Review

“For identification of plants, most books rely upon characteristics of the flowers and fruits. Even then, some plants may prove to be tricky to identify. Dave Williams has written a most innovative book on how to identify prairie plants in their seedling stages. Who would have thought this possible? Williams presents easily workable keys to the seedlings of seventy-two species, including both forbs and grasses, accompanied by superb photographs that use circles and triangles as bullet points for the distinctive features of each seedling. Information on how to distinguish a particular species from look-alikes is also very useful. Anyone wishing to identify prairie plants in their seedling stages must have this fine work.”—Robert H. Mohlenbrock, distinguished professor emeritus of botany, Southern Illinois University

“Seedling identification presents many difficult challenges, but help is now available if you are working with midwestern prairie species. The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Seed and Seedling Identification in the Upper Midwest utilizes color photographs and line drawings to illustrate and highlight key characteristics of the seedlings of seventy-two different forbs and grasses often used in prairie reconstructions. Each species is presented on a full page with several illustrations that provide both an overview and a close-up examination of identifying features. The guide excels in helping users visualize the subtleties of morphology that help distinguish species from one another. This in itself makes the guide a valuable resource; add in its descriptions of seed germination biology and habitat information, and you have an indispensable resource for prairie reconstructionists. While seedling identification of most species is never going to be a simple task, this guide should, at the very least, help simplify the problem and increase the accuracy of your seedling identification.”—Thomas Rosburg, professor of biology, Drake University

About the Author

Botanist Dave Williams is the program manager for the Prairie Institute at the Tallgrass Prairie Center, University of Northern Iowa. He has been actively engaged in prairie restoration and reconstruction since 1989. The graphic designer for the Tallgrass Prairie Center since 2006, artist Brent Butler has produced many publications on prairie conservation.