Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains: The Definitive Guide to Over 360 Species of Flowering Plants. Rev. ed.

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

George Scotter is a Canadian luminary in the field of Rocky Mountain natural history. His 30-year career has been spent leading research, publishing, and training scientists in this field. In addition to works on plants, Scotter has collaborated on volumes on Rocky Mountain birds and mammals.

This wildflower volume is an updated version of the 1986 book by the same title. Scotter has expanded the coverage to include 360 species found in the Rockies from New Mexico to northern British Columbia.

Scotter’s primary purpose in writing the original edition was to supply lay readers with “a wildflower book they could use and understand.” He wanted it to be “user-friendly, simple, enjoyable to read and accurate in detail.” His broader goal was “to educate the curious-minded” in support of a philosophy that “an informed public is paramount in ensuring the wise management of [the Rocky Mountain areas] at the present and in the future.”

This book does, in large measure, serve all of those ends. It is organized by colour of the flowers, which is the most accessible structure for the non-botanist. The text is primarily descriptive of the physical characteristics of the plants. Occasionally information about traditional use of the plant has been included.

In general the scientific terminology is kept to the essentials. Technical terms that are used, such as “sessile leaves,” “petioles,” and “monocarpic,” are all explained in the glossary or in the text. Standardized plant names and distribution maps, both new features in this edition, improve the usability of the volume.

Users of this field guide will identify plants purely by comparison with the colour images and the brief descriptions. For this purpose Hälle Flygare has supplied excellent photography. While the images are small, they are clear and have accurate colour reproduction. The indexes to both scientific and common names provide access for users who have greater familiarity with the plants.

This is a classic work that should be included in botanical library collections, as well as general public and academic collections in the Rocky Mountain region.