Table Of ContentTHE
PLANT
OBSERVERS
GUIDEBOOK
A Field Botany Manual for the
Amateur Naturalist
Charles E. Roth
I SP!CTRUM BOOK
PRENTICE-HALL, INc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632
Librai1J of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Roth, Charles Edmund (date)
The plant observer's guidebook
(PHalarope books)
"A Spectrum Book "
Bibliography p
Includes index
I Botany 2 Botany-Field work I Title
II Title A field botany manual for the amateur natu
ralist
QK45 2 R68 1984 581' 07'2 84-6990
ISBN 0-13-680752-6
ISBN 0-13-680745-3 (pbk )
This book is available at a special discount when ordered
in bulk quantities. Contact Prentice-Hall, Inc., General
Publishing Division, Special Sales, Englewood Cliffs, N.J. 07632.
© 1984 by Charles E. Roth.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.
A Spectrum Book. Printed in the United States of America.
10987654321
Illustrations by Mary Sage Shakespeare
Chapter-opening drawings by the author
Editorial/production supervision by Chris McMorrow
Cover design by Michael Freeland
Manufacturing buyer: Frank Grieco
ISBN 0-13-680752-6
ISBN 0-13-680745-3 {PBK.}
PRENTICE-HALL INTERNATIONAL, INC., London
PRENTICE-HALL OF AUSTRALIA PTY. LIMITED, Sydney
PRENTICE-HALL CANADA INC., Toronto
PRENTICE-HALL OF INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, New De/hi
PRENTICE-HALL OF jAPAN, INC., Tokyo
PRENTICE-HALL OF SoUTHEAST ASIA PTE. Lm., Smgapore
WHITEHALL BOOKS LIMITED, Wellington, New Zealand
EDITORA PRENTICE-HALL DO BRASIL L IDA., Rio de janeiro
This volume is dedicated
to the provocative teaching
of Leonard]. Bradley,
Wend ell C. Camp,
and
May Thielgaard Watt
with the sincere hape
that it may
stimulate others
as they did me.
CONTENTS
F oreword/ix
by David Langland, Horticulturalist
Preface/xi
CHAPTER 1
THE JOY OF PLANT WATCHING/1
CHAPTER 2
ASSEMBLING LIFE HISTORIES/9
CHAPTER 3
THE KEY TO IDENTIFICATION/45
CHAPTER4
FOR THE RECORD/57
CHAPTER 5
LIVING WITH AN ENVIRONMENT/79
CHAPTER 6
A MAT IER OF AS SOCIAT ES/99
CHAPTER 7
QUADRATS AND TRANSECTS/115
CHAPTERS
RARE PLANT CONSERVA TION/135
CHAPTER 9
INSIGHTS INTO EXPLORATIONS
OF SPECIFIC PLANT GROUPS/147
CHAPTER 10
THE PLANT OBSERVER'S TOOLKIT/187
APPENDIX
LIFE HISTORY OUTLINES/203
Outdoor Manners for the Plant Observer/207
Bibliography/209
Index/219
FOREWORD
Future historians will look back on the twentieth century as a period of
rapid, tumultuous change in our civilization: an age characterized by
explosive population growth and humanity's voracious consumption of
Earth's natural resources, when a whirlwind of technological progress
seemed to obscure humanity's view of its own connection to the natural
world. Perhaps history will also show this to be the dawn of an era when
civilized people rediscovered themselves as an integral part of the earth,
when the severity of widespread habitat destruction jolted people into a
renewed appreciation for the natural world.
Even now, we have yet to fully accept the plant kingdom as the
foundation upon which all animal life depends: that we are a part of this
intricate, fragile system, and what affects it also affects the quality of our
lives and even our ability to survive. The air we breathe, the houses we
live in, our meals and medications are largely derived from plant life. The
potential economic and medical value of plants can hardly be imagined.
The natural world of plant life is important to humanity in ways that
are often immeasurable and abstract. The human spirit is nourished by
the constancy and beauty of plants throughout the seasons. The tranquil
ity of crystal, glittering streams beneath the canopy of bountiful forests
reassures us. We derive an inner peace by revering our connectedness
with our natural environment. Native Americans were acutely aware of
this as evidenced by the statement of Sioux Chief Standing Bear: "Kinship
with all creatures of the earth, sky and water was a real and active
principle .... The Indian knew that man's heart away from nature
becomes hard; that lack of respect for living, growing things soon led to a
lack of respect for humans too."
ix
It is precisely this understanding which must become common
knowledge if we are fully to appreciate and conserve the natural world.
Chuck Roth effectively conveys his own feelings of curious wonder and
appreciation for the cycles and behaviors of plants. His comprehensive
and stimulating format guides the reader through the realm of plant
studies in a most informative, enjoyable manner. With scientific clarity,
the author presents an excellent overview of approaches for observing
individuals, communities, relationships and survival strategies of the
plant kingdom. For both novice and expert, amateur gardener and ardent
botanist, the book provides guidance for observation and investigation.
The author's excitement over the prospects of discovery is infectious and
motivating; one cannot help but feel an eagerness to observe, experiment,
and contribute new information-all essential ingredients for the greater
appreciation and conservation of wild plants and ecosystems.
The degree of future conservation concerns ultimately depends
upon the quality of the environmental experiences we allow ourselves
and our children. It is crucial that as many of us as possible, youths and
adults, become directly involved with the world of nature and acquire an
ever deeper regard for it. This guide will help all who enter its pages
develop the skills necessary to explore and discover the many fascinations
of the world of plants which they can then transmit to others around
them.
The responsibility we have to ensure our future health and happi
ness through conservation of natural resources, ecosystems, and wild
plant life is virtually awesome. Yet we must accept this challenge with
positive commitment. Bringing ourselves closer to the intricacies of plants
in the natural world will be a continual source of pleasure and fascination,
and our capacity for knowledge and caring will grow like the plants we
observe.
DAVID LaNGLAND, Horticulturist
New England Wildflower Society
X
PREFACE
I have a lifelong love affair with living things. When I was a child, my
parents suffered through an endless series of my wild gardens and
orphaned wildlife. The parade of plant and animal wildlings was eclectic,
but my early preference was clearly for animals. As I grew older that
preference grew stronger, and I eventually trained as a general biologist
with a specialty in zoology and animal behavior.
Thus, in a way, this book is quite presumptuous: a botany book
written by a zoologist. Actually, the presumptuousness is not quite as
flagrant as might first appear. Years as a camp nature counselor and as an
interpretive naturalist brought home the fact that it is not easy to show a
group of youngsters or adults the wildlife they hope to see in the wild. In
order not to have field trips be a total loss, I learned a great deal of lore
about the plants that I knew would be in the areas where we were. At first,
plants were primarily a convenient out in an awkward situation. In time
both I and the people I had afield discovered that plants were indeed
interesting in and of themselves. In time, plants began to absorb increas
ing amounts of my observation time as well as my interpretive time. They
helped my thinking become increasingly ecological.
But it was a child, my own, who eventually led me to see the full
fascination of the plant world. From the time he could toddle, plants
occupied much of his interest. Where to me they had been interesting
things, to him they were friends and companions. He followed their lives
and development as ardently as I had pursued those of animals. A
re-examination of my own attitudes toward plants indicated that I had
held them at a distance largely because of the battles I had had with the
formal, and formidable, language of taxonomic botany and impatience
xi
