October 20, 2010

Library Spotlight - “A Tour of the Flowering Plants”

There are so many types of plants that it can often seem overwhelming to even start learning about botany.  However, this book, A Tour of the Flowering Plants by Priscilla Spears, provides a good overview of many of the common families of flowering plants found in the US and Canada.  The plant families are laid out in a tree diagram to help you visualize the relationship between the types of plants.  She then goes through the families with illustrations and descriptions for each.  While not exhaustive, this book provides a good starting point for learning about the classification and differences between families of plants that you will encounter during a trip to the Arboretum.  This book also comes with a disk that contains a PDF copy of the book, so you can search through it on your computer and reference it later.
Find this book at the Arboretum Library here and make sure to stop by the library on your next trip to the Arboretum.  Everyone can browse the collections and members can check out books.