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Books > Sport & Leisure > Natural history, country life & pets > Plant life: general
California is one of the most ecologically rich and diverse regions of North America, and home to hundreds of species of mushrooms. In California Mushrooms, mycologist experts Dennis Desjardin, Michael Wood, and Fred Stevens provide over 1100 species profiles, including comprehensive descriptions and spectacular photographs of 650 species. Each profile includes information on macro- and micromorphology, habitat, edibility, and comparisons with closely related species and potential look-alikes.Although the focus of the book is on mushrooms of California, over 90% of the species treated occur elsewhere, making the book useful throughout western North America. California Mushrooms also provides information on when and where to find mushrooms; guidelines on how to collect and identify mushrooms; keys to species; and overviews of nomenclature and taxonomy, morphology and phylogeny, fungal ecology, biology of mushrooms, and mushroom toxins. This complete reference covers everything necessary for the mushroom hunter to accurately identify over 650 species.
Lawrence Newcomb's system of identification on wild flowers is based on natural structural features that are easily visible to the untrained eye and enables amateurs and experts to identify almost any wildflower quickly and accurately.
The only comprehensive photographic guide to the ferns, clubmosses, quillworts and horsetails of Britain This is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated and user-friendly photographic identification guide to the fifty-seven ferns and seventeen other pteridophytes that occur in Britain. It is the perfect companion for botanists, naturalists, professional ecologists and anyone else with an interest in this fascinating group of non-flowering vascular plants. Designed to appeal to beginners and experts alike, this authoritative book includes novel identification keys and comparison tables that have been carefully devised to present only essential, easily understood technical terms and descriptions, avoiding jargon as much as possible. Cross-referenced throughout to facilitate the comparison of similar species, this definitive field guide is the go-to source for identifying these species with confidence. Features hundreds of stunning colour photographs Comprehensive coverage of Britain's 57 species of ferns, 6 clubmosses, 3 quillworts and 8 horsetails Includes novel, easy-to-use, jargon-free identification keys and comparison tables Beautifully designed, user-friendly and accessible
Sasol Eerste Veldgids tot Bome van Suider-Afrika bied ’n fassinerende blik op die bome van die subkontinent. Met behulp van volkleurfoto's en verspreidingskaarte, asook maklik leesbare teks, sal die beginner en ontluikende natuurliefhebber die meer algemene bome in Suider-Afrika kan identifiseer, kan vasstel waar hulle groei, en meer te wete kom oor hul unieke eienskappe.
A full-color illustrated guide to the natural history of plants with medicinal properties Of the nearly 400,000 plants that have evolved on Earth, around seven percent of them have been used in traditional herbal medicine or as local remedies. More recently, scientific studies have revealed how plants may be sources of important medicines, often in the form of single isolated compounds. Plants That Cure explores these critical compounds and the plants that produce them. This richly illustrated book, filled with color photographs and diagrams, is organized by body system, which feeds into a discussion of the compounds and plants employed for particular conditions, including heart and circulatory problems, fatigue and dementia, nausea and indigestion, respiratory infections, arthritis and joint movement, eye conditions, reproductive issues, and types of cancer. This detailed book examines the mechanisms of action for these plants and also explains how some of their chemical compounds contribute to the functioning and survival of the plants themselves. Essential for herbalists, botanists, and anyone interested in natural remedies and drug discovery, Plants That Cure is the indispensable resource for understanding how medicinal plants work. Provides an authoritative natural history of the most important medicinal plants Features hundreds of color photos and illustrations Explores the roles of plants in different systems of traditional medicine throughout the world Looks at specific body systems and the phytochemical compounds used to treat or alleviate systemic conditions, from heart ailments and respiratory infections to reproductive issues
"The best wine book I read this year was not about wine. It was about cider"--Eric Asimov, New York Times, on Uncultivated Today, food is being reconsidered. It’s a front-and-center topic in everything from politics to art, from science to economics. We know now that leaving food to government and industry specialists was one of the twentieth century’s greatest mistakes. The question is where do we go from here.  Author Andy Brennan describes uncultivation as a process: It involves exploring the wild; recognizing that much of nature is omitted from our conventional ways of seeing and doing things (our cultivations); and realizing the advantages to embracing what we’ve somehow forgotten or ignored. For most of us this process can be difficult, like swimming against the strong current of our modern culture. The hero of this book is the wild apple. Uncultivated follows Brennan’s twenty-four-year history with naturalized trees and shows how they have guided him toward successes in agriculture, in the art of cider making, and in creating a small-farm business. The book contains useful information relevant to those particular fields, but is designed to connect the wild to a far greater audience, skillfully blending cultural criticism with a food activist’s agenda. Apples rank among the most manipulated crops in the world, because not only do farmers want perfect fruit, they also assume the health of the tree depends on human intervention. Yet wild trees live all around us, and left to their own devices, they achieve different forms of success that modernity fails to apprehend. Andy Brennan learned of the health and taste advantages of such trees, and by emulating nature in his orchard (and in his cider) he has also enjoyed environmental and financial benefits. None of this would be possible by following today’s prevailing winds of apple cultivation.  In all fields, our cultural perspective is limited by a parallel proclivity. It’s not just agriculture: we all must fight tendencies toward specialization, efficiency, linear thought, and predetermined growth. We have cultivated those tendencies at the exclusion of nature’s full range. If Uncultivated is about faith in nature, and the power it has to deliver us from our own mistakes, then wild apple trees have already shown us the way.Â
For over a decade, artist Jimmy Fike traveled across the continental United States in an epic effort to photograph wild edible flora. Edible Plants is the culmination of that journey, featuring over 100 photographs that Fike has selectively colorized to highlight the comestible part of the plant. While the images initially appear to be scientific illustrations or photograms from the dawn of photography when plants were placed directly on sensitized paper and exposed under the sun, a closer look reveals, according to Liesl Bradner of the Los Angeles Times, "haunting [and] eerily beautiful" photographs. Beyond instilling wonder, Fike's contemporary, place-based approach to landscape photography emphasizes our relationship to the natural world, reveals food sources, and encourages environmental stewardship. His clever and beautiful method makes it easy to identify both the specimen and its edible parts and includes detailed descriptions about the plant's wider purposes as food and medicine. Sumptuously illustrated and delightfully informative, Edible Plants is the perfect gift for anyone curious about unlocking the secrets of native North American plants.
Plan your landscape or garden with more than 100 native plants that benefit Northeastern birds, bees, and butterflies. The presence of birds, bees, and butterflies suggests a healthy, earth-friendly place. These most welcome guests also bring joy to those who appreciate watching them. Now, you can turn your yard into a perfect habitat that attracts them and, more importantly, helps them thrive. Acclaimed author and expert entomologist Jaret C. Daniels provides all the information you need in this must-have guide for Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Learn how to landscape and create pollinator gardens with native plants. The book begins with an in-depth introduction to native pollinators and to birds. It's followed by a "field guide" section to more than 100 native plants that are widely available to utilize, are easy to care for, and provide great benefit to birds, bees, and butterflies. The species are organized by level of sunlight needed and then by plant types. Each species includes full-color photographs and information about hardiness zones, what they are most likely to attract, soil requirements, light levels, and Jaret's notes. As an added bonus, you'll make use of blooming charts, tips on attracting specific species, and more! Plus, the invaluable garden plans and projects show you just what to do and can be customized to suit your own specific interests. Plan, plant, and grow your beautiful garden, with native plants that benefit your favorite creatures to watch and enjoy.
How do you record the wildlife in a wood? This book explains ways to record the flora and fauna found in woodland and outlines the sources you can use to find out more about the history and management of an area. Whether you have just a few hours, or a few years, there are examples that you can follow to find out more about this important habitat. Woods include some of the richest terrestrial wildlife sites in Britain, but some are under threat and many are neglected, such that they are not as rich as they might be. If we are to protect them or increase their diversity we need first to know what species they contain, how they have come to be as they are, to understand how they fit into the wider landscape. Conservation surveys are the bedrock on which subsequent protection and management action is based. There is not one method that will be right for all situations and needs, so the methods discussed range from what one can find out online, to what can be seen on a general walk round a wood, to the insights that can come from more detailed survey and monitoring approaches. Fast-evolving techniques such as eDNA surveys and the use of LiDAR are touched on.
Ever since the first human settlements 10,000 years ago, weeds have dogged our footsteps. They are there as the punishment of 'thorns and thistles' in Genesis and , two millennia later, as a symbol of Flanders Field. They are civilisations' familiars, invading farmland and building-sites, war-zones and flower-beds across the globe. Yet living so intimately with us, they have been a blessing too. Weeds were the first crops, the first medicines. Burdock was the inspiration for Velcro. Cow parsley has become the fashionable adornment of Spring weddings. Weaving together the insights of botanists, gardeners, artists and poets with his own life-long fascination, Richard Mabey examines how we have tried to define them, explain their persistence, and draw moral lessons from them. One persons weed is another's wild beauty.
Tropical Plants of Costa Rica is the essential guide to Costa Rica's native and exotic plant species. In this comprehensive volume, Willow Zuchowski introduces readers to an array of the country's dazzling and diverse flora-from rainforest giants over sixty meters in height to miniature orchids with petals that measure less than one millimeter in length. Covering almost 600 species from all of Costa Rica's regions, Tropical Plants of Costa Rica includes 820 photographs and 120 black-and-white illustrations to aid in the identification of these plants. Detailed species accounts offer descriptions of the plants as well as a rich trove of information about their natural history, distribution, conservation status, potential medicinal uses, and role in human societies. This second edition-in a more compact size for easier use in the field-adds more than 100 species along with a new section focusing on the Osa Peninsula, many new photographs, and updates on scientific names. The only book on the flora of the country intended for serious and casual plant enthusiasts alike, Tropical Plants of Costa Rica is an indispensable resource for the visitor, gardener, student, and researcher.
Hierdie omvattend uitgebreide, hersiene uitgawe van die beste verkoper onder boom-veldgidse vir die streek bied veel meer as die hoogs suksesvolle eerste uitgawe. Volledig bygewerkte teks (insluitend bykomende spesie-inskrywings) en verspreidingskaarte, talle nuwe foto’s en ’n nuwe seksie van 87 bladsye met foto’s van die hele boom maak dié gewilde gids nog meer noodsaaklik in die veld. Suider-Afrika het ’n ryk verskeidenheid bome, met sowat 2 100 inheemse en meer as 100 genaturaliseerde uitheemse spesies. Veldgids tot Bome van Suider-Afrika beskryf en illustreer meer as 1 000 hiervan, met die klem op die algemeenste bome en dié wat waarskynlik die meeste teëgekom word. Spesies is op grond van maklik waarneembare blaar- en stingelkenmerke logies in 43 groepe gerangskik, elke inskrywing met volkleurfoto’s van die diagnostiese dele van die plant. Praktiese gebruike van die plante word ook genoem.
A much-loved classic of nature writing from environmentalist and the author of Waterlog, Roger Deakin, Wildwood is an exploration of the element wood in nature, our culture and our lives. 'Breathtaking, vividly written . . . reading Wildwood is an elegiac experience' Sunday Times 'He writes nature as a blackbird sings, or a bird of prey rides thermals - effortlessly.' Reader Review ________________ From the walnut tree at his Suffolk home, he embarks upon a quest that takes him through Britain, across Europe, to Central Asia and Australia, in search of what lies behind man's profound and enduring connection with wood and trees. Meeting woodlanders of all kinds, he lives in shacks and cabins, travels in search of the wild apple groves of Kazakhstan, goes coppicing in Suffolk, swims beneath the walnut trees of the Haut-Languedoc, and hunts bush plums with Aboriginal women in the outback. Perfect for fans of Robert Macfarlane and Colin Tudge, Roger Deakin's unmatched exploration of our relationship with trees is autobiography, history, traveller's tale and incisive work in natural history. It will take you into the heart of the woods, where we go 'to grow, learn and change. ________________ 'Enthralling' Will Self, New Statesman 'Extraordinary . . . some of the finest naturalist writing for many years' Independent 'An excellent read - lyrical and literate and full of social and historical insights of all kinds' Colin Tudge, Financial Times 'Enchanting, very funny, every page carries a fascinating nugget. Should serve to make us appreciate more keenly all that we have here on earth . . . one of the greatest of all nature writers' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday
Trees are one of Earth's oldest life forms; silent witnesses to human evolution and the passing of time. Many people today are unaware of their significance in Earth's ecology, their medicinal and nutritional properties, or the veneration bestowed on them by ancient peoples. This book captures all these elements in an inspiring holistic appraisal. Hageneder looks in detail at 24 of Europe and North America's best-loved trees: their physical characteristics, their healing powers, the traditions associated with them and how they have inspired human beings through the ages. Beautifully illustrated with black and white photographs and illustrations.
This handy identification guide to the plants that cause billions of dollars annually in crop loss and control measures includes information on:
Sacred Nature Oracle is a stunning photographic deck that allows you to awaken to a place of sacred sanctuary and become one with nature, opening yourself to the powerful healing energy of traditional plant wisdom. Awaken to a place of sacred sanctuary and become one with nature, opening yourself to the powerful healing energy of traditional plant wisdom. Nurture your body, mind, and soul through a lavishly photographed oracle deck to help you discover how medicinal plants can provide deep guidance, inspiration, and wellness. Sacred Nature Oracle represents sixty-two plants commonly found in the Pacific Northwest and Mexico and is perfect for oracle card novices as well as seasoned botanical aficionados and everyone in between. Enter into a world of natural magic, embrace the beauty that surrounds you, and experience these incredible plants through new eyes. Each oracle card displays an elegant, sepia-toned photograph of a different plant spirit or messenger, modeled by men, women, and children communing with a different plant, which can guide users to calm themselves and find healing within. Sacred Nature reminds us that humans are interconnected with nature, with life all around us, and if we choose to listen and be open to it, we can receive valuable healing wisdom from our Mother Earth.
Learn to identify Minnesota trees with this handy field guide, organized by leaf type and attachment. With this famous field guide by award-winning author and naturalist Stan Tekiela, you can make tree identification simple, informative, and productive. There's no need to look through dozens of photos of trees that don't grow in Minnesota. Learn about 93 species found in the state, organized by leaf type and attachment. Just look at a tree's leaves, then go to the correct section to learn what it is. Fact-filled information contains the particulars that you want to know, while full-page photographs provide the visual detail needed for accurate identification. Book Features 93 species: Every native tree plus common non-natives Easy to use: Thumb tabs show leaf type and attachment Compare feature: Decide between look-alikes Stan's Notes: Naturalist tidbits and facts Professional photos: Crisp, stunning full-page images This new edition includes updated photographs; expanded information; a Quick Compare section for leaves, needles, and silhouettes; and even more of Stan's expert insights. So grab Trees of Minnesota Field Guide for your next outing-to help ensure that you positively identify the trees that you see.
Let the art of nature and the magical kingdom of mushrooms inspire your own observations and writing with this beautiful softcover notebook. GREAT SIZE TO TAKE ON THE GO: With a 6" x 8" size, these portable notebooks are perfect use at home, school, the office, or on the go. INCLUDES 240 PAGES: Featuring collage art by Amy Ross, this high-quality notebook has plenty of space for you to collect your thoughts.
Some wild edible plants have poisonous look-alikes, and it is important to know the difference when harvesting. Edible Wild Plants is a simplified guide to familiar and widespread species of edible berries, nuts, leaves and roots found in North America. This beautifully illustrated guide identifies over 100 familiar species and includes information on how to harvest their edible parts. It also includes a section on dangerous poisonous plants to avoid that have contact poisons that can blister skin. This convenient guide is an ideal, portable source of practical information and ideal for field use. Made in the USA.
An enticing illustrated look at pollination, one of the most astonishing marvels of the natural world Pollination is essential to the survival of most plants on Earth. Some plants rely on the wind to transport pollen from one flower to another. Others employ an array of ingenious strategies to attract and exploit pollinators, whether they be insects, birds, or mammals. This beautifully illustrated book provides an unprecedented look at the wonders of pollination biology, drawing on the latest science to explain the extraordinarily complex relationship between plant and pollinator, and revealing why pollination is vital for healthy ecosystems and a healthy planet. Timothy Walker offers an engaging introduction to pollination biology and explores the many different tactics of plant reproduction. He shows how wind and water can be effective yet wildly unpredictable means of pollination, and describes the intimate interactions of pollinating plants with bees and butterflies, beetles and birds, and lizards and bats. Walker explores how plants entice pollinators using scents, colors, and shapes, and how plants rely on rewards as well as trickery to attract animals. He sheds light on the important role of pollination in ecology, evolution, and agriculture, and discusses why habitat management, species recovery programs, and other conservation efforts are more critical now than ever. Featuring hundreds of color photos and illustrations, Pollination is suitable for undergraduate study and is an essential resource for naturalists, horticulturalists, and backyard gardeners.
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