Lewis Clark's Field Guide to Wild Flowers of the Mountains in the Pacific Northwest

David Allinson is the president of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory in Victoria, B.C.

These compact field guides are designed to accompany Lewis Clark’s
more comprehensive Wild Flowers of the Pacific Northwest. Harbour
Publishing has revitalized Clark’s work from the 1970s, which has been
out of print for many years. Naturalists who formerly had to seek out
dog-eared copies from estates, garage sales, or second-hand stores will
consider these new publications especially welcome.

These two pocket-sized guides identify more than 200 common species of
wildflowers that can be found in the region covering southern Alaska to
northern California and from the Pacific Coast to the timberline of the
Rockies. The flowers range from familiar species, such as fairy slipper
and white rhododendron, to the less familiar, such as the saprophytic
Indian pipe and the bird’s-bill lousewort. Clark’s excellent
close-up photos hold up well, even though it has been 30-plus years
since he originally composed them. All (there are more than 100) are in
full colour and are exceptionally large. Each photo is accompanied by a
detailed description of the flower pictured, including its size and
range, making the guide easy to use. A glossary and an index round out
each volume. These are must-have guides for anyone hiking in the region.