Woody Plants of the Southeastern United States: A Winter Guide
by Ron Lance; The University of Georgia Press, 2004; ISBN:0820325244
Review by Ellen Honeycutt
Even with the mild winters in the Southeastern U.S., there comes a time when one finds the need to identify a woody plant when it has no foliage. Most identification books focus on the foliage, the flowers and the fruit and are therefore of limited assistance during this time. This book satisfies that need perfectly. The author’s drawings of the individual winter twigs and buds and other key winter features represent one of the most useful features of the book
The introduction contains a nice overview of the individual regions of the Southeastern U.S. including basic descriptions of the terms that are used in the book. The description of leaf terminology and the overview of a winter twig’s features in the introduction make this book as much a tutorial as it is an identification guide.
The Diagnostic Keys presented in the beginning of the book comprise almost 30 pages. Fortunately the keys are broken out into 8 individual keys according to criteria defined in the Master Key (I abbreviate them a bit in this list just to illustrate how it is handled):
- Leaves evergreen (or persistent) or deciduous
- If deciduous, leaf scars opposite, whorled or alternate
- True terminal bud present or lacking
- Leaf scar obscured or distinguishable
- Leaf scar with one bundle scar (or closely crowded) or 3 or more scars
Knowing these features will allow you to navigate to the individual diagnostic keys that take you further towards identification. A 10x hand lens can help you as you proceed.
The bulk of the book deals with descriptive text for each species, sorted alphabetically by genus. While most of the species included are native plants, the author does include exotics that have escaped cultivation as well.
Each genus contains a brief overview of that genus and includes such details as flowering and fruiting characteristics. Each genus has its own individual key to allow the reader to recognize a species within the genus and may include some details outside of winter details in order to distinguish between two very similar species.
Almost every species has individual drawings to support identification, and the scope of the drawings varies by what details are most pertinent to that species. All drawings include a twig representation, showing the shape of the twig, leaf buds, and characteristics of the twig (such as lenticels). Some drawings show additional detail on leaf scars, bundle scars, flower buds or persistent leaves or fruit. Occasionally the drawing is not on the same page as the description, a minor inconvenience in comparing the drawing to the text.
The glossary provided in the back is extremely useful and essential in understanding some of the text. The author acknowledges that the species descriptions are brief and offer only "condensed diagnostic information useful in identification". Once you’ve identified the plant, look elsewhere for more effusive descriptions and pretty pictures. A reference section is provided.
