June 2023 MBR The Botany Shelf

The Botany Shelf

Plants of the Pineywoods of East Texas & Wester Louisiana
Dr. James Van Kley, author
Bruce Lyndon Cunningham, illustrator
Bruce Lyndon Cunningham Publications
www.forester-artist.com
9780934115186, $110.00, PB, 464pp

The "Pineywoods" represent the forested eastern edge of Texas along with the the ecologically-similar forests of adjacent northwestern and central Louisiana. Markedly different from most of Texas, tall stands of pines and broad-leaved deciduous trees cover much of the gently rolling landscape.

There is a rich variety of natural habitats: dry sandy upland pine-oak communities, remnants of once-extensive longleaf pine woodlands, pine-deciduous mixed forests, vast "bottomland hardwood" forests on the floodplains of the region's numerous rivers, baldcypress swamps, and much more. The climate is warm and humid; some areas experience as much as 50" (1270 mm) of rainfall a year. Much of the Pineywoods remains relatively free from urbanization.

"Plants of the Pineywoods of East Texas & West Louisiana: Part 1: Herbaceious Eudicotyledoms - Herbaceious, Magnoliids & Nymphaeiids by Dr. James Van Kley and deftly and profusely illustrated by Bruce Lyndon Cuningham is a massive, detailed and comprehensively descriptive compendium informatively listing all of the plants to be found in this region of the country.

Critique: A major and seminal work that is informatively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of a illustrated glossary of 350 terms, this substantial paperback edition of "Plants of the Pineywoods of East Texas & West Louisiana" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, college, and university library Regional Herbaceous and Horticultural reference collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. Also highly recommended from Bruce Lyndon Cunningham Publications is "Gymnosperms of the United States & Canada".

Editorial Note #1: Dr. James Van Kley (https://james-vankley.com/index.html) is the Professor of Biology, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, USA.

Editorial Note #2: In 1982, the National Hardwood Lumber Association in Memphis, TN, commissioned Bruce Lyndon Cunningham (https://forester-artist.com/about-me) to illustrate 16 different trees in the hardwood industry. In 1990, the Society of American Foresters in Washington D. C. commissioned him to create the painting of the historic Wye Oak Tree, Quercus alba, in Wye Mills, Maryland.

Plants of Northern California
Eva Begley
Falcon Guides
www.falcon.com
c/o Globe Pequot
https://www.globepequot.com
c/o Rowman & Littlefield
https://rowman.com
9781483067183, $34.95

Libraries and readers in California seeking a field guide packed with clear color photos suitable for identifying plants located west of the Sierra Nevada will find Plants of Northern California the perfect item of choice. With accompanying text identifying blooming periods, elevation, and habitats, the guide, organized by color and family, makes it easy for anyone to identify species and look-alike plants, enabling both amateurs and professionals to accurately identify over 560 plants. No California reference library strong in local nature history and botany should be without this guide.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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