Desert wildflowers of North America /

The region treated here is really the western US, including the Great Basin, Mojave and Painted deserts, and the northern portions of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. Taylor covers many of the most common plants, including a few grasses, ferns, and even a palm. Like his previous guide, Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (CH, Jun`93), the plants are arranged alphabetically by common family name, then alphabetically by scientific name within the family. Color photos are on the right-hand page, descriptions on the left. Photo quality and reproduction are excellent, and there is little duplication of species between the two books. In addition to descriptions, the text often contains ecological, edibility, and distribution information, and notes about similar species. Those plants considered dominants in the various desert communities are noted with a symbol and are the only ones with species range maps. The introduction includes environmental/ecological information and a series of good, short descriptions of each desert type. A dozen pages of plant anatomy illustrations and a glossary accompany a fairly technical key to the plant families. Index of scientific and common names. General readers; undergraduates through professionals. G. D. Dreyer; Connecticut College