How to Choose a Field Guide for Wildflowers

Wildflowers are everywhere, growing even in the most inhospitable places. They can be as tiny as a pencil eraser or as large as a dinner plate. Identifying the many varieties will give you hours of enjoyment.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Journals
• Ink Pen
• Camera Accessories
• Cameras
• Film
• Cameras

1. Look for a guide with information that's easy to read out in the field.

2. Choose a guide with clear photos or drawings with handy references about each picture; the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers" is a good one.

3. Assess the information and decide whether it answers your questions. Would a younger person understand? Does it include grasses, vines and shrubs? Are they shown in their natural habitat?

4. Check out the guide's size and durability. A small field guide such as the 4-inch by 6-inch Golden Guide, "Flowers: A Guide to Familiar American Wildflowers," will fit in a pocket or backpack.

5. Decide if you want a guide for a specific location or specialty. Some publishers have one field guide for the East and another for the West; others put out guides for specific states, regions and even species.

6. Match the guide to the naturalist's level of experience.

7. Give the "Peterson Field Guide for Wildflowers" to the more advanced naturalist.

8. Use the "Peterson Field Guide to Wildflowers Coloring Book" to introduce a child to the most common wildflowers in your area.

9. Try the "Ozark Wildflowers: A Field Guide" by Falcon if you live in or visit the Ozarks (parts of Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas and Illinois).

Tips & Warnings

• Do not remove the wildflowers from their habitat - instead, keep a journal of species, location and notes about each flower. You can also take along your camera, record your "find" and have beautiful pictures to hang in your home.

[mosaicmom]

on 2/2/2009 Good article on wildflowers, many times the prettiest are the tiny ones that you might miss if you don't look closely, and some like the "bluette" in Mo. is a lovely smell and you have to lay your nose on the ground to ever smell them. There is not a smell that will ever leave you happier.