Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont: A Naturalist's Guide to the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia

Southern Gateways Guides

by Timothy Spira

This richly illustrated field guide serves as an introduction to the wildflowers and plant communities of the southern Appalachians and the rolling hills of the adjoining piedmont. Rather than organizing plants, including trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, by flower color or family characteristics, as is done in most guidebooks, botanist Tim Spira takes a holistic, ecological approach that enables the reader to identify and learn about plants in their natural communities. This approach, says Spira, better reflects the natural world, as plants, like other organisms, don't live in isolation; they coexist and interact in myriad ways.

Full-color photo keys allow the reader to rapidly preview plants found within each of the 21 major plant communities described, and the illustrated species description for each of the 340 featured plants includes fascinating information about the ecology and natural history of each plant in its larger environment. With this new format, readers can see how the mountain and piedmont landscapes form a mosaic of plant communities that harbor particular groups of plants. The volume also includes a glossary, illustrations of plant structures, and descriptions of sites to visit. Whether you're a beginning naturalist or an expert botanist, this guidebook is a useful companion on field excursions and wildflower walks, as well as a valuable reference.

Southern Gateways Guide is a registered trademark of the University of North Carolina Press

Genres: Gardening, Nature, Nonfiction, Plants, Ecology, Natural History, Reference

544 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2011

Reviews

[Grady]

Organized around plant communities of the mountains and Piedmont, this book covers some of the same ground as the excellent Wild North Carolina - this doesn't include the coastal plain, but does reach into states beyond North Carolina. However, this book (Wildflowers and Plant Communities) has 250 pages of individual species accounts to supplement the 110 pages of communities accounts and the gorgeous photo key. So, the two books end up complementing each other very well. The suggestions for additional reading at the end of each of the community profiles are a particularly nice touch. At least in the hard-backed version, it's not a work I'll take on hikes - too heavy and likely to get water-damaged - but one to keep at home, for reading up on individual species and their communities before or after a trip.

[Candice]

I finally found the book I’ve been looking for! I’m working to restore the native plant community in my yard. Not knowing much about gardening, I keep reading books that tell me how to are for a lawn, etc. Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont: A Naturalist's Guide to the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia truly is a naturalists guide. Timothy Spira introduced me to the common forest ecosystems and specific plants that live there, including photos for each species. From the color coded page edges to the clear organization, it is a very usable guide. Highly recommended.

[John E]

Really good field Guide for learning about the ecology of the area. Fun facts about the plants you are most likely to be interested in as a beginner Southern Appalachian naturalist. In spring this is usually the first book I look to for reference. If I were to buy one plant book for the Southern Appalachians this would be it. It's full of interesting details about each habitat and plant. If I have a few minutes to kill I'll often flip to a random page and read about a plant.

[Jordan]

Read for a Plants of Virginia class, a really good resource for the plant communities in Appalachia and the Piedmont, and a good introduction to what plant communities are in the first place. I really appreciate the photos inside each section and how the book is organized.

[Carrie]

I used this book in the field in the mountains of North Carolina. It was very easy to use and accurate! i particularly like the descriptions of physiographs and ecosystems as applicable to plant taxonomy and biogeography.

[Kelly]

Again, I didn't read EVERY word. And this book wasn't what I expected. It's not a plant ID guide. It's about the plant communities. What trees, shrubs, flowers, etc you can expect to see on mountaineous ridges vs. Piedmont valleys.
But really useful and interesting.

[Wendy Williams]

Pics are useless on Kindle! Way too small!!

I bought the Kindle version so I could take it with me for in field identification, but the pics are literally thumbnail size. When I increase the size of the pic, all of the details are too blurry to make an id. I'm very disappointed

[S.G. Benson]

Good descriptions. I wish the photos were bigger.

[Katie]

Incredibly helpful in the field and I love that it describes the communities and not just the individual plant species.

[Bobbi]

This is an excellent book for those interested in native plants, plant identification and ecosystems of the Southeast. I would recommend this to any gardener interested in trying to rebuild our biologically rich ecosystems.

[Lydia]

The way this book is organized is fantastic! I think it could have been managed a touch better rather than having so many duplicate pictures along the way, but overall it's great. I've used it as a reference while planning a forest garden type backyard.

[KevinM]

Best book like this out there. hands down.

[Siv Ri]

The digital version is somehow easier to use than the physical copy. Photos are frustratingly small. Great reading and info though.