The Chihuahuan desert is the second largest in North America and its northern, or United States, portion occupies southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and Texas west of the Pecos River. Hot, dry, and windy, the desert is home to a unique community of plants that have adapted to its harsh environment. Visitors to the area will find this volume a practical identification guide, offering descriptions of seventy-five representative species of northern Chihuahuan Desert plants. Each illustrated profile includes the plant’s common and Latin name and a brief description, as well as its role in human history, its relationship to the surrounding flora and fauna, medicinal uses, nutritional value, habitat, toxicity, and other interesting facts.

"Northern Chihuahuan Desert Wildflowers" is the ultimate field guide to the flora of the Chihuahuan Desert in southern New Mexico and West Texas. This valuable reference enables all desert enthusiasts to identify quickly and accurately hundreds of Chihuahuan Desert plants. The easy-to-use guide features: More than 270 color photographs; precise descriptions of 261 species; habitat/range information; historical and cultural notes; an educational glossary; a complete index of scientific and common names; descriptions of national parks of the region. Author Steve West has spent more than 30 years studying the flora and fauna of this fascinating part of the country and has skillfully woven his own observations with those of distinguished botanists and fellow naturalists. The clear and concise plant descriptions and detailed color photos make this a great field guide for the layman as well as the botanist. More than a simple field guide, "Northern Chihuahuan Desert Wildflowers" is an invitation to discover this ecologically spectacular habitat. If Carlsbad Caverns, Big Bend, and Guadalupe Mountains are on your itinerary, be sure to take this indispensable guide along.

This guide uses color photographs and brief descriptions to help identify a variety of plants native to the northern Chihuahuan Desert, including Big Bend National Park, Big Bend Ranch State Park, and the Davis Mountains. Split into helpful categories of trees, shrubs, succulents, wildflowers, and ferns, this guide is useful for casual visitors as well as plant enthusiasts. This light-weight, durable laminated guide's six double-panels fold for convenient carrying and use in the field.

Appearing barren and most definitely wild, the Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States may look worthless to some, but for Susan Tweit it is an inspiration. In this collection of seven elegant personal essays, she explores undiscovered facets of this seemingly hostile environment. With eloquence, passion, and insight, she describes and reflects on the relationship between the land, history, and people and makes this underappreciated region less barren for those who would share her journeys. "There's often little to this terrain, but to the author it's a beautiful landscape bursting with stories and wildlife, with big cities and small chunks of quietness found in few other places on earth. Tweit's essays have a pleasant style that combines history with personal discovery." —Book Talk "Sense of place is measured by one's awareness of the landscape and the extent to which it dictates thought and behavior. Barren, Wild, and Worthless dramatizes the aspirations, needs, and functional rhythms of life that are revealed and defined by this seventh sense." —Southwestern American Literature

This unique reference work describes over 350 wildflowers and flowering shrubs that grow in New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo, Jemez, Sandia, and Manzano Mountains, as well as neighboring ranges, including the Manzanita, San Pedro, Ortiz, and other lower-elevation mountains in central portions of the state. With more than a thousand color photographs accompanied by visual descriptions, the easy-to-use guide organizes plants first by flower color, then alphabetically by family common name, then by scientific name. The authors also include information on traditional uses of the plants by indigenous peoples and an extensive glossary and bibliography. A brief geological history and description of the ranges examines the different life zones and ecosystems and how these relate to elevation and microclimates. Wildflower enthusiasts and hikers will welcome this useful book.

A showcase for plant diversity, the Chihuahuan Desert is North America's largest at over 200,000 square miles that include West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and northern Mexico. This stunning guide is a full-color celebration of more than 60 flowering plants native to the area.

Offers the most comprehensive guide to landscaping with native plants available.

Desert Wildflowers of North America leads visitors and certified desert rats alike through the flora of the blooming desert. This illustrated full-color guide contains profiles of more than 500 species of plants. The simplified botanical key and illustrated glossary help even novice wildflower admirers to identify desert plants with confidence.

A photographic and descriptive guide to the diverse plant life of the Big Bend region of Texas, including uncommon or rare species such as orchids.

New Mexico is home to about 4,000 species of plants that inhabit the varied ecosystems found at the intersection of the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, and the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts. Willa Finley and LaShara Nieland, authors of a previous field guide of Texas plants, Lone Star Wildflowers, traveled throughout New Mexico and photographed approximately 200 commonly encountered plants in all stages of growth from spring through fall. They also visited with Native Americans to learn the extensive practical ways in which they and their ancestors have used the flora. The research is presented in a colorful, well-organized format, using easily understood language appealing to wildflower enthusiasts of all levels of experience. Land of Enchantment Wildflowers features -Easy-to-use format with plants grouped according to flower color, indicated by color bars along the page edges. -456 full-color photos, all taken by the authors, including flowers, leaves and seedpods. -Origins of common and scientific names. -Historical and modern uses of plants for food, medicine, and other applications, along with archaeological findings. -Information about toxins and commercially valuable chemical compounds. -Interactions with wildlife and livestock, both positive and negative. -Landscaping uses, noting growth requirements, as well as deer resistance. -Over 100 butterfly and moth species identified, with description of their interaction with specific plants.