Textbook Revolution

Taking the Bite Out of Books

Flora of North America

Flora of North America Editorial Committee

http://hua.huh.harvard.edu/FNA/

Not actually a textbook, this series is (or will be, when completed) the standard taxonomic reference for the North American vascular plant flora. 9 volumes have been completed, with another ~20 to come. The first volume is a good general reference for the biogeography of North America, and each subsequent volume provides technical keys, range maps, illustrations, and descriptions for all the species that grow outside of cultivation in North America (north of Mexico).

From the website:

Flora of North America builds upon the cumulative wealth of information acquired since botanical studies began in the United States and Canada more than two centuries ago. Recent research has been integrated with historical studies, so that the Flora of North America is a single-source synthesis of North American floristics. FNA has the full support of scientific botanical societies and is the botanical community’s vehicle for synthesizing and presenting this information.

Species descriptions are written and reviewed by experts from the systematic botanical community worldwide, based on original observations of living and herbarium specimens supplemented by a crucial review of the literature. Each treatment includes scientific and common names, taxonomic descriptions, identification keys, distribution maps, illustrations, summaries of habitat and geographic ranges, pertinent synonomy, chromosome numbers, phenology, ethnobotanical uses and toxicity, and other relevant biological information.

All content is available free in searchable html format, and you can purchase hardcopies from your favourite bookseller.

Link to website

Available for purchase? Yes, Oxford University Press, Amazon et al.