I began my journey into the delights of plants early 2012 and if I'd have had this book then, I probably wouldn't have had to spend the many hours looking for an identification to the plants in my photographs. Having said that, I do think that the hours are well spent for beginners and I wouldn't have had it any other way. So, just over a year on from beginning this journey I way given this book as a present from my parents.
It is an excellent book and I feel that, for myself at least, not having this book in the beginning has been a benefit. If this was the first book I'd read about plants, I doubt I'd have appreciated the work that has gone into creating such a wonderful guide. Faith really understand what a beginner needs and begins with discussing what a wild flower is - an important topic as we can then understand what this book will be focussing on.
The following chapters; how flowers work, where to look, name that plant, getting involved, and sources of help, build up the readers knowledge in a measured way that at no time feels overwhelming. One of my greatest concerns with moving forward with identifying plants was that of needed to get a diagnostic keyed identification guide. Faith uses a couple of keys from real guides and certain put my fears to rest. While I will definitely need to practice with whatever book I obtain, I know that I can come back to this book for guidance. It was also excellent to know that the keys came from the book that was at the top of my list!
This book is an excellent read and shows that Faith Anstey not only saw a gap in the market (beginner books about wild flowers), but also delivered to the market in that gap (beginners such as myself that need to know where they are at with their knowledge and experience - and where to go next). Excellent work.
Own or Loan: Own
Read Again: Yes
Recommend: Yes
Overall out of Five:4
I use Rose's Wildflower Key - it seems to be the main key that is used in the field, but it does take a bit of getting used to.
ReplyDeleteThe families have their own individual keys, with a general key at the beginning and more specific general keys for certain habitats. It sounds like a lot of keys, but they are useful, particularly if you are not certain which family that plant you have belongs to.
Thanks for commenting.
DeleteI now have Rose's Wild Flower Key :) I asked for Flowers in the Field first because it's a more gentle introduction and has some good examples of how to use the keys found in Rose (which I needed). It helped me gain a bit of confidence before going for an ID guide that uses keys.
I am amazed at the amount of great information that's been crammed into the Wild Flower Key.
I also recommend pursuing keys for plant id. It's a lot of work initially, especially learning the terminology, but is really the best way to id with confidence (plus comparison with herbarium specimens for verification).
ReplyDeleteThis book looks quite interesting -- sounds like it might help with my own teaching and writing about plants. Do you think it's applicable outside of Britain? I may have to do some searching -- didn't find it at the University here, nor any public libraries in the area. And at Amazon, the price is only in £'s ...
Hi Hollis,
DeleteNice to hear from you.
One of the main reasons for getting this book was to gain the confidence for ID keys. I do still use the photo-ID guides a bit *blushes* lol
Interestingly enough it is written by a teacher! It's definitely a book for beginners and the author states it was written to fill a gap in the beginners market. I think it's applicable outside of Britain, apart from the last chapter which is 'Sources of Help' and refers to UK-based organisations and magazines. Hope that helps.
Thanks, Tim, sounds good and I will keep searching. Good luck with those keys! :)
DeleteThanks, I'll need it. :)
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