louisiana plant-lovers bookshelf

     ya'll remember books, doncha? they've got pages....thin slips of paper......that you read then turn then read some more...........................................yeah, these days -- more than ever before -- you can say that in general books are a waste of perfectly good trees.................................still, for those of us with inquiring minds, most books have yet to be cyberized/digitized, and so you gotta get the tome if u wanna read it. fortunately, the www is chock full of used book sellers (don't bypass 'big cyberbox' amazon; they're hooked up to vast numbers of independent used book sellers) to root thru...........................

     listed/categorized below are my personal picks for "must have" books for louisiana plant lovers.


for the technical types:

• Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas --  yeah i know, it says 'texas' not 'louisiana' but believe me it's got just about everything native to our state........it's built for professional biologists, particularly botanists; so it's highly technical and painstakingly detailed in its plant descriptions......it also provides global distribution information for each plant genus and family (e.g. "Salvia -- About 700 species distributed throughout the world but mostly in temperate and tropical regions, centered in South America.") which i really like.
• Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Louisiana -- by dale thomas and charles allen; a 3-volume wire-bound catalog of all plants growing in louisiana and of the parishes each has been recorded in.

for less-technical plant identifyers....it's unfortunate that no one has come up with any really good books specifically focused on louisiana; yet, those listed below work wonderfully for most all of our species:

• Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Texas -- a fine early '60s book by professional texas naturalist robert vines..........it's a massive volume that includes 1) line drawings of most foliage, flower, and fruit, detailed distribution info, 3) habitat preferences, 4) propagation info, 5) cultural uses, 6) just enough technical description to get you what you need.
• Seaside Plants of the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts -- again, despite the title, this provides best photographs of just about all louisiana native plants of importance, including numerous grasses, sedges, wildflowers, trees & shrubs.......very concise (it's meant to be taken out in the field, so it's compact), but gives a satisfactory amount of info on each species/variety.
• Mississippi Trees -- recently published by the mississippi forestry commission, this book represents the template of what ALL tree identification books should aspire to.......it's got photos of not only leaves and flowers/fruits, but also bark and twigs for EVERY tree, and includes notes on habitat/ecology, wildlife value, timber value, landscaping info, and other facts. what a book!

for gardeners:

• Southern Plants -- by neil odenwald and james turner.....the bible of cultural/growing/gardening recommendations for just about all garden-worthy plants that do well in in louisiana. it too provides line drawings of most foliage, flower, fruit, AND growth form and dimensions.
• Basic Gardening: A Guide for the Deep South -- a self published, wirebound 'owner's manual' for the southern garden........covers all of the basic, plus tons of the freakily, uh, esoteric topics as author gail barton (career horticulture instructor from meridian, mississippi) cared to wander/careen through. thoroughly educational and thoroughly entertaining.
• Native Gardening in the South -- gotta toot my own horn here......and belive me, i wouldn't; but thousands have sold since it was first published in 1992, so i can only suppose that it's a decent reference. as with my friend gail's book, it's a self-published wirebound 'owners manual' focused on gardening with southeastern u.s. native/wild plants only. like gail's, it also provides a goodly amount of historical/cultural "folk" usage, wildlife usage, propagation, maintenance, and garden design info.
• Flowers Native to the Deep South -- by louisiana born-and-raised amateur naturalist, artist, writer, and educator -- the Godmother of the Gardening-with-native-plants-of-the-south movement -- the great caroline dormon....................she's the one who started it all....................she was instrumental in preserving louisiana's kisatchie national forest system, as well as the louisiana state arboretum (the first state-owned arboretum in the nation) up near chicot state park in evangeline parish. this book, and its companion, Natives Preferred were written (and illustrated with line drawings and watercolor plates)with such love, dedication, and passion, that they could not help but insprire an entire generation of native plant advocates, including my own mom, and then, me..........for a fine view of this helplessly, devastatingly, inspiringly eccentric crusader, look also for Gift of the Wild Things, a caroline dormon biography by fran holman johnson.

cultural/wildlife/"folk" users, and those who just like to read about plants:

• Native Gardening in the South, 2nd Edition -- "folk" plants have always been a major interest of mine; and on this second edition, i substantially expanded the cultural/wildlife/"folk" section, incorporating louisiana bird/berry information gleaned from a 5-year louisiana bird frugivory survey that i and 25 other louisiana naturalists participated in. i also added louisiana butterfly gardening and folk usage info gleaned by charles allen and malcom vidrine.
• The Wildlife Garden -- by new orleans naturalist Charlotte Seidenberg......covers all the basics, then goes right on down to the esoterics, including 'gardening for moths' which is indeed fascinating....great writing.....great reading.
• The New Orleans Garden -- another by Seidenberg......overwhelmingly comprehensive history of the garden-worthy plants of new orleans......chock full of personal stories and citations of historical usages...........and new orleans has got a looooooooong history, ya'll.
• Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Louisiana -- by father-daughter botanists charles allen and dawn allen newman, along with amateur louisiana native plant enthusiast harry winters.........basically an even more concise version of robert vines' trees, shrubs, and woody vines of texas book. wonderfully written, and jam-packed with tons of plant trivia.
• The Cajun Prairie: A Natural History -- by biologist/professor malcom vidrine.......in this tome, malcom jettisons his technical perspective to write about a landscape that he was born and raised in -- and which he dearly loves -- the coastal tallgrass prairies of southwestern louisiana......his love comes through in this fascinating book of an all-but-extinct louisiana ecosystem, with a happy ending.
• Medicinal Plants -- by shaker-trained herbalist stephen foster and botanist james duke...this is a super-concise peterson field guide that (to me) gleans only the best-authenticated/documented north american medicinal plants and uses..........includes line drawings of foliage; and in this way is helpful as an identification guide as well.
• The Green Pharmacy -- by james duke.........as above, but covering a global (as opposed to continental) perspective.
• The Green World -- by vermont botany professor richard klein............here's the sleeper of the group.....the darkhorse......a treasure-trove of perspective: his, as well as that of various civilizations and societies throughout human history.........he begins with the basics of plant biology, and then embarks on a stream-of-consciousness ramble through plants, peoples, and time............utterly fascinating reading, ya'll.............................................good story about this book:  many moons ago, when i was working at the acadiana park nature station in lafayette, co-worker paul conover dropped this book onto a tall stack of "to read" books that had accumulated on an unused corner of my desk. figuring it was an "economic botany" book (which, indeed, it partially is...), i knew it was something i wanted to look at, but there was just too much going on.....................................one fine day i picked it up, and BAM......i was instantly hooked..............so much so that i "kleptoed" it into the safety of my home............................later, paul would ask about it, and i'd just say, "huh?" conveniently forgetting i'd ever seen it...............................................................................amazingly, it was actually written as a textbook -- one such as i've never seen before -- and paul had picked it up at a friend's garage sale, after it had failed to sell and was outright given to him......................................thankfully, paul was above to obtain another copy (for a dollar, i believe he said....), so i got to keep the copy that i had abscounded with..........................................................get it, plant lovers!