Michigan Trees: A Guide to the Trees of the Great Lakes Region

The title of this book says it all. If you want to find any tree in this state here is the book for you. The key to finding which tree species you are looking at is quite detailed and precise, so be sure to read the "how to use this book" section for all the terms. The book arrived in pristine condition, and in a timely manner. I would positively order from this book dealer again.

Michigan Trees was chosen by our Prof down here in New Jersey as the field manual for our work with trees in the lab - class of Theoretical and Field Biology. Of the wide range of species discussed and skillfully illustrated in the text, very few are native to Michigan and not to New Jersey. Although the volume is soft - cover, the outer is a durable and pliable synthesis of plastic and paper that makes this rich resource particularly suitable for field work.

I have been identifying trees since childhood, and have found this book quite useful. It is applicable not only to Michigan, but also to surrounding states (I live in Illinois). The front of the book includes a summary of basic leaf anatomy. It includes sketches of leaf shapes and leaf margins. There is also a diagram of oak leaves as related to their immediate environment of growth (swampy, etc.). A sketch of inflorescent types is also provided. The remainder of the book is primarily a key to tree identification. Two pages are devoted to each tree. The left open page is a description of a particular kind of tree. A moderate level of knowledge of botanical terminology is needed to fully comprehend it. The right (facing) open page contains diagrams (not photos) of leaf shapes, flowers, seeds, etc. for the tree being identified.

This is a great book both for identification and for planning which trees to plant in your yard. For each tree, not only its size, but also shade tolerance, growth rate, moisture requirements, preferred habitat & other trees that share its habitat are listed. A second book is planned to cover the shrubs & vines, which I am looking forward to. The final chapters cover aspects of the Michigan climate including the different types of plant communities, vegetation history of Michigan from the glaciers to the present day, length of growing season for different areas, and average temperature & precipitation.

The new edition of Michigan Trees has lots of goodies--including colorized maps of serficial geology and vegetation communities, new species, and information about chromosome numbers for each species. However, the information about shrubs is gone (presumably to be put into a separate volume?), which detracts (slightly) from the book. However, it is still the best guide to trees in the Great Lakes region because of its beautiful line drawings, copious information about habitats, and plethora of identification characters.