The Trees of Sonora, Mexico

"[A]n important contribution to the botany of the North American desert realms. ... Although we have seen a lot of books on palms in recent years, this one gives an intimate perspective on the Sonoran palm flora, with useful features such as a diagram comparing leaf structure in Brahea, Sabal, and Washingtonia. The Trees of Sonora is a beautifully produced volume in terms of typography, reproduction of illustrations, and editing ..."--Grady L. Webster, Herbarium, University of California, Davis. "In a project funded by the Drylands Institute of Arizona and other sources, unidentified contributors detail the some 285 species of trees or treelike species that grow naturally in the most extreme northwest Mexican state, wedged between the Arizona border and the Gulf of California. They describe the physical and biological setting; provide a key to the major groups and families; and examine individual species of conifers, dicots, and monocots. The illustrations are clear, high quality line drawings."--SciTech Book News "What is a tree? According to Felger, Johnson and Wilson, it is a plant that if climbed by medium- sized primates will not collapse, a plant with a single trunk of about 10 cm in diameter that extends for over one metre above the ground and is at least 5 m tall. Using these criteria, the authors describe some 285 species of trees found in the state of Sonora, Mexico. ... The book comprises two main parts. The first, is a description of the physical and biological setting, and the second, a section with keys to families and species accounts arranged by major groups and then alphabetically listed by family. ... Complementing Shreve and Wiggins' Flora and Vegetation of the Sonoran Desert, Martin et al.'s Gentry's Río Mayo Plants, and Turner, Bowers and Burgess' Sonoran Desert Plants, The Trees of Sonora is the definitive last volume on what will become the classic tetralogy of Sonoran plants 'Handbücher'. ... This book is an essential purchase for all libraries."--Plant Systematics & Evolution "[A]n important contribution to the botany of the North American desert realms. ... Although we have seen a lot of books on palms in recent years, this one gives an intimate perspective on the Sonoran palm flora, with useful features such as a diagram comparing leaf structure in Brahea, Sabal, and Washingtonia. The Trees of Sonora is a beautifully produced volume in terms of typography, reproduction of illustrations, and editing ..."--Grady L. Webster, Herbarium, University of California, Davis.