A Peterson Field Guide To Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-central North America (Peterson Field Guides)

I especially like the Peterson Field Guide Series (A Field Guide to Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-central North America) for its ease of use!With most other guides you need to know many things about the plant/flower BEFORE you can ID it. And, for several of the most popular (Newcombs, especially) you really first must learn to use the key or just page thru the book and hope you find your flower/plant. Because Newcomb's uses a series of keys, some people who have never tried to ID a flower may have problems. Although the key in Newcombs isn't really that hard to understand, I still find that the Peterson guide is just plain easier to use at home or in the field. I carry a copy in my vehicle with my other field guides.With this book, if the flower is blooming you ID by flower color. Yes, an 8 year old can easily use it. The I've used nearly all of the Wildflower guides but this one is the best in my opinion, was my first wildflower guide and it will always be my favorite. I've gone thru 3 copies of it since 1962.This guide has really well written descriptions of each plant and the important subtle differences between species are explained and pointed out, with arrows and text for each of the drawings. This book has more illustrations than the Newcomb's book, and the easy to use highlighted habitat/range descriptions also help in quickly figuring out a plant's ID. The black and white drawings are very easy to use- you already know the flower color, and line drawings show key characteristics very precisely. What's important is that you know the color of the flower if it's blooming and the shape of the leaf. The flowers are organized by color and also by family so with a minimum of experience it's just plain easy to make an ID.

This book has been the one I most frequently use for field identification during my wildflower hikes. It is a compact book that fits easily in a camera bag or backpack. It is also easy to use. The major sections of the book are based on flower color. Within these sections, flowers are grouped according to number of petals, or the form of the flower or the flower cluster. Most species are represented by detailed drawings, some in color. There are no photographs or maps. The advantage of the botanical drawings instead of the photograph is that the drawing often represents the key characteristics better than a photograph. The description lists these features and arrows on the drawing point them out. The range and blooming time of the plant is included in the description. Identification is made by the most frequently used common name and the scientific name. Family names are also given for each species. At the beginning of the book there are definitions of important botanical terms and a list of the major characteristics of each family. There is an index of common and scientific names. Despite its ease of use, the book has some disadvantages. Mr. Peterson passed away in 1996 so updated editions are unlikely. There have been, since then, some changes in scientific names and family assignment. This is particularly true among the Asters. Also, there is little additional information about the plants beyond the identifying features, but this can be looked up in other sources. In general I have found the book accurate and as comprehensive as a small volume can be. I like that alien species are included with the native species.

We say this book at a local arboretum gift shop and thought it would be very useful since we like to hike and sometimes come across wildflowers that we can’t readily identify. I didn’t buy it at the time and regretted it, so I searched online for it and ordered it. It’s a very nice book and very informative. The sections in the book are divided by color, which makes it easier to find a particular flower. There is lots of color pictures, black and white drawings, and descriptions of each flower along with bloom times and locations. I highly recommend this handy book.

Excellent information, wonderful book, arrived quickly in perfect condition.

Happy with this Field guide of North American wildflowers. I had a beat up older edition. This is very easy to use with great illustrations.

I found this book to be more comprehensive than the comparable Wildflower Guide from the Audubon Society. This book shows more complete drawings of the plant (not just the flowering portion). However, this book does not contain photographs and instead contains artistic representations (black and white line drawings with occassional colored drawings). Additionally, some plants are not catagorized under what I would say is the correct color section... i.e. Western Ironweed has *PURPLE* flowers, but is found in the *PINK* section. I find this book difficult to use for identifying an unknown species. It is most useful to me in identifying the variety when you have some idea of the species. When comparing this book against the one from the Audubon Society, I prefer this one simply because this book shows more of a complete image of the entire plant. This book has limited usefullness for me, but I'm giving it an average rating because I haven't found anything better yet.

Sorry to give this great book only 3 stars. I didn't realize it would be so dated, with most sketches only black and white. Of course, Peterson's drawings are second to none, as he is the best. I have wound up ordering the Audubon, as it's more updated with colour photos, which I find better at identifying them. Black and white just doesn't capture some subtle colouring of the entire plant and flowers. I think it will be a great second reference book. Still can't beat Peterson for birds, of course. Anyway, get outside and enjoy the flora and fauna!!!

I used a copy of this book for 35+ years, then lost it on a trail. Couldn't find it anywhere...But good oleamazon had it. Yay! It's the bible of books for wildflowers!

great field guide for anyone with an interest in wildflowers. very detailed with a huge variety of flowers. I live in southern Ontario and this book has helped me identify a lot of flowers.

Wish the whole book was colour, and that they had more information about each, but overall the book has a lot of content. Its organized based on colour, which is nice.

Beautiful field guide based on colour.