Field Guide to the Trees of the Gila Region of New Mexico is the definitive guide for field botanists, researchers, students, and avid nature lovers who wish to explore the natural history of native and introduced tree species across the Gila. The book documents over seventy-five tree species in the first wilderness area in the United States – and the largest in New Mexico – known for its wildness, remoteness, and significant recreation opportunities.
Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the authors feature detailed individual species accounts and special ecological and ethnobotanical information, providing full dichotomous keys to the families, genera, and species of all trees in the region. Color photographs of the species provide diagnostic clarity for easy identification, showing the whole tree, trunk, and foliage as well as macro photos of the flowers, fruits, or cones and other significant features. This comprehensive and user-friendly guide will be welcomed by residents and visitors studying and discovering the diverse trees of the Gila Region.
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Species Accounts
The Major Groups
Conifers: Extant Gymnosperms
Flowering Plants: Angiosperms
Cultivated Trees
List of Gila Forest Tree Genera and Their Families
Literature Cited
List of Contributors
Index
Richard Stephen Felger (1934–2020) was a researcher with the Herbarium, School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona. He published widely on arid-land botany, ethnobotany, and conservation, and he was a co-author of Plant Life of a Desert Archipelago: Flora of the Sonoran Islands in the Gulf of California.
James Thomas Verrier is a professional horticulturist and a researcher affiliated with the University of Arizona School of Plant Sciences.
Kelly Kindscher is a plant ecologist and ethnobotanist at the University of Kansas. His recent works include Echinacea: Herbal Medicine with a Wild History.
Xavier Raj Herbst Khera has a keen interest in new arid-land food crops and horticulture, especially desert plants. He is a Silver City, New Mexico, native and an outdoor enthusiast.
"Exceptionally well organized and presented."
– Michael Dunford, Midwest Book Review
"An easy-to-use, accurate guide to all the trees of the Gila Region, complete with excellent photos and interesting information about each tree species."
– Kelly W. Allred, New Mexico State University
"This engaging book contains abundant information about the taxonomy, the ecology, and the natural and cultural history of tree species in the Gila Region, one of the most biologically significant regions in North America. It should be read and studied by anyone (natural resource managers, conservationists, scientists, educators, travelers, hikers, artists, writers, etc.) who has the good fortune to spend time in this unique area."
– William R. Norris, Western New Mexico University