This 6" x 9" guide (a
companion to The Trees of Florida, also by Gil Nelson)
covers all of the shrubs and woody vines that are native
to or naturalized in Florida, as well as some of the more
common exotic species. The more than 550 entries are
arranged alphabetically by family which may be little
perplexing to beginners at first, but they will soon
appreciate the wisdom of this standard system which
encourages familiarization with family characteristics.
If you can make an educated guess as to which family an
unknown plant belongs, you are close to identifying it.
Each entry includes a description of the plant's form,
leaves, flowers, fruit, distinguishing marks, and
distribution. For many entries there is also a comment
section with additional information, and a section on
landscape use and cultivation requirements. Line drawings
accompany many of the entries and 297 color photographs
are grouped together in a center section. This is the
only book that covers all of Florida's shrubs and woody
vines, and one of the must-have field guides for the
Florida naturalist.
