Fully revised and published in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, Canyon Country Wildflowers is a comprehensive field guide to the diverse flora of the Four-corners area of the U.S., including Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. This valuable reference is organized by color and family for easy plant identification of more than 200 species--perfect for experienced botanists and novices alike.

Fully revised and upated, Northern Rocky Mountain Wildflowers features more than 300 species of wildflowers found throughout northwestern Montana, northern Idaho, northeastern Washington, southeastern British Columbia, and southwestern Alberta. This valuable reference is organized by color and family for easy plant identification. You won't want to visit Glacier, Banff, or Jasper National Parks without taking this book.

Marking the 800th anniversary of the Forest Charter, award-winning botanical artist Christina Hart-Davies celebrates our long relationship with trees. Since pre-historic times they have provided us with shelter, fuel, medicine, food and even the air we breathe. They have tanned leather, dyed cloth and made everything from cathedrals to clothes-pegs. We have told stories about them, admired their magnificent beauty and woven them into our spiritual lives. Following A Wild Plant Year, which recorded the folklore and cultural history of our native wildflowers, in The Greenwood Trees Christina looks at the history, folklore and virtues of our native trees - and a few well-known introductions too - all illustrated with her exquisitely detailed watercolour paintings. We have relied on trees throughout our history. We still do, and we always will. Touch wood. * Which tree provides a talisman supposed to protect against lightning? * Which firewood burns best, even when green? * Which tree should you plant by the dairy and the privy to deter flies?

A revised, updated edition to this gorgeous field guide, the most comprehensive ever published on the spectacular and breathtaking flora of this region.

There is more folklore, mythology and magic associated with our trees and forests than with any other living things. Known throughout the world as dark and wild places where witches make mischief and eerie creatures dwell, forests are also places of sanctuary for the ancient magic and the most enchanting species of trees. Kew: Witch's Forest is a beautifully illustrated, captivating journey through the magical woodland and its stories, from birch broomsticks and the sacred olive, to alder doorways and the Tree of Life.

This book presents a comprehensive scientific overview of the components and processes that underpin the biological characteristics of soil fertility. It demonstrates the interdependence of soil biological fertility with physical and chemical characteristics of soil. The book highlights the enormous diversity of life in soil and the resulting effects that management of land can have on the contribution of this diverse community to soil fertility in an agricultural context. It is becoming more relevant to explore soil biological processes in terms of their contribution to soil fertility. However, dilemmas do arise. Some agricultural chemicals may either overshadow or enhance biological contributions to soil fertility. The challenge is to select land management practices that improve the capacity of biological processes to contribute to soil physical and chemical fertility while increasing the sustainability of farming systems for particular soils and climates. Case studies of sustainable farming systems in relation to soil biological fertility are discussed and a global perspective is given about sustainability of soil management in relation to international agreements and environmental issues. This book is aimed at agricultural and environmental research scientists, agricultural extension officers and university students in a range of disciplines, including soil science (and subdisciplines of soil biology, root pathology, root symbioses, soil chemistry and soil physics), plant science, agronomy, animal science, land management and environmental science, who wish to gain an overview of the biological processes that contribute to soil fertility and have the potential to influence theproduction of food for humans and animals. It would also be of interest to leading farmers who are interested in understanding soil processes in their production systems. Soil biological fertility is often ignored but its central importance to sustainable use of land in agriculture makes it relevant to scientists and students in all disciplines related to agricultural production and environmental land management.

This pocket field guide to identifying 230 common Alpine flowers is packed with all the information you need to recognise your favourites while out in the mountains. Designed for the non-specialist, this little handbook is arranged by colour and also includes a glossary of flower parts and an introduction which describes the amazing lengths that these tiny gems go to to survive at altitude. Alpine expert author Gillian Price says: 'It never ceases to amaze me that such tiny plants can spend months on end buried under metres of snow and ice - weathering temperatures as low as minus 25 DegreesC - then sprout back to life when things thaw out and warm up. In springtime you can spot the fragile purple petals of the Alpine Snowbell pushing their way through snow - they contain an anti-freeze that enables them to melt it. Masters of adaptation and survival, alpine flowers can trap insects, store precious water, expel excess minerals and fool insects.' Each flower entry includes a clear photograph and essential description along with its name in English, Latin, German, French and Italian and interesting information about the origins of some of the more curious flower names. Each one is also indexed by its English and its Latin name so you can follow up a hunch about a name or find out more about a flower.

Covering over 90 species and with over 500 color photographs, this book has been long awaited by both tree professionals and anyone who wants to identify a tree in the Virgin Islands and south Florida.

Rare for field guides, this user-friendly book provides for all the species the same categories of complete text: form, leaves and bark, flowers, fruits, habitat, and uses. Also for each species there are photos of the whole tree, bark, leaves, flowers, and fruit.

The organization of the book makes it easy to identify a tree. The trees are divided into sections primarily based on how the leaves are arranged on the twig. So you can look at a twig and decide which section of the book in which you should search for it.

In addition to the 90 main species covered completely, many more that somehow relate to the main species are mentioned. Though most of the trees are native, many exotics that have been introduced are also included, as many of them are now widespread, particularly in south Florida.

The stories of the planet's oldest trees and what they have meant to human beings. Humans have always revered long-lived trees. But as historian Jared Farmer reveals in Elderflora, our veneration took a modern turn in the eighteenth century when naturalists embarked on a quest to locate and precisely date the oldest living things on earth. The new science of tree time prompted travellers to visit ancient specimens and conservationists to protect sacred groves. Exploitation accompanied sanctification, as old-growth forests succumbed to imperial expansion and the industrial revolution. Taking us from Lebanon to New Zealand to California, Farmer surveys the complex history of the world's oldest trees, including voices of Indigenous peoples, religious figures, and contemporary scientists who study elderflora in crisis. In a changing climate, a long future is still possible, Farmer shows, but only if we give care to young things that might grow old. Combining rigorous scholarship with lyrical writing, Elderflora chronicles the complex roles ancient trees have played in the modern world and illuminates how we might need old trees now more than ever.

Originally published in 1881, this is a'Practical treatise on the cultivation of the most profitable outdoor crop known'. Wonderfully detailed, it presents a complete system for the growing, cutivating and harvesting of all types of mushrooms.

Arranged in a directory of categories divided into wild plants, herbs, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, seaweeds and shellfish, this book has all of the information you need to forage for yourself.You'd be surprised at the bounty of wild food you can find practically on your doorstep: some native plants, some escapes from ancient gardens and all delicious. Most of these foods are within easy reach - however, you've got to know what you're looking for and where to go and when.Clear illustrations to help you identify a wholesome and natural food store, all for free. Hints on how to prepare and eat your foraged bounty are also included, along with advice on seasonality.

"Listen to the Silence" is an open invitation to wander a forest path or sit beside a mountain creek, letting the beauty of nature wash over you. See the world with new eyes as you learn compassion from a bug, feel the wind sweep away the ache in your heart, or let the gentle eyes of a beautiful black dog erase your fears. Here you will find peace and new hope in the silent wisdom of trees, spiders, and sunlit moss.

In this thoughtful and inspiring blend of prose-poetry, meditation, and narrative, you'll share the author's intimate relationship with the Earth and its inhabitants, and experience the transcendence possible as you enter the world of nature and simply listen.

Whether you read "Listen to the Silence" in one sitting or a page at a time, you'll find a new awareness of what lies outside your door-and inside your heart.

""Listen to the Silence" is a meditation beside a fern-lined mountain stream. It's a slow, gentle walk in the woods where the only voice you hear is your own-and you suddenly recognize it is but a single instrument amidst infinite voices in Nature's symphony. This book is Pan's flute, opening our senses to subtle truths otherwise overlooked in the busyness of our little lives."
Hal Zina Bennett, author of "The Lens of Perception: A User's Guide to Higher Consciousness"

"These gentle pieces are to be savored like listening to a new mother singing lullabies. They are reminders that we are missing real life if we neglect to wander in wild nature with soft eyes and open hearts. A famous writing teacher once said to write with 'microscopic truthfulness.' I've wondered what that meant until I read Jan's book. Now I know."
Dave Smith, co-founder of Smith & Hawken, author of "To Be of Use: Seven Seeds of Meaningful Work"

A glorious celebration of the beauty, diversity, importance and sheer wonder of plants, with exquisite illustrations from the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Plants feed us, clothe us, shelter us, help transport us, and can both intoxicate and cure us. From food staples to exotic and enchanting flowers, plants are essential for the wellbeing of our selves and our planet. Helen and William Bynum are expert guides to the intriguing histories and uses of over 80 key plants. Rich in cultural, historical, botanical and symbolic associations, the plants, from every corner of the globe – both familiar and bizarre – have fascinating stories to tell. Starting with foods that laid the foundations for the development of civilizations, such as wheat, rice and maize, and those that enliven our diet, such as saffron and spices, sections look at plants that have helped to create our material world, including bamboo and the oak, and crops that have made people rich, such as tea, coffee and sugar cane. Many plants have been used medicinally and others, for instance eucalyptus or giant redwoods, have come to epitomize entire landscapes. Some are the objects of obsession, including the tulip, the rose and the lotus, and some are distinctly strange, such as the world’s largest flower, rafflesia, which smells of rotting flesh! For anyone interested in the extraordinary beauty and diversity of flora around us, this stunning book, illustrated with botanical drawings, paintings and artworks will be an inspiration and a delight.

As we approach the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 2004, attention will inevitably turn to the nineteenth-century explorers who risked life and limb to interpret the natural history of the American West. Beginning with Meriwether Lewis and his discovery of the bitterroot, the goal of most explorers was not merely to find an adequate route to the Pacific, but also to comment on the state of the region's ecology and its suitability for agriculture, and, of course, to collect plant specimens. In this book, Williams follows the trail of over a dozen explorers who "botanized" the Rocky Mountains, and who, by the end of the nineteenth century, became increasingly convinced that the flora of the American West was distinctive. The sheer wonder of discover, which is not lost on Williams or his subjects, was best captured by botanist Edwin James in 1820 as he emerged above timberline in Colorado to come upon "a region of astonishing beauty."

Throughout history flowers have been an integral part of human survival and culture - as food, for medicine, to express feelings, as symbols, to commemorate and celebrate, and to decorate. Their shapes, colours, scents and textures have always attracted us, as they do animals and insects. Flowers are used as luxury spices (saffron), and as colouring and flavouring agents - marigolds fed to chickens make eggs more yellow and lavender was Elizabeth I's favourite flavour of jam. Flowers are full of symbolic meaning: violets represent modesty, daises purity and daffodils unrequited love. And they have always played an important role in culture through myths and legends, literature and the decorative arts. This delightful new book brings together 100 of the world's flowers to tell their remarkable stories. Each flower is richly illustrated in colour and accompanied by facts about each species and what role it has played in our culture and history.

This book provides an up-to-date overview of the various wood and tree fungi that damage trees, lumber, and timber. Special focus is given to identification, prevention, and remediation techniques, and the book bridges the gap between research and application. It covers the fundamentals of cytology and morphology.

There is a more practical section describing damage by viruses and bacteria on trees. The habitats of wood fungi are described as well as tree care. Important tree pathogens and wood decay fungi are characterized for prevention and identification. The final section focuses on the positive effects of wood-inhabiting microorganisms.

Winter, when plants are dormant and their leaves may have fallen, is a challenging time to identify woody flora. Designed especially for winter use and featuring almost six hundred illustrations, this taxonomic guide describes some nine hundred plant species by their twig, bud, and bark characteristics. All the trees, shrubs, and woody ground covers that grow without aid of cultivation in the Southeast are presented here in a single reference. Includes the following: native plants, as well as naturalized exotic species known to occur in at least two locations in the Southeast; geographical coverage from east Texas and northern Florida to southeastern Kansas and southern Delaware; spring or summer features of a plant in the absence of any reliable winter diagnostic features; a map of the guide's coverage area and nearly six hundred illustrations that show distinguishing characteristics of twigs and buds; a brief introduction to botanical terminology and the use of taxonomic keys, descriptions of various habitats and physiographic regions of the Southeast, a glossary, a list of references, and an index that includes common and scientific names

This is a tree book unlike any other. While trees have long been celebrated, their widespread admiration usually produces those field guides we all know, describing habitat, form, leaf and bark, meant to be carried with us as we wander the fields and woods, or, more rarely, those handsome books dedicated to arboreal beauty and character, such as those of Thomas Pakenham filled with fine photographs of extraordinary specimens. Absent from the literature of trees, however, is a survey of those that have been created by and exist only in the human imagination. These are the truly remarkable ones, including one that is the source of life, another the source of the knowledge of good and evil; some that have a human ancestry, others human characteristics; one that is soundless, another that speaks of the future, and still another that encompasses the entire world. That we cannot touch their bark, clasp their trunks or see their foliage and fruit only addes to their appeal, for they exist only in our minds.Gathered here are some of these extraordinary artifacts of the imagination produced, during man's long journey from the far past to the present, on the real trees that have sheltered and nourished us, physically and intellectually, enabled us to cross the oceans and both warmed and inspired us. That a mystical, atabistic bond exists between us and these aristocrats of the vegetable kingdom is evidenced whenever we stroll under a redwood or yew or enter a forest.This is a field in which you know more than you think you do. The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil are obvious examples. Mythology provides us with Yggdrasil, the Norse world tree and the arboreal metamorphoses described by Ovid. Other specimens have roots in literature, philosophy, history, and folklore, and, as befits a new guide to imaginary beings, there are several that have only just been discovered.

-- First field guide in 25 years to treat Florida's amazing variety of ferns
-- Color plates feature more than 200 images, some of which include rare species never before illustrated in color
-- Includes notes on each species' growth form and habit, as well as general remarks about its botanical and common names, unique characteristics, garden use, and history in Florida
-- All professional or amateur botanists, plant lovers, and gardeners will want this important book in their libraries

Hedgerows, moors, meadows and woods - these hold a veritable feast for the forager. In this hugely informative and witty handbook, John Wright reveals how to spot the free and delicious pickings to be found in the British countryside, and how to prepare and cook them. First John touches on the basics for the hedgerow forager, with an introduction to conservation, safety, the law, and all the equipment that you may need. Next he guides you through the tasty edible species to be found. Each one is accompanied by photographs for identification, along with their conservation status, habitat, distribution, season, taste, texture and cooking methods - not forgetting, of course, some fascinating asides and diversions about their taxonomy and history. Fifty species are covered, including bilberries, blackberries, raspberries, common mallow, dandelions, hedge garlic, horseradish, pignuts, nettles, sloes, sweet chestnuts, water mint, bulrushes and wild cherries. After this there is a section describing the poisonous species to steer clear of, with identifying photographs as well as warnings about nasty 'lookalikes'. Finally, there are thirty delicious recipes to show how you can make the most of your (edible) findings.Introduced by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, "Hedgerow" is an indispensable household reference, and an essential book to have by your side for every trip into the countryside.