Native Trees of the Southeast: An Identification Guide

Lovely, well written, great pics and very helpful to identify and learn about trees in Georgia and surrounding states

This book has quickly become my companion when I go for walks in the woods. Its a little big to throw into a backpack, but it is perfect for carrying on a short hike. Its amazing how many trees I mis-identified before I started using this book. I highly recommend it if you are interested in identifying trees correctly.

This is probably my favorite field guide for trees in my area. The one requirement for using it is that you know or learn how to work with botanical keys. It is not a "picture book" where you scan over images of trees to see which one matches the one you're trying to find. However, if you know how to use dichotomous keys, it is easy to use and I've been able to key out all trees I've tried to find so far. You may wish to use a hand lens to help with some of the identifying features. The book starts off with some introductory information, including how to use the keys, and line drawings of identification features to illustrate the botanical terms used in the book. This should make it accessible to a lay person without prior knowledge in botany. The introduction is followed by both summer and winter keys. The main section of the book goes into more detail for each tree family, including summer and winter keys down to species level, and a description of each species with distinguishing characteristics, habitat and range, and uses. Images include distribution maps and color photographs. The pictures are smallish and limited to leaves, twigs, fruits etc., but combined with the text it is possible to clearly identify each tree. The information provided is excellent. At the end of the book, a section on introduced and naturalized trees is included, followed by a glossary, conversion tables (inches to cm etc.), and an index with both common and scientific names. The cover feels quite sturdy and has a convenient ruler on the back (both inches and centimeters). In summary, this is a very nice all-seasons field guide to trees for botanists and those interested in learning more about trees and their identification.

Very good book/guide. While exterior is good water resistant quality inside pages are very delicate and will not take drops of sweat or rain well at all. Fragile pages are the only reason I gave a 4-star instead of 5-star. I would buy again.

My job this summer included identifying trees in Southwestern North Carolina. I used about five different tree books, but this book was the best identification guide for trees in the area. Plenty of pictures are provided, not just of leaves, but of bark, fruit, and other characteristics if important for identification. The book also includes dichotomous keys for each family, which, although I did not use often, could be helpful at times. Perhaps the part of this book I found to be most useful was the "Distinguishing Characteristics" section under each species. In this section, the species is compared with look-a-like species and the book describes features which aid in a positive identification. One thing that buyers should note before purchasing this book is that it is organized according to scientific names. Although the common names appear throughout with all trees, it is alphabetized by scientific family names and always lists the scientific name first. This takes some getting used to if you are not a plant scientist, but, after a while, it was kind of cool to be able to know the common names and the scientific names. I have used a lot of high quality field guides for trees including the Sibley, the National Wildlife Federation, Peterson's, and others, and this one has been, by far, the best for the region. I would recommend it for anyone, from the tree scientist to the casual outdoor enthusiast who wants to learn more tree identification skills in the Southeast.