I love to identify the many wildflowers and trees that grow along the local recreational trails but until now, that pastime was limited to the warmer months. I’ve found, and added to my shelves, two pocket-sized inexpensive books that are excellent resources for identifying plants in winter.
The first, Winter Weed Finder by Dorcas S. Miller, is a guide to dry plants in winter. The book is illustrated with line drawings and is in a key format. For example, it starts out, “If the plant has barbs or needles, or if the structures stick to clothing, go to page 8. If not, go below. If the plant has umbels, go to page 14. If not go below.” Before the key starts, there are a few pages of helpful drawings of structures such as pods, capsules, bracts and umbels and illustrations of alternate branching, opposite branching, whorled branching, etc.
The second book, Winter Tree Finder by May Theilgaard Watts and Thom Watts, helps in identifying deciduous trees when the leaves are off. It is also in key format. The introductory pages make using the key less intimidating. The parts of a twig are well illustrated. Before the key pages begin, there are some shortcut id possibilities based on conspicuous features. For example, there is a picture of a catkin and a suggestion to try alder, birch or ironwood. Another example asks “Does the tree reach out over a fisherman, muskrat or rowboat? Try willow.”
Both books have indexes with both common and Latin names and every page has many fine line drawings. Even though the key format is quite easy to use, the books are short enough, at only 62 pages each, that a person could glance through them quickly to find the plant to be identified. Both books are available through local bookstores or can be ordered over the internet.
Leave a Reply