Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in British Columbia and Washington

Alice Kidd is an editor with The New Catalyst editorial collective in
Lillooet, B.C.

The first edition of this guide, originally published in 1952, provided
my first course in plant identification. I especially enjoyed the
plain-speech descriptions and annotations, the helpful advice for
identifying species in the region, and the inclusion of human and other
animal figures in the line drawings to illustrate scale.

This revised edition is even better. The introductory pages are a
mini-course in botany, covering naming conventions, ecosystem
identification and description, and species location by elevation and
ecosystem, and including thumbnail sketches of early botanists.
Individual species descriptions are organized according to the
identification keys used in the book. Trees are organized by leaf and
fruit structures; shrubs and flowers by color and flower type. The
descriptions are preceded by a 450-item photo key. The appendixes
include bloom and fruit times, drawings of typical plant structures, a
brief list of edible plants, a reference list, and an index of common
and Latin names. The inclusion of ecosystem maps inside the front and
back covers combined to show the linkages would have been useful.
Nonetheless, hikers in this alpine region—even field biologists—will
find this handbook indispensable.