Winter Botany

by William Trelease

Book Overview

The landscape of winter may seem to offer less of interest to the botanist than to other naturalists. But William Trelease shows in this work that woody plants can be identified to their dormant state, sometimes more easily than when they are green and flowering. Trelease's manual studies hardy native species, some escapes, and some economic plants of the Northern United States, with some typical Southern species included. The author shows how to identify over 1,000 winter species of vines, shrubs, and tress (including ginkgo, bald cypress, poplar, hickory, eucalyptus, laurel, bramble, grape vine, rhododendron, privet, rosemary, rose, etc.) by examining twigs, bark, buds, leaf scars, berries, and other characteristics. An excellent key is provided, and for each species there are drawings of the particular identifying characteristics. Whether you are a nature enthusiast not yet skilled in plant identification, or an experienced student of botany, this book will satisfy your need for a field guide and reference work.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486218007
• ISBN13: 9780486218007
• Release Date: December 2011
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Identify trees in winter? Impossible, not with this.

A lot of people find it near impossible to ID trees in winter. Ok, some have distinctive bark, or shape, but then there's the whole realm of trees out there that are just near impossible to identify without leaves. This really help work your way through tree taxonomy.

good but older key, coniferous evergreens missing

I'm a gardener at a botanical garden, but I have no formal training in botany, so take my remarks accordingly. I've found this book useful, although the key sequence is longer than the other two keys I use regularly. The book uses line drawings, which for buds & leaf scars actually works pretty well. The keys use quite a bit of plant science terminology- most of it is covered in the glossary at the end of the book. The biggest disappointment for me was the exclusion of coniferous evergreens from the book. On a day to day basis, I used another book "Fruit & Twig Key to Trees & Shrubs" more often, but this one covers more species.