasses and sedges which Rose does not.
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Post by stigofthedump on Jul 24, 2015 16:24:04 GMT
Thanks for the recommendation Faith and welcome to WABI. Not a field guide that Ive used before. I do find 'Rose' quite easy to follow but Stace was, for me, almost purposefully obtuse.
Vince |
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Post by John Pappus on Jul 25, 2015 14:29:38 GMT
For people who find Stace a bit too much for the present, and the keys in Francis Rose less than straightforward, might I recommend the Collins Flower Guide (Streeter et al). It has good family keys, excellent illustrations and includes grasses and sedges which Rose does not. Thanks for the lead Faith, I've never seen this one but having looked at it on a certain website I definitely think I'll get it - it looks a real beauty at a very fair price! Welcome to this fine forum - it's an interesting and friendly place to visit! |
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