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There are many good books on plant identification, but there is a new one that I believe is likely to become a standard for enthusiasts and land stewards in the North Texas area.
Range Plants of North Central Texas by Ricky Linex is published by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Weatherford and may be purchased at many of their offices . It’s also available online at the BRIT store and from Native American Seed. Cost is $20. It has large 8 1/2 by 11 inch pages and is spiral bound. It describes 324 plants, each on a separate page, arranged alphabetically by plant family. There is an index by common name and an index by scientific name, as well as a glossary and references.
Something I especially appreciate is that it combines grasses, wildflowers and woody plants all in a single volume.
Two other things give this book an advantage over most other plant identification guides. One is that there are multiple photos of each of the 324 plants described, including pictures of seeds and flowers in many cases. The second is that the text discusses not only identification but also has very useful sections on value and management for each plant.
The North Central area includes the Rolling Plains, Cross Timbers, Blackland Prairie and the Post Oak Savannah vegetation areas. But many of the plants will be found in the neighboring regions too.
The author is a wildlife biologist with the NRCS, based in Weatherford, and is the editor of the Reverchon Naturalist. Ricky is also a vice-president of the Native Plant Society of Texas and he has spent 30 years studying the plants of the region.
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: Bill Hopkins
