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Plants of the Rocky Mountains
Over 1300 species of trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, ferns, mosses and lichens are described and illustrated. Notes on origin of name, ecology, native uses, edibility and similar species are included, as are color-coded sections to allow for quick identification.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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July 15, 20173 stars.
I've consulted this more than enough times already, flipping through literally every page 75% of the time, that I can safely consider this "read."
This is a lovely, hardy guide, and is arranged by type of plant--trees, shrubs, flowers, aquatics, grasses, ferns, bryophytes, and lichens--and the families within, with dichotomous keys introducing each family's section. This is definitely set up for someone who knows at least some general plant anatomy terminology. And while there is a VERY helpful and extensive glossary in the back, with many helpful diagrams, showing what all the sections and parts of plants are called, it can still make it difficult to ID a plant from the descriptions if you don't know any of the terms. This is not the book for making quick, visual only identifications.
Unfortunately, the pictures are relatively small, and are many times blurry or simply encompass too much of the plant (or sometimes only a closeup is given, and no overall). There are only about half of the flower entries that show really good closeup of the flower itself, and never are they specific closeups of the leaves or other quirky features of the flowers (e.g. Salsify flowers are shown, but not their giant dandelion-like seed bud heads--a very distinguishing feature!). This may simply have been because of space constraints, as there are two entries on each page (except for the tree section). There are also no maps accompanying each flower/plan; while this book does cover a huge area and immense elevation changes, at least some sort of overall map or code would have been nice to, at a glance see where things live.
Because of the terminology and the many times shoddy photos, I ended up googling many of the flowers I came across, then looking them up in the book. Some species were sub-species of ones featured here, so they didn't have pictures, but there were others that I was simply baffled--how can the picture in the book be what I saw!? (Case in point, the wild bergamot pictures in the book look NOTHING like the flowers I see abundant in the fields this time of year).
Despite my annoyances with it, it has been quite useful and the margins are chock full of Post-It markers. The extensive notes about native uses for most of the plants is always interesting to read; I love guidebooks that include this type of info. If you're willing to do some extra research (or would do so anyway), this can definitely be an indispensable book, as the info about habitats, size, and the notes are very worthwhile. But if you're looking more for a book that can be used for visually identifying plants, with not as much extensive info, I would look elsewhere.
(Wildflowers of Colorado is an excellent website, full of photos for the more visually inclined identifiers. Wildflowers West is a decent searchable database.)
I've consulted this more than enough times already, flipping through literally every page 75% of the time, that I can safely consider this "read."
This is a lovely, hardy guide, and is arranged by type of plant--trees, shrubs, flowers, aquatics, grasses, ferns, bryophytes, and lichens--and the families within, with dichotomous keys introducing each family's section. This is definitely set up for someone who knows at least some general plant anatomy terminology. And while there is a VERY helpful and extensive glossary in the back, with many helpful diagrams, showing what all the sections and parts of plants are called, it can still make it difficult to ID a plant from the descriptions if you don't know any of the terms. This is not the book for making quick, visual only identifications.
Unfortunately, the pictures are relatively small, and are many times blurry or simply encompass too much of the plant (or sometimes only a closeup is given, and no overall). There are only about half of the flower entries that show really good closeup of the flower itself, and never are they specific closeups of the leaves or other quirky features of the flowers (e.g. Salsify flowers are shown, but not their giant dandelion-like seed bud heads--a very distinguishing feature!). This may simply have been because of space constraints, as there are two entries on each page (except for the tree section). There are also no maps accompanying each flower/plan; while this book does cover a huge area and immense elevation changes, at least some sort of overall map or code would have been nice to, at a glance see where things live.
Because of the terminology and the many times shoddy photos, I ended up googling many of the flowers I came across, then looking them up in the book. Some species were sub-species of ones featured here, so they didn't have pictures, but there were others that I was simply baffled--how can the picture in the book be what I saw!? (Case in point, the wild bergamot pictures in the book look NOTHING like the flowers I see abundant in the fields this time of year).
Despite my annoyances with it, it has been quite useful and the margins are chock full of Post-It markers. The extensive notes about native uses for most of the plants is always interesting to read; I love guidebooks that include this type of info. If you're willing to do some extra research (or would do so anyway), this can definitely be an indispensable book, as the info about habitats, size, and the notes are very worthwhile. But if you're looking more for a book that can be used for visually identifying plants, with not as much extensive info, I would look elsewhere.
(Wildflowers of Colorado is an excellent website, full of photos for the more visually inclined identifiers. Wildflowers West is a decent searchable database.)
November 26, 2008
I LOVE this guide. Definitely my favorite so far. The Lone Pine guides have not disappointed me.
September 30, 2009
This book is 4.5 stars, unfortunately that's not a choice here. This is a very useful guide -- for me the amount of detail was just right, and it gained a star from the addition of an ethnobotanical section. My only issues: 1) the plant listings are incomplete and the photos are often not good for identification (like trees with leaf closeups but no overall form, or vice versa; which would be fine for a small book to take hiking. However, 2) the book is a little too big to carry everywhere. I wish it were either more complete or less large.
That said, this is the best native plant guide to the Rocky Mountains I've found. The discussion of biomes from north to south is very helpful.
That said, this is the best native plant guide to the Rocky Mountains I've found. The discussion of biomes from north to south is very helpful.
January 26, 2016
I bought this book when I was doing unrelated research in Wyoming and wanted to identify the native plants of the region where I visited. A similar book by Pojar (one of the authors for Plants of the Rocky Mountains) for NW natives has been my #1 field guide back home. I wasn't disappointed by this one either. When I took a break from my research I took this field guide and camera and explored the region's wildflowers.
November 10, 2007
I carried this book with me everywhere on our trip this summer and Gordon can attest to me whipping it out at the sight of any slightly interesting looking flower. Often it had what I was looking for, but it often didn't. I feel like it was abridged. I guess I should just appreciate the pretty pictures and bring Lesica next time.
July 30, 2010
This is a GREAT book. I love taking it camping and identifying different wildflowers and plants with my kids. We can find the name of the plant by searching for the picture of the plant or flower in the book. Then we can read about its characteristics, whether or not it is edible, and much more. I have learned so much about the native plants in my area and in our favorite camp spots.
January 18, 2016
This is a fairly extensive guide that covers trees, shrubs, wildflowers, aquatics, grass-like plants, ferns & allies, brophytes and lichens of the Rocky Mountains. Obviously, given this large scope, it only includes the most common species of each group. I used this guide to help identify one of my favorite trip flowers: the beautiful yellow Glacier Lily (Erythronium grandiflorum).
July 29, 2013
Super good plant guide! Love that is gives some uses of the plants, history, and is user friendly. I'll for sure be purchasing this one.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews