Fieldbook of American Wild Flowers (Main Street Books)

With its pretty paintings and delicate line drawings, this facsimile of a lovely botanical guide from 1904 captures all the charm of an earlier era--and yet remains wonderfully informative today. You'll treasure this for the closely rendered images, but it will still assist you in identifying flowers or fruits by color, as well as the butterflies, bumblebees, and other insects so important to their propagation. Proceed according to family, through the cattails and the burweed, the water plantains (including white and yellow arrowheads), the handsome lilies (among them the large pink trillium), the crowroots (golden marsh marigolds and tall buttercups), roses, and many more flowers of the field. All include growing season, description, and other vital facts. Whether you want to recognize what you see as you wander through a meadow or simply want a beautiful book to show off, this rarity is sure to please.