John R. Seiler, John A. Peterson, and Edward C. Jenson are the creators of this new second edition tree identification software. They are also university professors representing several major U.S. Universities. The digital CD ROM "Woody Plants in North America" tree tutorial was developed as an adjunct tool for college student dendrology courses. It is very easy to use with nearly 20,000 photos helping you identify 860 North American woody stemmed angiosperms and gymnosperms.
A Much Improved Second Edition
Woody Plants in North America is the best multimedia tree identification tool I've found to date. It is also much improved from the first version I reviewed several years ago (which I liked).
I recommend it for any tree buff, tree identification hobbyist or science teacher. It is also the perfect purchase for a forester, park ranger, conservationist or naturalist who needs some brushing up on his or her dendrology skills.
It is a great portable reference tool for people who carry laptops or typically identify a tree online. This tree guide and has thousands more photos available to the user than even the most illustrated book on tree identification.
In addition, they have one of the best tree identification sites on the Internet at http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/ and I link extensively to their site from my site 100 Trees of North America.
I recommend it for any tree buff, tree identification hobbyist or science teacher. It is also the perfect purchase for a forester, park ranger, conservationist or naturalist who needs some brushing up on his or her dendrology skills.
It is a great portable reference tool for people who carry laptops or typically identify a tree online. This tree guide and has thousands more photos available to the user than even the most illustrated book on tree identification.
In addition, they have one of the best tree identification sites on the Internet at http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/ and I link extensively to their site from my site 100 Trees of North America.
So, What's in the Package?
The 3-CD set has a very simple main menu that gives you basic morphological terms of trees to study, then becomes more specific by breaking the guide information down and into family, genus and species levels for angiosperms (hardwoods) and gymnosperms (softwoods). The morphology section familiarizes you with terms used in the identification of woody stemmed plants.
The main body of the tutorial contains over 20,000 pictures and full text descriptions of leaves, twigs, fruit, flowers, bark, form, and range maps for 860 species of woody plants. This doubles the images and plant species of first version. Multiple pictures of important distinguishing features are given so that you can develop a "feel" for normal variation expected in the field where the plants grow.
Similar species can also be compared side by side for each plant feature, with the most distinguishing features highlighted. A customizable quiz section allows users to evaluate their success in identification.
The main body of the tutorial contains over 20,000 pictures and full text descriptions of leaves, twigs, fruit, flowers, bark, form, and range maps for 860 species of woody plants. This doubles the images and plant species of first version. Multiple pictures of important distinguishing features are given so that you can develop a "feel" for normal variation expected in the field where the plants grow.
Similar species can also be compared side by side for each plant feature, with the most distinguishing features highlighted. A customizable quiz section allows users to evaluate their success in identification.
Auto Listing of State Trees and Trees by Plant Zone
So, you are going on an outdoor vacation to Utah and need to find the particular tree universe for that state. Or, let's say you want to find trees that will grow in all of Utah's plant zones.
The latest version of Woody Plants in North America now gives you the ability to find all data based trees that are either native to the state or that can be planted in all the state's USDA plant zones. I can't wait for my next trip.
The latest version of Woody Plants in North America now gives you the ability to find all data based trees that are either native to the state or that can be planted in all the state's USDA plant zones. I can't wait for my next trip.
No Tree Key Included
One slight disappointment - there is no way to key out a tree. In the meantime, you can go to the author's web site for free leaf and twigkeys or to my Tree Finder page. These keys can get you close enough to identifying your tree where you can easily use the software for final determination.
