Overview

Settlers crossing the tallgrass prairie in the early 1800s were greeted by a seemingly endless landscape of wildflowers and grasses, one of the most diverse ecosystems on our planet. Today, although the tallgrass prairie has been reduced to a tiny percentage of its former expanse, people are working to restore and reconstruct prairie communities. This lavishly illustrated guide to seeds and seedlings, crafted by Tallgrass Prairie Center botanist Dave Williams and illustrator Brent Butler, will insure that everyone from urban gardeners to grassland managers can properly identify and germinate seventy-two species of tallgrass wildflowers and grasses in eastern North Dakota, eastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, southwestern Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northwestern Indiana, Iowa, eastern Nebraska, eastern Kansas, northwestern Missouri, and eastern Oklahoma.

Full Product Details

9781587299025

Table of Contents

Reviews

Seedling identification presents many difficult challenges, but help is now available if you are working with midwestern prairie species. The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest utilizes color photographs and line drawings to illustrate and highlight key characteristics of the seedlings of seventy-two different forbs and grasses often used in prairie reconstructions. Each species is presented on a full page with several illustrations that provide both an overview and a close-up examination of identifying features. The guide excels in helping users visualize the subtleties of morphology that help distinguish species from one another. This in itself makes the guide a valuable resource; add in its descriptions of seed germination biology and habitat information, and you have an indispensable resource for prairie reconstructionists. While seedling identification of most species is never going to be a simple task, this guide should, at the very least, help simplify the problem and increase the accuracy of your seedling identification. Thomas Rosburg, professor of biology, Drake University

Author Information

Botanist Dave Williams is the program manager for the Prairie Institute at the Tallgrass Prairie Center, University of Northern Iowa. He has been actively engaged in prairie restoration and reconstruction since 1989. The graphic designer for the Tallgrass Prairie Center since 2006, artist Brent Butler has produced many publications on prairie conservation.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available