Suggestions for Wildflower ID handbook

[chillees]

Hello, Can anyone suggest a good quality wildflower ID handbook of a rucksack friendly size please. I had one (name I can't remember) which I lost in our house move but it wasn't very good. The images weren't clear enough and the written descriptions didn't compensate. Any suggestions much appreciated thank you.

[JennyS]

Hi chillees
The Wildflower Key by Francis Rose, updated 1996 by Clare O'Reilly is the best I've come across so far - good illustrations too.

[chillees]

Thanks for that

[Paul mabbott]

There was quite a debate on flower keys a month or two back - worth searching for unless someone remembers what it was called .... I wouldn't like to make a recommendation because (see the thread) this tends to be quite a personal thing .... nothing wrong with Rose if you get on with it.

[Pete W]

Agree thanks, just ordered it

[Hornbeam]

Fitter, Fitterr and Blamey is the best rucksack book. Rose is ok if you can be bothered to work laborously through the keys. It only covers British plants though and is not good on European plants that we are finding more and more as casuals or introductions. I use Fitter in the field, Rose at home for confirmation and the heavy Blamey and Grey-Wilson when all else fails. When "all else fails" fails I ask WAB and someone always knows

[Hobjob]

Rose needs a moderate understanding of botany to cope with the keys.
I'm also not impressed with the colours.
Keys often need fruit and/or roots for idnetification, which are
not always around!

***I think it is awful for beginners.***

Blamey, Fitter & Fitter have two books, broadly similar,
one by domino guides and other by collins.
(Pictures are very similar as Blamey is the artist for both
and IMO better pictures than Rose)

The domino guide has great little distribution maps which
can be VERY helptful, but has no keys (apart from within
families) and is only Britain.
(note comment above about drift of european species to
UK).
ISBN 0 7136 5944 0

The collins guide is smaller, so more rucksack friendly,
and has a good simple guide to getting the right pages
by using flower shape, petal number, inflorescence shape
and colour. It is also remarkably rain tolerant !!
5th edition 96 ISBN 0 00 2197 15 4
? there is a later edition?

I have also just bought
"A new key to wild flowers"
by Hayward and Hickey, from the Field Studies Council.
ISBN 1 85153 285 4
buy direct from the FSC (google)
(about 16 smackers)

Initial impression is great, because the key has simple line
drawings and seems easy to follow for non specialist
(it grew out of teaching amateurs).
It is NOT a picture matching book with text though.
In fact is is B&W only, but a great addition.

Finally, and really a photographic record of FANTASTIC
quality there is Roger Phillips'
"Wild Flowers of Britain"
ISBN 0 330 25183 x
but didn't a thread in the lat couple of weeks say it was
out of print?
Sometimes photos seem so much better than drawings
and sometimes vice versa.

As a _first_ book I think the Blamey & Fitter Collins guide
is the best. Others will disagree ;-)

[Hobjob]

PS

Originally Posted by Hornbeam

heavy Blamey and Grey-Wilson when all else fails. When "all else fails" fails I ask WAB and someone always knows

The illustrated Flora of Brit and N Europe
Blamey and Grey-Wilson, has been out of print for some
time I think. Another Domino Book
ISBN0 340 40170 2

My copy came from the States via Abebooks after 12 months
of having a request in, and cost MORE than the original, even
without postage ;-(
Persaonlly I don't think it adds a lot to the Domino guide
mentioned before.

I agree about WAB - fantastic source!

[chillees]

Many thanks to all of you for these suggestions, especially Hobjob with all the ISBNs, much appreciated. What a great website

[Wig]

I have no idea if it's any good compared to others mentioned but I have
Collins Wild Flowers Which is pocket sized (11cm x 8cm) 240 pages and is full of drawn illustrations, Marjorie Blamey & Richard Fitter 350 species. The new edition has photographs aswell apparently. I got mine in a charity shop for 50p.

It really just identifies the plants so you can read further on them later when you get home. It gives one line about the plants history and growing location. For example

Vipers Bugloss
Echium Vulgare A big stand of this bugloss with its brilliant blue flowers is one of the most gorgeous sights in British flora. It grows on dry bare spots on light soils, esp chalk and flowers June - September.

Common Valerian
Valeriana officinalis is a tall plant with pinnate leaves and conspicuous clusters of small pink flowers that appear June - August. It grows in both damp and dry woods and grassland. It's root used to be regarded as a cure for hysteria and other nervous conditions.