Description

Budd's Flora of the Canadian Prairie Provinces, first published in 1979 and revised and updated in 1987, is a field-oriented manual for the identification of all known plants occurring in the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Included are the region's ferns and fern allies, conifers, monocots (e.g., grasses, sedges and rushes, lilies, orchids, etc.), and dicots ("wildflowers," deciduous trees and shrubs, etc.). Each family, genus and species is keyed, followed by concise descriptions of each species' key features, habitat and general range in the region. Numerous line drawings by the authors and b/w photographs of herbarium specimens are included throughout the text, and an extensive glossary and illustrations of plant parts, flowers, and fruit add to the book's usefulness. Although somewhat dated in terms of taxonomic nomenclature, the book's thoroughness (1,974 species in 590 genera and 118 families are described ), easy-to-use keys, and clear descriptions make Budd's Flora a valuable resource for anyone studying the plant life of the region's prairies, wetlands, forests, and mountains. Primary author A. C. Budd (1889-1960) was a long-time student of Canada's prairie flora and Range Botanist with Agriculture Canada. This latest edition was updated by his colleagues J. Looman and K. F. Best.