Review by Choice Review
The eastern deciduous forest biome, which extends from the Great Plains to the Atlantic and from southern Canada to central Florida, contains a variety of habitats supporting several thousand species of wildflowers. For decades, the Duncans have botanized this area and have compiled a useful guide to more than 1,000 species, many with wide distribution but also including those of regional interest. The bulk of their book is the species accounts containing the usual description, range and habitat data, and a section of color photographs mostly taken by the authors. A strength of the book is the photography, and although priority was given to showing diagnostic features, most photos are also very appealing visually. The 20-page introductory section includes a fine glossary and illustrations of necessary terminology, but only a very brief key (in one case narrowing the search to 60 pages of text) and no treatment of the habitats mentioned in the book. A criticism of this work (at least for those who know scientific terminology) is the misspellings of scientific names; nine were noted without attempting a thorough search. General readers. D. A. Lovejoy; Westfield State College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
