Wildflowers Of Wisconsin

Bought this as a present for my wife who loves to go on the Wisconsin trails and photograph nature. Although it may also be great for an expert, it's perfect for a nature lover who wants to learn a little bit about Wisconsin's Wildflowers. The best thing about it is that it is useful as a field book...one page the photo...the opposite, a summary with some information about the flower...just enough to be interesting...not too much to overwhelm. Although I've read in earlier review that there may be a challenge with the binding being inadequate over time...it does not show signs of it yet (Even if it does later have problems, sounds like it could be easily fixed...and the benefit far outweighs this potential minor flaw) In my opinion the book should fetch far more money than it does!

I think that flower guides are harder to do than bird guides. Stan Tekiela does both. (size about 6" x 4") I really enjoy this book for a number of reasons, First, the flowers are divided into color tabbed pages, - Ah you just drove past a pretty purple flower, quick thumb to the purple tabbed pages, oh, look there it is. You can also look flowers up via the index. There is a great introduction in the front of the book, Wisonsin and Wildflowers, Strategies for Indentifying Wildflowers, using the icons in the book, flower cluster icons, flower type icons, leaf type icons, leaf attachment icons, fruit icons, season of bloom, life cycle/origin, habitats, range, stan's notes, native prairie plants, and "CAUTION". So for each of the wildflowers in Wisconsin, you will have a gorgeous full color photgraph, showing both flower and leaf, and fruit if applicible. The opposite page will have the common name and the scientific name (which incidentally is my only complaint - you can not look something up by scientific name) family, height, flower, leaf, fruit, bloom time, cycle/origin, habitat, range, Stan's notes, and along there bottom there may be a few corresponding icons. Now if you come across terms you are unsure of in the plant world there is also a nifty little glossary. I have had my guide for several years and I have not had the same issue another reviewer did about the glue, it is possible it was a bad printing of the guide. This guide is indespensible to me.

I really enjoyed using this book to identify wild flowers at the various State Parks I visited in Door County. I also went to the Ridges Sanctuary and one of the employees noticed I had this book and said it was the best book available. The fact that the flowers are organized by color really makes this book easy to use. I also visited Michigan and bought the Michigan book as well. I highly recommend this book!

This is an excellent reference book whether you are a serious plant-hound, or just someone out for a walk, wondering about "the pretty flowers". It has a great deal of information, sometimes almost too much for the casual observer, but the photos are great, making indentification very simple in most cases, and the facts on origins of many of the flowers are fascinating. Its small size makes carrying it in a pocket or pack very convenient, and the color coding makes finding a particular plant quick and easy.

I just loved this book. It is full of information on flowers you see every day along the road. A great teaching tool for children. We keep it in the car. The pictures are great and easy to identify