On-site Data Collection

NRI Grazing Land

Plant Identification Field Guides

This list of field guides for plant identification is intended to inform NRI On-Site Grazing Land Study data collectors. The plant identification guides suggested here were accumulated from:

  • NRCS West Region State Rangeland Management Specialists
  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Botanists
  • Forest Service (USFS) Regional Botanists
  • U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Core Science Analytics Botanists
  • Regional Ecologists from NatureServe

If you know of other useful plant identification field guides for your area, please send the information to nri-graze-help@iastate.edu and it will be used to update this list.

General and Regional Field Guides

General

Pasture

These recommendations come from Sarah Goslee (sarah.goslee@ars.usda.gov).

  • Abaye, A. Ozzie. 2010. Identification and Adaptation of Common Grasses, Legumes and Non-leguminous Forbs of the Eastern United States. Interstate Graphics, Inc. ISBN-10: 0615357571 Photos; focused on agriculture. Can be ordered from the author at Virginia Tech.
  • Bryson, Charles, and Michael DeFelice. 2009. Weeds of the South. University of Georgia Press. ISBN-10: 0820330469 Photos of details, often including seeds and seedlings, but not always an overview shot.
  • Del Tredici, Peter. 2010. Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast. Comstock Publishing Associates. ISBN-10: 0801474582 Many plants also found in pastures. Photos, with overview and details.
  • Goslee, Sarah. 2014. Pasture Plants of the Northeast. (Available as PDF from www.grazingguide.net) Photos taken in northeastern pastures.
  • Judziewicz, Emmet J., Robert W. Freckmann, Lynn G. Clark, and Merel R. Black. 2014. Field Guide to Wisconsin Grasses. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN-10: 0299301346 Photos and drawings; photos of variable quality, and often don't show plant overview. Has dichotomous keys as well.
  • Newcomb, Lawrence. 1989. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN-10: 9780316604420 Has good drawings, and is organized by leaf arrangement and flower type.
  • Phillips, CE. 1962. Field Manual No. 2. Some Grasses of the Northeast. A key to their identification by vegetative characters. University of Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station. (Available as PDF from Sarah Goslee)
  • Undersander, Dan, Michael Casler, and Dennis Cosgrove. 1996. Identifying Pasture Grasses. University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Publication A363. (Available as PDF from Sarah Goslee) Not many species; photos and identifying characteristics.
  • Uva, Richard H., Joseph C. Neal, and Joseph M. DiTomaso. 1997. Weeds of the Northeast. Comstock Publishing. ISBN-10: 0801483344 Photos of plant, seedling, seeds.

Southeast

These recommendations come from Gene Fults (gene.fults@por.usda.gov).

  • Bowers, R. and N. Bowers. 2008. Wildflowers of the Carolinas Field Guide. [never seen this one]
  • Horn, D. and T. Cathcart (ed.) Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley and the Southern Appalachians. [better in Interior Low Plateau, Cumberlands, Ridge and Valley]
  • Newcomb, L. Newcomb's Wildflower Guide. [this is better in Piedmont and lower-elevation Appalachians, not Coastal Plain; lacks limestone glade plants]
  • Porcher, R. D. 2002. A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina. [one of the few I know for Coastal Plain]
  • Sorrie, B. A. 2011. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region: North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Southern Gateways.
  • Spira, T. Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont: A Naturalist's Guide to the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia (Southern Gateways Guides).
  • Tiner, R. W. Field Guide to Coastal Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States
  • Gwaltney, J. Southeastern Flora
  • National Audubon Society. Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Eastern Region

Field Guides by State

Alaska

  • Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories, Eric Hultein, Stanford University Press 1968
  • Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, University of Washington Press 1973
  • Lichens of North America, Brodo, Sharnoff and Sharnoff, Yale University Press 2001
  • Weeds of the West, Many Authors, Western Society of Weed Science, 2002 (9th edition)
  • Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, Pojar & Mackinnon, B.C. Ministry of Forests and Lone Pine, 1994
  • Alaska Forage Manual, Alaska Division of Agriculture/NRCS, 2012
  • Alaska Rare Plant Field Guide – Lipkin and Murray, 1997
  • Alaska Rare Plant Field Guide Online
  • A Field Guide to Common Fruticose Lichens in Western Alaska, Sonnen/NRCS 2010
  • Wetland Sedges of Alaska, Tande and Lipkin, Alaska Natural Heritage Program 2003
  • Willows of ... (Interior Alaska, South-Central Alaska), Collet, US Fish and Wildlife Service 2004

Arizona

California

  • Grasses in California, Beecher Crampton, University of CA Press, 1974
  • Spring Wildflowers of the Foothills, Valleys and Coast, Philip Munz, University of Ca Press, 2004
  • Weeds of California and Other Western States, Publication 3488 (Two volumes), Univ of CA Press, 2007.
  • Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California 1993
  • The Jepson Desert Manual: Vascular Plants of Southeastern California Baldwin, et. al. editors 2002 University of California Press
  • A California Flora and Supplement - Munz and Keck
  • California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants

Colorado

  • Flora of Colorado. 2015. Jennifer Ackerfield. BRIT Press
  • The Colorado Rare Plant Field Guide is being updated constantly and is online. The Field Guide drop down will have links to Colorado rare plant Field Guide and the Wetland plants, too.
  • *Grasses of Colorado - Robert B. Shaw, University Press of Colorado
  • Manual of the Plants of Colorado - Harrington
  • Colorado Flora Western/Eastern Slope - Weber and Wittmann, University Press of Colorado
  • Colorado Rare Plant Field Guide - Spackman, Jennings, Coles, Dawson, Minton Kratz and Spurrier
  • Native Grasses - Colorado GLCI and Colorado SRM,
  • *Guide to Colorado Wildflower Vo. 1 and 2 - G.K. Gnuennel, Westcliffe Publishers, In.
  • Field Guide to Intermountain Rushes - Hurd, Goodrich Shaw (General Tech Report INT - 306)
  • Field Guide to Intermountain Sedges - Hurd, Shaw, Mastroguiseppe, Smithman, Goodrich (General Tech Report RMRS-GTR-10)
  • Field Guide for the Identification and Use of Common Riparian Wood Plants of the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest Region - USDA NRCS Aberdeen Plant Materials Center
  • Field Guide to Colorado's Wetland Plants - Identification, Ecology and Conservation - Denise R. Culver and Joanna M. Lemly
  • Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers, J. Craighead, F, Craighead Jr, and R Davis, Houghton Mifflin
  • Forage and Reclamation Grasses of the Northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains, Mark Majeru, Valley Printers, Bridger MT
  • Rocky Mountain Flower Finder. Wingate, 1990, Nature Study Guide, Rochester, NY.
  • A Vegetative Key to Some Common Arizona Range Grasses - Gen TR RM-53 Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experimental Station (this is a great VEGETATIVE KEY for identifying common grasses when they are immature or heavily grazed.)
  • A Field Guide to Nevada Grasses - Perryman, BL and Q.D. Skinner
  • A Field Guide to Wyoming Grasses - Quentin D Skinner. Education Resource Publishing
  • A Field Guide to the Grasses of New Mexico - Kelley W Allred, New Mexico State University, Department of Agriculture Communications
  • Grasses of the Southwest United States - F.W. Gould
  • North American Wildland Plants - Stubbendieck et al.
  • Range Plant Handbook - USDA Forest Service
  • Weeds of the West - Tom D. Whitson
  • Flora of the San Juans: A field guide to the mountain plants of southwestern Colorado, Susan Komarek,
  • "Trees and Shrubs of Colorado" by Jack Carter
  • "Peterson Field Guide Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers" Niehaus/Ripper/Savage.
  • Flora of the Four Corners Region, Vascular Plants of the San Juan River Drainage: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah Hardcover - September 18, 2013 by Kenneth D. Heil (Author), Steve L. O'Kane (Author), & 3 more

Hawaii

Idaho

  • Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary Taylor
  • Idaho and Wyoming Endangered and Sensitive Plant Field Guide - USFS
  • Grasses of Wyoming
  • Field guide to Nevada shrubs
  • Central Rocky Mountain Wildflowers
  • Weeds of the West
  • Sagebrush pocket guide
  • Sagebrush of Colorado
  • Vascular plants of northern Utah
  • Hitchcock - grasses and scs/
  • Hitchcock vegetative characteristics
  • Field guide to inter mountain sedges
  • Field guide to rocky mtn willows
  • Field guide to willows of east central Idaho
  • Flora of the Pacific Northwest
  • Field guide to the special status plants of the Bureau of Land Management Lower Snake River District, Atwood and DeBolt, 2000
  • Northwest Weeds: the Ugly and Beautiful Villians of Fields, Gardens and Roadsides Taylor 1990
  • Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History Moringo, 1984
  • Trees of the Great Basin, A Natural History Lanner, 1984

Montana

  • Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Lesica, BRIT Press, 2012
  • Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, U of Washington Press, 1973
  • A Field Guide to Wyoming Grasses, Skinner, Education Resources Publishing, 2010
  • Grassland Plants of South Dakota and the Northern Great Plains, South Dakota State University, 1999
  • Montana Field Guides Online

Nevada

  • Field Guide for the Identification and Use of Common Riparian Woody Plants of the Intermountain West
  • and Pacific Northwest Regions, Hoag - Tilley - Darris - Pendergrass, NRCS, 2008
  • Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, Turner & Gustafson, Timber Press, 2006
  • Manual of Grasses for North America, Barkworth - Anderton - Capels - Long - Piep, Intermountain Herbarium and Utah State University Press, 2007
  • Field Guide to the Sedges of the Pacific Northwest, Wilson - Brainerd - Lytjen - Newhouse - Otting, Oregon State University Press, 2008
  • A Field Guide to Nevada Grasses, Perryman & Skinner, Indigenous Rangeland Management Press, 2007
  • A Field Guide to Nevada Shrubs, Perryman, Indigenous Rangeland Management Press, 2014
  • Intermountain Flora Vols. 1-6: Cronquist, Holmgren, Holmgren & Reveal; New York Botanical Garden
  • A Utah Flora, Welsh, Atwood, Higgins, Goodrich, 1987, Brigham Young University
  • Nevada Rare Plant Atlas
  • Great Basin Wildflowers: A Guide To Common Wildflowers Of The High Deserts Of Nevada, Utah, And Oregon (Wildflower Series), 1st Edition, Blackwell and Adesanya
  • Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History Moringo, 1984
  • Trees of the Great Basin, A Natural History Lanner, 1984

New Mexico

  • Flora of Colorado by Jennifer Ackerfield.
  • Grasses of Colorado by Robert Shaw
  • Wildflowers of the Northern and Central Mountains of New Mexico by Larry Littlefield and Pearl Burns
  • Flowering Plant of New Mexico by Robert DeWitt Ivey
  • Manual of Grasses for North America by Barkworth et al
  • A Handbook of Rare and Endemic Plants of New Mexico .The New Mexico Native Plants Protection Advisory Committee, 1983 University of New Mexico Press
  • New Mexico Rare Plant website
  • Weeds of the West - The Western Society of Weed Science in cooperation with the
  • Western United States Land Grant Universities Cooperative Extension Services - publisher, Whitson, Burrill, Dewey, Nelson, Lee, Parker -authors, 9th edition, 2004
  • A Flora of New Mexico - Wooton and Standley
  • Common Rangeland Plants of the Texas Panhandle - NRCS, GLCI and RC&D authors.
  • A Field Guide to the Grasses of New Mexico, Third Edition - by Kelly W. Allred 2005 publication by the
  • Department of Agricultural Communications, NMSU
  • Colorado Flora, Western Slope Third Edition by William Weber and Ronald Wittmann, 2001 University Press of Colorado
  • Flora Neomexicana III: An Illustrated Identification Manual by Kelly W. Allred and Robert DeWitt Ivey, 2012 (http://www.lulu.com)
  • New Mexico Range Plants - Cooperative Extension Service Circular 374 New Mexico State University
  • Pocket Guide to Sagebrush - Leila Shultz 2012 PRBO Conservation Science
  • A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque - University of New Mexico Press, 2008 by Cartron, Lightfoot, Mygatt, Brantley and Lowrey
  • "Peterson Field Guide Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers" Niehaus/Ripper/Savage.

Oregon

  • The Oregon Flora Project
  • Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock & Cronquist, University of Washington Press, 1981
  • Plants of Southern Interior British Columbia, Parish - Coupe - Lloyd, Lone Pine Publishing, 1996
  • Field Guide for the Identification and Use of Common Riparian Woody Plants of the Intermountain West and Pacific Northwest Regions, Hoag - Tilley - Darris - Pendergrass, NRCS, 2008
  • Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest, Turner & Gustafson, Timber Press, 2006
  • Manual of Grasses for North America, Barkworth - Anderton - Capels - Long - Piep, Intermountain Herbarium and Utah State University Press, 2007
  • Field Guide to the Sedges of the Pacific Northwest, Wilson - Brainerd - Lytjen - Newhouse - Otting, Oregon State University Press, 2008
  • A Field Guide to Nevada Grasses, Perryman & Skinner, Indigenous Rangeland Management Press, 2007
  • A Field Guide to Nevada Shrubs, Perryman, Indigenous Rangeland Management Press, 2014
  • online sources:
  • NRCS Plant Materials Program
  • 1000 Weeds of North America, Old, 2013
  • Flora of the Wasatch, High Country Apps, 2015
  • Virginia Tech Tree ID, 2015
  • Great Basin Wildflowers: A Guide To Common Wildflowers Of The High Deserts Of Nevada, Utah, And Oregon (Wildflower Series) 1st Edition, Blackwell and Adesanya
  • Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History Moringo, 1984
  • Trees of the Great Basin, A Natural History Lanner, 1984

Utah

  • A Utah Flora by Welsh, Atwood, Goodrich and Higgins, Brigham Young University, 2003
  • Vascular Plants of Northern Utah by Richard Shaw, Utah State University, 1989
  • Flora of the Pacific Northwest Grasses and Grasslike plants of Utah by Banner, Pratt and Bowns, Utah State University, 2005
  • Utah Tree Field Guide, by Mike Kuhns, Utah State University, 2004
  • Guide to the Trees of Utah (and the Intermountain West) Kuhns
  • Utah Endangered, Threatened and Sensitive Plant Field Guide - Atwod, Holland, Bolander, Franklin, House, Armstrong, Thorne and England
  • Utah Rare Plant Field Guide on Line
  • USDA (PDF, 4.0 MB). TN Plant Materials No. 52. January 2013 Revision. Technical Note. USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City Utah.
  • Great Basin Wildflowers: A Guide To Common Wildflowers Of The High Deserts Of Nevada, Utah, And Oregon (Wildflower Series), 1st Edition, Blackwell and Adesanya
  • Weeds of the West by Whitson et al, University of Wyoming, 2002
  • Field Guide to Intermountain Rushes by Hurd, Goodrich and Shaw, USFS Intermountain Research Station, GTR INT-306, 1994
  • Field Guide to Intermountain Sedges by Hurd et al, USFS RMRS-GTR-10, 1998
  • Identification of Common Riparian Woody Plants by Hoag et al, NRCS Aberdeen PMC, 2008
  • Wasatch Wildflowers Hegji, 2010
  • Shrubs of the Great Basin: A Natural History Moringo, 1984
  • Trees of the Great Basin, A Natural History Lanner, 1984

Washington

  • Flora of PNW by Hitchcock & Conquest U. of Washington Press, 1973
  • Plants of S. Interior BC & Inland NW by Parish, Coupe & Lloyd Lone Pine, 1996
  • Trees, Shrubs, & flowers to Know in Wash. by CP Lyons & Bill Merilees Lone Pine, 1995
  • Wildflowers of the PNW by Mark Turner & Phyllis Gustafson
  • Wayside Wildflowers of PNW by Dee Strickler Falcon, 1993 Tiber Press Filed Guide, 2006
  • Sagebrush Country by Ronald Taylor & Rolf Valum 1974, The Touchstone Press
  • Weeds of the West by Western Society of Weed Science
  • Manual of the Grasses of the US by AS Hitchcock
  • NW Weeds by Ronald Taylor
  • Common Plants of the Inland PNW by Charles Grier Johnson, Jr (USFS)
  • New Invaders of the NW by Rachel Winston & Mark Schwarzlander (USFS)
  • Field Guide to Intermountain Sedges - USFS
  • Eastern Washington Range Plants, B. Roche, 1984, WSU-CES (EB1302)
  • Weeds of the West, 1991
  • Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast - Pojar and Mackinnon
  • Field Guide to Sedges of the PNW - second edition, Wilson et. al.
  • A Field Guide to the Common Wetland Plants of Western WA and NW Oregon - Cooke, editor
  • Weed Identification Guide, City of Portland
  • Washington Flora Checklist, Hitchcock and Cronquist
  • Washington Natural Heritage Program Rare Plant Information

Wyoming

  • Intermountain Flora Vols. 1-6: Cronquist, Holmgren, Holmgren & Reveal; New York Botanical Garden)
  • A Field Guide to Wyoming Grasses - Quentin D Skinner. Education Resource Publishing
  • Wildflowers of Wyoming, State & States, Mountain Press Publishing 2004
  • Plants of the Rocky Mountains, Kershaw, Mackinnon, and Pojar, 1998
  • Atlas of the Flora of Wyoming, North American Range Plants. Stubbendieck, Hatch, Hirsch. University of Nebraska Press. 1989
  • Common Legumes of the Great Plains. Stubbendieck, Conard. University of Nebraska Press. 1989
  • Plants of the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains. Larson, Johnson, South Dakota State University. 1999
  • Wildflowers, Grasses and Other Plants of the Northern Plains and Black Hills. Van Bruggen, T. 1983. Badlands Natural History Assoc.,. ISBN 0-912410-05-1
  • Vascular Plants of Wyoming - Dorn
  • Flora of the Black Hills - Dorn
  • Wyoming Rare Plant Field Guide - Fertig, Refsdal and Whipple, 1994
  • Wyoming Plant Identification Resources
  • Rocky Mountain Flower Finder. Wingate, 1990, Nature Study Guide, Rochester, NY