Three book series published in 1995 by John Eastman. So hard to find.
Swamp and Bog
Forest and Thicket
Field and Roadside
I was at Seney Wildlife Refuge talking to the USFWS person manning the visitor center (probably now out of a job due to Trump) and they pulled out this older book and read me something from it. Was great info. So I went looking.
These books are more about the interconnectedness of plants than just the plants. Other names, close relatives, lifestyle (pollinators, relationships to other plants), associates, sometimes lore.
So I just learned that the green streamers of algae Ive seen on big snapping turtles in my little lake are 1 of 2 kinds of a specific algae and both only exist on turtles. Relationship may be mutalistic ie gives the algae its place to grow and provides the turtle camouflage. So interesting!
They are slim books with a few drawn illustrations and the plants covered isnt extensive but for those of us who feel we know why going native is important generally it provides the how it works part of the why if that makes sense.
Writer is from Michigan so best for east of the Mississippi.
Second image is random page, associates on maples
by marys1001
12 Comments
Thank you for the recommendations! These sound amazing.
wow these look awesome!
I’ve been slowly buying more native plant books over the years – theyre good conversation starters too and a lot of beautiful pictures that have gotten friends interested in all this. I like to leave them around the house on coffee tables/in the bathroom etc and they do a great job of keeping me off my phone.
Very cool, I’ll pick those up, thanks!
I did just read the part on cattails and he didn’t reference narrow leaved as non native, just called out the 2 types. I was surprised? So I think this is mostly natives but maybe be circumspect
Looks like they’re out of print but available used, thanks!!
I can’t resist a matching set of books. I’ll look out for them! For “weeds” I usually use Weeds of the Northeast by Uva, Neal and DiTommaso.
Thank you. I’m happy to see that my library system has these!
Totally agree! Those connections between plants and their ecosystems are so fascinating. Can’t wait to check them out.
hey, thanks for this.
Totally agree! It’s cool how they dive into the relationships in nature. Can’t wait to check them out.
great to see info on the east!
You would also like the book, *Ecology of Eastern Forests* by John Kircher. It explains the various forest types and how they work, literally, from the ground up. It goes through seasons, various events like disturbances, and other facets that really show how interconnected the forest and surrounding communities are.