Budd's Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces Volume 1: Ferns and Fern Allies, Conifers, Monocots - A Guide to the Plants of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan

Budd's Flora of the Prairie Provinces, first published in 1979 and revised and updated in 1987, is a field-oriented manual for the identification of all known plants occurring in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Volume 1 includes the region's ferns and fern allies, conifers, and monocots (e.g., grasses, sedges and rushes, lilies, orchids, etc.) The companion Volume 2 treats the dicots ("wildflowers"; see ISBN 1523348690). Each family, genus and species is keyed, followed by concise descriptions of each species' key features, habitat and general range in the region. Numerous line drawings by the authors and b/w photographs of herbarium specimens are included throughout the text. Although somewhat dated in terms of taxonomic nomenclature, the book's thoroughness (1,974 species in 590 genera and 118 families are described in the two volumes), easy-to-use keys, and clear descriptions make Budd's Flora a valuable resource for anyone studying the plant life of the region's prairies, wetlands, forests, and mountains. Primary author A. C. Budd (1889-1960) was a long-time student of Canada's prairie flora and Range Botanist with Agriculture Canada. This latest edition was updated by his colleagues J. Looman and K. F. Best.