Common Southwestern Native Plants: An Identification Guide

Rating:
Summary: Big pictures make this book easy to use.
Review: I am a librarian who uses reference books everyday and I'm impressed with how user friendly this book is. The first 70 or so pages have nice big photographs of plants that are easy to identify. This pictorial guide will assist those with a limited knowledge of the flora to recognize some of the most common trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants in the Southwest.

Flipping thru the book I realized that the big 'juniper' in my Mom's front yard is really an Arizona cypress. The line drawings of the berries in the description section of the book convinced me beyond a shadow of a doubt I need to rename it. I had just taken someones word for it and now I checking the book and see I've been wrong for years.

The descriptions are rich with plant lore. The Arizona Cypress may live to be 700 years old and Native Americans used it to treat all skin fungus infections. These descriptions are obviously the result of a lifetime of studying and collecting information on these plants.
The book is a fine example of the great things that can be achieved by small regional presses these days. Anyone with an interest in native Southwest plants should make sure they have a copy on their shelf.