Need a wildflower identification guide? The Field Book of Western Wild Flowers by Margaret Armstrong is a beautifully illustrated public domain option. What makes this book a nice addition to some of the other public domain wildflower books we’ve already included elsewhere on our site is that fact that it is a field guide with an emphasis on identification.
With that in mind, the book begins with a list of technical terms important to understand when identifying flowers.
Next is a key to the flower families. To identify a wildflower, the reader can notice the number of leaves, their arrangement, the number of stamens, etc. Then he can consult the correct page to locate his flower.
Finally comes the field book itself, organized by plant family. Hundreds of descriptions are laced with beautiful illustrations by the author, followed by a brief description of the plant and where it is likely to be found. Common and scientific names are included.
An extensive index in the back helps the user quickly locate a specific flower by common or scientific name.
If you are more interested in Eastern wildflowers, you will still enjoy the many flowers specific to your area that are in the book, but the author also recommends Field Book of American Wild Flowers by Schuyler Mathews, whose arrangement the author followed (see link below).
We usually recommend a family purchase a wildflower guide for their own state or specific area. But for those on a budget, it will be hard to find a more handy field guide for the price!
We’ve added the Field Book of Western Wild Flowers to the wildflower section of our free nature studies. Perhaps the book will inspire your children to create one of their own!
Free eBook
- Read online
- Various formats (Kindle, EPUB, etc.)
Suggestions
- Make a wildflower notebook. Have your child create a page for common wildflowers in each family in the book.
- Keep a wildflower log. Write down the date the flower was spotted and where. A digital picture or illustration can be included.
- Most of the illustrations in the book are black and white. By using the right-click mouse function and “Save as” you can download the images from Gutenberg and print, making excellent coloring pages for a notebook!
Additional Resources
Field Book of American Wild Flowers by Schuyler Mathews
Same format covering Eastern wildflowers.
Free Nature Studies: Wildflowers
Part of our free nature study series, this section covers wildflower anatomy, identification, dissection, and more. Includes many activities, foldables, observation sheets, and other printable suggestions.
Hike Observation Sheet: Wildflower Hunt
One way to keep a wildflower log.
Drawing & Writing Notebooking Paper {Free Download}
Simple notebooking pages for creating a wildflower notebook.
Keep Reading
Celebrating Wildflowers Coloring Book ~ Free
Celebrating Wildflowers Coloring Book from the U. S. Forest Service offers 44 free pages of wildflowers to print, color, and learn from.
North American Wild Flowers {Free eBook}
North American Wildflowers covers thirty wildflowers found in North America. Free eBook
100 Desert Wildflowers {Free eBook}
Free public domain eBook that will introduce your child to plants he may not be familiar with.
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