Lone Star Wildflowers: A Guide to Texas Flowering Plants (Grover E. Murray Studies in the American Southwest)

Each spring throughout the celebrated Hill Country and well beyond, locals and visitors revel in the palettes and variety of Texas wildflowers. From the Panhandle canyonlands to the islands of South Texas, from the eastern Pineywoods to the farthest reaches of the arid Trans-Pecos, some 5,000 species dot Texas’s 268,820 square miles. Now Lone Star Wildflowers offers easy identification through color grouping and a wealth of insight from the origin of scientific and common names to growth cycles, uses, history, and native lore. Nieland and Finley have made countless forays with camera and notebook and have broadened their approach through years of research. In language accessible to every enthusiast, they offer wildflower lovers unparalleled enrichment.In the field, by the roadside, or in the classroom, Lone Star Wildflowers reveals the science, ecology, and rich lore of Texas flowers with these helpful features:• Nearly 500 full-color flower photographs, grouped according to the color spectrum and further arranged by family• An “Exploring Further” section in each color category, showing details of seedpods, leaves, buds, and fruits• Current and historical uses of each flower, including applications for landscaping, water conservation, traditional medicine, pharmaceuticals, and food• Information about plant toxins and range management practices affecting livestock and wildlife• Coverage of growth cycles throughout the seasons, depicting young plants, buds, mature seed heads, and fruits as well as flowers

A former biology teacher, LaShara J. Nieland began studying how ancient people used wild plants and incorporated this information into her lessons. She lives in Odessa with her husband, Andy, and continues to photograph wildflowers and give talks to various groups.

Willa F. Finley has worked in agriculture research in the Middle East and North Africa, and in agribusiness in Central Africa. More recently she was senior researcher in agricultural economics for LMC International in Oxford, UK. She now lives in Lubbock, Texas, and is involved in agricultural development projects in Africa.