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
5 Comments
Wow. What treasures.
Who knew about the turtle algae? Certainly not me!
My parents worked at Seney as volunteers. Reading your post was so cool as I also love the idea of interconnectedness, and the mention of Seney also made me feel connected to my parents.
They learned about Rachel Carlson and Silent Spring. And it was so fun for me to visit there. I live in the lower peninsula. It’s an amazing wildlife refuge and education center. Sorry to digress!
Learning more about how different aspects of nature works together, on a more intricate detailed level would be super fascinating to me. Also motivating. Books from the past often seem written and illustrated more thoughtfully and in depth. I’ll check my library for them! Or ebay.
That’s so cool about the algae on your turtles! I want so badly to start native gardening so this may be my nudge to get started. I already try to help the wildlife, butterflies, bees etc but realize how much of their natural habitat and food we’ve taken away and they truly need our help.
Please forgive my rambling!! Thanks so much for your post.
Do these cover the Great Lakes region north of the border? I live in Ontario and would love to check them out
Those are great books
oh my these are pricey on amazon 😅.