This latest editon of Vascular Flora of Illinois includes over thirty-four hundred species of flora from Illinois, adding more than 250 newly-recongized plants to this definitive collection. Because catalouging our hertiage is foremst in importance among naturalist, this book complies essential information about plants in Illinois. Mohlenbrock includes all known taxa native to Illinois either at present or in the past and all non-native vascular plants that grow spontaneously and appear able to maintain themselves year after year without cultivation. The sequence of groups in Vascular Flora of Illinois is ferns, conifers, and flowering plants with cotyledons given before monocotyledons. Within each group, the families are arranged alphabetically, as are the genera within eah family and the species within each genus. For each taxon recongized in Vascular Flora of Illinois, Mohlenbrock gives us a common name if one is generally used in Illinois. He follows this with an indication of flowering time for flowering plants, and of spore-production time in the case of ferns and their relative. He also provides a habitat statement and a genreal comment on distribution in Illinois for each taxon.
Containing information on Illinois flora not available anywhere else, this fourth edition of Vascular Flora of Illinois is essential for ecologists, environmentalist, and land developers. Those interested in wildflower idenification will also find this guide helpful.
Robert H. Mohlenbrock taught botany at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale for thirty-four years. Since his retirement in 1990, he has served as senior scientist for Biotic Consultants, teaching wetland identification classes around the country. Since 1984 he has been a monthly columnist for Natural History magazine. He is the author of more than 560 publications.