Plants Identification Written Resources

Welcome to the Written Resources area for Plants Identification. For onine resources, see Plants Identification Resources. Feel free to check out the links, and add your comments or submit your own link suggestions by clicking the button on the right and discussing them on the Plants: Identification forum.

Written Resources
(For online resources, see
Plants Identification Online Resources)

Botany in a Day - The Patterns Method of Plant Identification
Thomas J. Elpel / HOPS Press, LLC
A herbal field guide to plant families of North America; learn to identify herbal plants based on plant family characteristics.

Link location Botany in a Day (APG): The Patterns Method of Plant Identification.
Submitted by togata57
Submitted date 8 Jul 2014; last confirmed 11 May 2017

Che Fiori è Questo?
By Margot Spohn, Roland Spohn, Dietmar Aichele, Marianne Golte-Bechtle; published by Franco Muzzio editore, 2012

Bulky field guide with Italian text. Identifies over 870 plants, with the breakdown by flower color and more than 1800 realistic colour illustrations.. New to this Edition: main hallmarks reported on the design of the plant; indication of similar species and what they observe to distinguish them; over 800 additional illustrations with details of flowers, leaves, fruits and roots. Extras: trees, shrubs and herbs.

Link location Che fiore è questo?
Submitted by duffy
Submitted date 21 Apr 2017; last confirmed 11 May 2017

Flores Silvestres de San Miguel de Allende
By Richard Cretcher; published by R&D Publishing for Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden (2006)
Pocket guide paperback to the wildflowers of San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico. The guide features a large number of local species in bloom, the majority of which can be found in the nature reserve of the Charco. The book is generally only available at the garden and bookstores in the town, but at least one copy has showed up on Amazon.
A visitor has posted 40 photos based on IDs made using the book: Flores Silvestres de San Miguel de Allende by Al (Alfred) Toth

Link location Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden
Submitted by http://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/members/daniel-mosquin.1/
Submitted date 6 Nov 2017; last confirmed 18 Nov 2017

Flowers of Crete
By John Fielding (Author), Nicolas Turland (Author), published by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; UK ed. edition (Jan. 15 2008), 672 pages.
Hardcover book covering over 800 plant species, and with more than 1900 colour photographs.

Link location Flowers of Crete
Submitted by Ron B
Submitted date 17 Jan 2019; last confirmed 2 Feb 2019

North American Landscape Trees
By Arthur Lee Jacobson, published by Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, 1996, 744 pages. From a review on Amazon: A-Z tree listings make up the bulk of the book; 72 families and 3,540 cultivars are described. Family entries note place of origin, date introduced into cultivation, history and meaning of scientific and common names, how common the tree is or was, trends in the tree's popularity, description of its appearance (including reported maximum size), and any remarkable facts. Out of print, but available on Amazon.

Link location North American Landscape Trees by Arthur Lee Jacobson
Submitted by Ron B
Submitted date 20 Oct 2019; last confirmed 20 Oct 2019

Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast
This book (Pojar, Jim and Andy MacKinnon, Lone Pine Publishing, Vancouver, 1994, paperback, 528 pp) gets several mentions and recommendations on our forums.

Link location https://lonepinebooks.com/product/plants-of-the-pacific-northwest-coast-6/
Submitted by wcutler
Submitted date 2020 Jul 20; last confirmed 2020 Jul 20

Wild Flowers of Crete
By Vangelis Papiomytoglou, published by Mediterraneo Editions, 2006, softback, 204 pages.
Recommended as ideal for carrying in the field.

Link location for Greek language edition: https://www.mediterraneo.gr/αγριολούλουδα-της-κρήτης-b-details.aspx; a few are available in English at https://www.amazon.ca/Wild-Flowers-of-Crete/dp/9608227771
Submitted by Fidel
Submitted date 4 Feb 2019; last confirmed 8 Feb 2019

Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean
By Marjorie Blamey (Illustrator), Christopher Grey-Wilson (Author); published by A & C Black, 2015 (reprint of 2008 edition)

Field guide to the flowers, fruit trees, grasses and ferns found in the countries bordering the Mediterranean, with 2700 coloured flowers. Originally hand painted, beautifully done and with 560 pp. Not very expensive £ 17,00.

Link location Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean
Submitted by duffy
Submitted date 21 Apr 2017; last confirmed Apr 2017