num_pages: 540
description: 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
language: English
title: Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont: A Naturalist's Guide to the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia
publisher: The University of North Carolina Press