An Eclectic Guide to Trees East of the Rockies

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

Glen Blouin tells us that he has limited himself to the 46 species of
trees on the east side of the Rockies because the ecosystem is much
different from that on the west side of the Rockies. Blouin obviously
loves trees and wants to tell us all of his favorite things about each
species. Unlike a standard field guide, which delivers facts, the
information in this guide is truly eclectic. Blouin gives the typical
morphological and physiological information and then supplies the reader
with the history of human use, including mechanical, food,
horticultural, and wood use. He gives details of nursery propagation and
planting. Where appropriate, he also provides woodworking
characteristics of each type of wood. Often as many as eight pages are
dedicated to a single tree species.

The book is filled with excellent photographs. Each photograph is clear
and the color reproduction is good. For each species, Blouin includes a
variety of photographs, which may include images of leaves, bark, cones,
berries, and whole trees in different phases. Written in lay language,
the book is readable and at times entertaining.

In spite of the fact that it is not clearly specified, this is a
distinctly Canadian book. While there are other guides to Canadian trees
available in the bookstores, this one contains an unusual breadth of
commentary that makes it a useful addition to public and academic
library collections.