Legumes of the Great Plains An Illustrated Guide

About this book

Legumes of the Great Plains: An Illustrated Guide is an invaluable tool for the identification of more than 114 species of legumes in the Great Plains. In addition to a distribution map, botanical illustration, and an in-depth botanical description, this comprehensive guide describes the habitat, uses and values, pollinators, forage value for livestock and wildlife, toxic properties, and ethnobotany of each species. The botanical synonyms and other common names – including those used by the Great Plains Indians – are also provided. This volume includes more than one hundred similar species with a description of how each differs from the main species.

This reference book is indispensable to anyone interested in grassland and prairie conservation and management, the Great Plains, botany, or modern taxonomy.

Contents

Introduction
            Climate
            Geology
            Soils
Prairies
Abundance and Value of Legumes
Keys
Taxonomy
Illustrations
Maps
Descriptions of Individual Species
Characteristics of Legumes
Taxonomy of Legumes

I. Caesalpiniaceae
II. Fabaceae
III. Mimosaceae

Glossary
Abbreviations for Nomenclature Authorities
Selected References
Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

James Stubbendieck is director emeritus of the Center for Great Plains Studies and professor emeritus of grassland ecology in the Department of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Jessica L. Milby is a plant identification specialist and a range and forage research technologist at the University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center in North Platte.