Rocky Mountain Flora: A Field Guide for the Identification of the Ferns, Conifers, and Flowering Plants of the Southern Rocky Mountains (0870810685)
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> Rocky Mountain Flora: A Field Guide for the Identification of the Ferns, Conifers, and Flowering Plants of the Southern Rocky Mountains (0870810685)
The Front Range of Colorado is one of America's most famous and spectacular summer playgrounds. Thousands of people from all over the nation visit our Rocky Mountains each year to enjoy the scenery and the many types of recreational activities which the region provides. Not among the least of the scenic attractions to be found here are the lavish displays of wild flowers in the mountain meadows and alpine heights, the vast expanses of cool, green forested lands, the brilliant splashes of autumn color of our aspens and sumacs, and the endless rolling grasslands of the eastern plains. There are very few places in the United States where so many types of vegetation are crowded into such a relatively small area, and where in the space of a few minutes time one may alternately bake in the climate of the desert, and shiver in the climate of the far north. Learning to recognize the plants is a first, faltering step toward understanding a flora. Endless vistas of opportunity to study emerge as one becomes aware that we really know little about our flora beyond the identity of the species. Their life histories, uses, migrations, significance to aboriginal cultures, and so on, are largely uncharted. Amateurs can find much satisfaction and may make real contributions to science by delving deeply into some small area of the field. In Great Britain and elsewhere the amateur has always been the forefront of biological science. Darwin and Mendel were distinguished amateurs. More Americans should join their company.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
A compact S. Rocky Mountain field guide with botanical keys This is a compact book, though it is fairly inclusive. This book had most of the plants I saw in my Rocky Mountain travels and the keys worked reliably well. There are no species descriptions, so when you key it down to the species, you are left there in the key, with no further information. I guess this helps keep the size and weight of the book down, but then I need to carry other field guides to flush out the species information. There are a few helpful well-wrought black and white illustrations as well... more info
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