This classic of midwestern natural history is back in print with a new format and new photographs. Originally published in 1989, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie introduced many naturalists to the beauty and diversity of the native plants of the huge grasslands that once stretched from Manitoba to Texas. Now redesigned with updated names and all-new photographs, this reliable field companion will introduce tallgrass prairie wildflowers to a new generation of outdoor enthusiasts in the Upper Midwest. Runkel and Roosa say that prairies can be among the most peaceful places on earth; certainly they are among the most beleaguered. Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie will inspire both amateurs and professionals with the desire to learn more about the wonders of the prairie landscape.
Sylvan Runkel (1906-1995) is the coauthor of five books about midwestern wildflowers, including Wildflowers of the Iowa Woodlands and Wildflowers and Other Plants of Iowa Wetlands.
Conservationist Dean Roosa is the coauthor of The Vascular Plants of Iowa: An Annotated Checklist and Natural History (1994).
In wave after wave of floral successions in indigo, pale lavender, crimson, gold, cream, white, and magenta--in every tone and hue of the artist's palette--the prairie flowers come on . . . beginning with ground-hugging pasque flowers and birdsfoot violets and climaxing with towering sunflowers. . . . All of these, and more, are carefully and lovingly treated in the following pages by Sylvan Runkel and Dean Roosa, a pair of long-time prairie ramblers who know the tallgrass country and the native flowers to be found there.--from the foreword by John Madson