Plant References | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Plant Photo Gallery - Our Tax dollars at work (via the Uniteds States Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service). You had better have an idea what you're looking for, however, because there are currently over a thousand photos to choose from. http://plants.usda.gov/plants/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
WSSA Weed Reference - A photo album of weeds from The Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) - helpful for identifying many common or less exotic plants. One person's weed is another person's wild flower... http://piked2.agn.uiuc.edu/wssa/subpages/weed/herbarium0.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Weed Images and Descriptions - From Rutgers State University, NJ Agricultural Experiment Station. Pictures of approximately 100 common "weeds" (among them violets, honeysuckle, and scarlet pimpernel) listed by common name. http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/weeds/index.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wild Flowers of Western Kentucky by Michael W.Thompson - This sight has over 200 (and counting!) beautiful photos of plants native to his area. Plus, he's a botanist - his descriptions of the plants and their habitats are very useful for locating and identifying plants.. http://sac.uky.edu/~mthom0/flora.htm | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The Virtual Herbarium - 45 beautiful photographs by Kenneth J. Stein, a research associate at the Deptartment of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech. http://www.vt.edu:10021/forestry/wildlife/stein/plants.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wildflowers of Alabama - Sit back and let your computer do the clicking with this automated slide show by Caroline R .Dean. http://www.duc.auburn.edu/~deancar/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Wildflower Photography - Approx 25 lovely photographs of flowers, particularly orchids, from North America and Europe, by Thomas Kornack. http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/~tkorn/wildflowers/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida Wildflower Showcase - A beautiful sight full of pictures of interesting and exotic plants by many different photographers. http://www.flwildflowers.com/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Southwest School of Botanical Medicine Homepage - by Micheal Moore - Lots of plant images, especially from the southwestern US, and lots (!) of information about the plants and ethnobatany, plus links to other sites about medicinal plants... http://chili.rt66.com/hrbmoore/HOMEPAGE/HomePage.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Native Orchids of Pennsylvania - by Linda Schaeffer - photos (by many photographers) of orchids native to our area. She also has a native orchid discussion list, if you have a native orchid question (NOT tropical/hot-house). http://wild-orchids.com/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina - An extensive (apple seeds make it onto the list) visual index of poisonous plants - with a description of the plant and its poisonous parts. Search by common name, Latin name, or poisonous part. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Plants for a Future - A non-profit organization in the UK that is dedicated to plants and their uses. They have a very cool database of 7,000 plants available online, and several interesting articles on plant uses, in addition to other information about their organization. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/index.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Henriette's Herbal Homepage - Another trove of information about plant uses in medecine, cooking, etc., and lots of links to other plant resources. http://metalab.unc.edu/herbmed/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medicinal and Poisonous Plant Databases - Links, links, and more links about, well, medicinal plants, Poisonous plants, ethnobotony, treatments for specific conditions, research, etc. The layout is kind of funky - but there's a lot of information there. http://www.wam.umd.edu/~mct/Plants/index.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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"NativeTech: Indigenous Plants" - Part of a very interesting sight of Native American technologies and arts. Some of the other sections include recipes, flint knapping, and games. http://www.nativetech.org/plantgath/plantgaht.htm | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eat the Weeds Recipes Pages - This is a fun site, with lots of interesting-sounding recipes for those who want to experiment... The Home page lists many sections of recipes, but the sections on cooking with Flowers, Teas, and Alchoholic Beverages seem to incorporate the most wild ingredients. http://members.aol.com/TigrLil/RecipeIndex.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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General Plant Information: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Internet Directory for Botany - Want to find a botanic garden near you? Have a VERY specific plant question? Want to know "The Amazing Story of Kudzu?" - From "African Violets" to "Zoosporic Fungi", this is the mother of all lists... http://www.helsinki.fi/kmus/botmenu.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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State & Provincial Flowers - A list of the US States and Canadian Provinces with their respective flowers. Also lots of other fun plant facts elsewhere on the sight. http://www.geobop.com/Symbols/Plants/Flowers/ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Native Plants Event Directory - A listing of plant-related events across the U.S. from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. What are you doing sitting inside at a computer, when you can actually go outside and learn in your area? http://www.wildflower.org/events.html | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Brooklyn Botanical Garden - One of my favorite non-virtual places, and you can order books from their great bookshop... http://www.bbg.org | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sources for Native North American Plants online: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Botanique - An online retail source of lots of native plants, including orchids and carniverous plants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Toad Shade Wildflower Farm - An online retail source of many wildflower plants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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WE-DU Nurseries - Another online retail source of many wildflower plants. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center:
- a "Fact Pack" for your region including soil preparation, appropriate plants, plant sources, etc ($10.00 for non-members). | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Books: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Field Guides: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Peterson Field Guide to Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants
- Steven Foster / James A. Duke, Houghton Mifflin Company. Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants
- Lee Allen Peterson, Houghton Mifflin Company. Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants
- Thomas S. Elias and Peter A. Dykeman, Outdoor Life Books,1982. While Peterson's Guides have more plants, this one has
photographs of all the plants it talks about, aranged by the season in which to look for them, and poinsonous look-alike
references. All three are very helpful if you're thinking about actually putting something in you mouth... I have seen a more recent version of this book on shelves. Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants
- Bradford Angier, Stackpole Books, 1974 (I think this one has also had a more recent printing).
I use this book as a cross reference. It has some drawings instead of photographs, but the written descriptions are
far more detailed and informative. Weeds of the Northeast
- Richard H. Uva, Joseph C. Neal, & Joseph M. DiTomaso, Comstock Publishing (Cornell University Press), 1997. Fairly technical/scientific in presentation and organization,
and so a wee bit daunting to an amateur like me. However, the many very clear photographs of plants that usually only merit a line drawing more than make up for the chagrin. The Illustrated Book of Wildflowers and Shrubs: The Comprehensive Field Guide to More Than 1,300 Plants of Eastern North America
- William Carey Grimm, Stackpole Books, 1993. When you're still not sure what something is after looking at all the field guides, this is the book that will tell you.
Granular descriptions and many line drawings to illustrate the differences between members of the same family. It is a big book, however, and
pretty heavy for a casual walk in the woods. I keep it at home. Wild Orchids of the Northeastern United Sates
- Paul Martin Brown, with drawings by Stan Folsum, Comstock Publishing (Cornell University Press), 1997. Photos, drawings, plant info,
even maps of where they grow and when... This book will get you really excited about native orchids! General Information/ Plant Uses: Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs
- Edited by Claire Kowalchik and William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, 1987.
Lots of info about plants and their uses, such as how to make vegetable dyes, early medicine, how to make
scented things, etc. Hedgemaids and Fairy
Candles (The lives and Lore of North American Wildflowers)
- Jack Sanders, Ragged Mountain Press. What it says; essays on various plants,
with lots of fun and eclectic tidbits of info. The History and Folklore of North American Wildflowers
- Timothy Coffey, Houghton Mifflin, 1993. So many plants (700!).The ethnobotany deluxe edition. The Healing Herbs
- Micheal Castelman, Bantam Books, 1995. Describes approximately 120 plants (including many weeds),
and the science (or lack thereof) behind their modern use as medicines. The Book of Swamp and Bog
- John Eastman with illustrations by Amelia Hansen, Stackpole Books, 1995.
A fascinating look into the lives of plants in a beautiful and mysterious ecosystem. Scientific explanations in lay-men's terms
of the whys and wherefores of bog-dwelling plants. Also associated plant lore, other common names, etc. Orchid Fever
- by Eric Hansen (Pantheon Books, 2000). A fascinating non-fiction look at orchids, orchid fanatics, conservation,
and how the CITES treaties and laws governing orchids "work". The Orchid Thief
- By Susan Orlean (Ballantine Books, 1998). Another "truth is stanger than fiction" book about the surreal world of
orchids, especially in Florida. Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places
- "Wildman" Steve Brill with Evelyn Dean. Hearst Books, 1994. Lots of fun finding out what's growing right under
you nose, even if you live in a city like New York. He used to give nature walks in Central Park... Edible Wild Plants and Useful Herbs
- Jim Meuninck, Basic Essentials Series, Globe Pequot Press, 1999. This is a fun quick reference. It has many good photos and
useful information, but needs to be cross referenced with other books to assure positive ID. Eat the Weeds
- Ben Charles Harris, Keats Publishing, Inc., 1995 (first published in 1969 by Barre Publishers).
I had to buy this book for the title alone; but the information is good, and the author full of enthusiasm.
A quote from the section on Sassafrass: "whack off a chunk of root with a hatchet..." The Foraging Gourmet
- Katie Letcher Lyle, Lyons and Burford, Publishers, 1997.
Lots of interesting recipes that highlight the wild foods in question. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
