>Of the guide books you listed, which do you find most helpful in
>identifying wild plants properly (always a concern!)?
Corby,
The best book all around, and written for an enthusiast or beginner alike,
is Peterson's Field Guide, Wild Edible Plants. It's written by Lee Allen
Peterson, the son of Roger Tory Peterson, and is probably the best in the
whole Peterson Field Guide Series. But there aren't many photographs,
mostly drawings (which actually are better than photographs).
But it would really be good to have two books, the other one being Edible
Wild Plants, A North American Field Guide by Elias and Dykeman (I found it
late last night). This book uses photographs for identifying plants.
Between the two you can surely identify properly. The Elias and Dykeman
book is printed by Sterling Publishing co., Inc. NY.
What I found while trying to find edible plants was that I not only learned
to identify edible plants, and the very poisonous ones, but in so doing I
learned to ID most all of the plants in my area, the NC Coast. Now, when I
go to other areas I take my field guides and learn the plants living in
other enviroments. Soon you have a real feel and respect for all kinds of
natural environments, even urban ones (I often go out in vacant lots etc.
while my wife shops or while waiting for an auto repair.)
For identifying many of the plants in your area, some of the Audabon or
Peterson's Guides to plants, trees, shrubs, etc. will help. But most areas
have guides specifically for that area and are fun to read.
Well, let me know if I can help. As you can see I enjoy all this.
Paul
Paul Getty
Morehead City, NC
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