Wildflower field guides

[Johnny81]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

Francis Rose for me too!! but I always have other books for second or even third opinions and I like photographs for that too (and actually Roger Phillips wild flowers is much much better then the herbs book for ID purposes).

Also although not technically a book, I'd also actually strongly recommend the interactive flora of the British Isles DVD ROM. CA Stace, R Van der Meijden and I De Kort It has 2000 drawings and 6500 colour photos. and is absolutely fantastic for at home comparisons (there's also a similar version for the iphone/ ipod touch) It also has Stace's key built in for when you're felling brave (though I have to say its just not a key I get on with! Its only £35 and therefore cheaper than Stace's book too.

My interactive DVD ROM doesn't work any more due to it's non-compatibility with 64bit computers - thought I'd throw this in, if anyone gets this - well I can't get it to work anyhow!

[poschiavanus]

Originally Posted by Johnny81

My interactive DVD ROM doesn't work any more due to it's non-compatibility with 64bit computers - thought I'd throw this in, if anyone gets this - well I can't get it to work anyhow!

The software platform used to build this app. really has a lot of limitations (for instance only GIF images), so I'm not surprised it doesn't run natively on 64-bit machines. You ought to be able to run it in a 32-bit compatibility mode unless the base software relies on things which have gone from the operating system.

I bought a copy some years ago, but it doesn't get heavily used these days. Firstly there is much more data available on the web about plant distribution (e.g., BSBI Atlas), and there are many better sources of photos too. Other things like the multi-choice keys which would be really nice don't work very well.

On the book front I mislaid my copy of Blamey, Fitter, and Fitter a few months ago and only found it again last week. I like this, not just because its compact, but the binding stands up well in the field. The hardback edition of the first edition of Rose is also a good sturdy book, but the second edition is both a bit chunky and less robust. So I might look to have a spare copy of the former!

At a recent BSBI meeting Poland & Clements Vegetative Key was just ahead of Clapham, Tutin and Warburg as favoured field guides!

[Johnny81]

Surprisingly the Blamey, Fitter, and Fitter book is now out of print!