Weeds of North America

摘要

In this impressive work, Richard Dickinson and France Royer provide an identification guide to over 600 species of noxious plants, as defined by various regulatory agencies. The bulk of the 797 pages are weed descriptions organized alphabetically by scientific family, based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Detailed entries of primary species include common names, scientific synonyms, a "quick ID" of distinguishing traits, origins, life cycle and a geographic "weed designation" if appropriate. This is followed by a morphological description at each stage of the life cycle and a "reason for concern" describing the weed's negative impact. The text is specific and brief -exactly what you want in a ready reference work - and accompanied by high-quality colour photographs or by black and white pen illustrations showing the weed's different developmental stages. France Royer's photography is truly outstanding, and she is solely responsible for the over 1,200 photos in Weeds of North America. After these extensive primary species descriptions, plant family entries briefly note "other species of concern" which might not have visual guides, but are still meticulously described.