The 8 Best A Field Guides To Tree And shrub (2023 reviews)

The national audubon society a field guide to tree and shrub's high-end materials makes sure that it ages well with use. The National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees is a well laid out book with good reference material and identification method. According to Little, it's a "woody plant with an erect perennial trunk at least 3 inches in diameter at breast height, and definitely formed a crown of foliage, and a height of at least 13 feet. It is a book for all levels of the studing of these beautiful kings of the earth. It also includes sections with flowers divided by color, acorns, nuts fruit pods, and ect.

This field guide has lots of colorful pictures and readable discriptions. It's easy to read and esy to use. It's also great for lying on the ground and placing as a pillow under your head.

Why We Like This:

Breaks down pictoral sections by leaves, flowers (by color), seeds, pods, cones, etc
Perfect for a novice to identify trees
Delivers what they promise

Best For Full color Pictures: Bland Crowder A Field Guide To Tree And shrub

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Next on the list, we've got yet another guide that manages to win our hearts. It's the bland crowder a field guide to tree and shrub and it's widely considered as guide that has the most suitable features. This is a great guide book to get a basic understanding and identification of the most common Trees and Shrubs. It can be used in leaf shape and organization, e.g., pinnately lobed, ovate and lanceolate. The pages are made of strong stock and should stand strong through much use for those who are carrying it around when outdoors. It is well organized and gives a single page to each species. You will have basic identification abilities but not detailed photos for further identification issues such as seasonal leaf color changes or bark age differences This is a great guide book to get a basic understanding and identification of the most common Trees and Shrubs. This one should last for quite a while even with heavy use. This is an interesting little field guide for general application.

Why We Like This:

Small enough to carry in a field pack
Small enough for your back pocket
Handy pocket guide useful for identifying trees and shrubs
Wonderful for taking along on hikes

Best For upper Midwest: Roger Tory Peterson A Field Guide To Tree And shrub

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The roger tory peterson a field guide to tree and shrub gives the top-tier guide a run for their money by offering flagship specs at a much more affordable price. This guide is perfect for identifying all the woody plants of both the upper and lower peninsulas. It has everything you would ever want to know about leaves and the tree they are attached to. There are no color photos or drawings in this book, just black and white drawings with some of those for the leaves colored in green, and most entries don't have even that.

This guide does tend to leave out important information such as whether or not a tree or shrub's fruit or seed is poisonous, if the sap is dangerous to humans, etc. The key and line drawings are helpful. This is a great guide covering many species. There are some tree silhouettes at the beginning of the guide but otherwise the plates only show leaves, twigs and fruit or flowers if present. This book is small enough to go into the field bag and not take up too much room.

Why We Like This:

Small, illustrations, enough information to identify hundreds of trees, colored images
Good brand reputation

Best Well written Guide: Kricher A Field Guide To Tree And shrub

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Compared with other guide in this category, the kricher a field guide to tree and shrub has a convenient design. It's like having in your pocket a field trip with a great naturalist, pointing out the connections between different kinds of flowers and the insects that pollinate them. It is interesting and covers almost all facets of the forests, and in a way, goes a little bit beyond that with sections on butterflys, insects and other plants besides trees. It's more of a help to figure out what you're getting yourself into before you go somewhere.

This is a great, concise book for taking on field work expeditions. It makes for slow reading with lots of thinking trying to understand and absorb. It teaches you what to look for, and how to look at everything. This is a good guide if you want an overview of the flora and fauna of the Eastern forests of North America.

Why We Like This:

Great informational book for teaching science
An excellent gift for those interested in nature
A great gift, for someone that loves the outdoors and its adventures
Very informative, excellent color pictures, and wonderful descriptions of eastern decidious forest binome

Best For Trees Of Western North America: Petrides A Field Guide To Tree And shrub

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Next on the list, we've got yet another guide that manages to win our hearts. It's the petrides a field guide to tree and shrub and it's widely considered as guide that has the most suitable features. It is a great field guide for trees located in the western united states. It has heavy, glossy paper which makes it very heavy to carry in the field. It does not cover all woody plants like shrubs. It can be used by native americans to waterproof woven bottles and to cement turquoise jewelry. It is easy to use for iding native trees. There are also clear directions on how to find the tree you are looking for, and the area it is normally found in. It is compact, but the photos are clear and full color.

Why We Like This:

Great photos, illustrations, id methodologies, and maps
Good investment for long term

Best For novice And expert botanist: Pam Mackay A Field Guide To Tree And shrub

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The pam mackay a field guide to tree and shrub's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. Whether you are lucky enough to spot the stately panamint daisy or smell the distinctive fragrance of grape soda lupine, this guide will enhance your next journey into the remarkable mojave desert. It is packed with vivid color photos and informative text, this valuable reference will help you identify and appreciate the unique and varied flora of this desert ecosystem. It is easy to follow and read as it is color coded. There is also a section on green and brown shrubs.

The photos are stunning and the text well organized and very interesting. It is perfect for the novice and expert botanist alike. This is a very handy field guide.

Why We Like This:

Tells you almost everything about desert plants that you need to know
Must have for mojave hikers and wildflower lovers
Beautiful color photos and lots of info on each plant

Best Field Guide: Robert E Swanson A Field Guide To Tree And shrub

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The robert e swanson a field guide to tree and shrub is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily purpose. This book is an excellent botanical field guide for trees and shrubs in the Southern Appalachians. It has features for identification purposes. These include keys for plants with needles/scales, plants with different leaf or leaf scar arrangements (opposite, alternate, whorled), different leaf types (simple or compound), and evergreen plants. It is small and lightweight to easily carry on a field trip into the mountains, and it is suitable for keying out plants on both summer and winter hikes.

The title suggests this is a guide to plants in a limited geographic range, the plants here are found in many areas of eastern north america, and the book can therefore be used as a guide for this larger area. There are a couple of pages with shortcut keys to quickly identify plants with one or more especially noticeable characters such as climbing vines, milky sap, thorns etc. If you know how to use botanical keys, this book is a pleasure to work with in the field and a great teaching tool for botany classes.

Why We Like This:

One of the new comers and featured product
Good brand reputation

Best Plant material: Delena Tull A Field Guide To Tree And shrub

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Next on the list, we've got yet another guide that manages to win our hearts. It's the delena tull a field guide to tree and shrub and it's widely considered as one of the best convenient guide you can buy. This is a good source for detailed information about many of the shrubs, trees and flowers of Texas. It is easy to read and is a useful source for both causal and serious gardeners. This book has some great pictures and is perfectly descriptive.

Why We Like This:

Essential for texans who enjoy nature
One of the new comers and featured product