Ontario Wildflowers website

Booklist

 
This is a booklist of recommended books about wildflowers. These are books that I have found the most useful. Books about Goldenrods & Asters are farther down the page.
 
Start with these ("must-haves")

Newcombe's Wildflower Guide
by Lawrence Newcombe

This is the main reference tool used by serious naturalists in the field to identify wildflowers. It utilizes a unique key system to zero in on the plant quickly.

Along with Peterson's (below) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers.

A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America
Peterson Field Guide series

by Roger Tory Peterson & Margaret McKenny

Along with Newcombe's (above) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers. This book is based on flower colour.

 

Wildflowers in Ontario

The ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario
by Jennifer Bull, Richard Dickinson, Timothy Dickinson, Deborah Metsger
ISBN 0771076525
416 pages.

This is a new field guide, just published in 2004. It's an excellent comprehensive book, with photographs, range maps, and detailed descriptions of each species. The photographs are small, but are still very helpful. Includes keys to help find a plant.

 

Ontario Wildflowers
Linda Kershaw
ISBN 1551052857
144 pages.

This book is mainly about plants that you'll find along roadsides. Good photos of each species, but rather limited in scope.

 

Forest Plants of Northeastern Ontario
by Karen Legasy, Shayna LaBelle-Beadman, & Brenda Chambers
ISBN 1-55105-064-1, published by Lone Pine
Similar to Forest Plants of Central Ontario

Forest Plants of Central Ontario
by Brenda Chambers, Karen Legasy, & Cathy Bentley
ISBN 1-55105-061-7, published by Lone Pine
An excellent field guide with every plant illustrated with a colour photograph. General edible and medicinal information on each plant is also given.

Wetland Plants of Ontario
by Steven Newmaster, Allan Harris, & Linda Kershaw
ISBN 1-55105-059-5, published by Lone Pine
Similar to Forest Plants of Central Ontario
 

Asters & Goldenrods in Ontario

If you try to use Newcombe's and Peterson's field guides to learn the Asters and Goldenrods of Ontario you will simply end up very confused. Only a portion of the species featured in those books occur in Ontario. 

The Asters, Goldenrods, and Fleabanes of Grey and Bruce Counties
by The Bruce-Grey Plant Committee (Owen Sound Field Naturalists)
ISBN 0-9680279-3-8
56 pages.

An excellent book for learning Asters and Goldenrods in Ontario. Although this book focuses on Grey and Bruce Counties, most (but not all!) of the Asters and Goldenrods of Ontario are featured in this book. There are detailed "specs" for each species, along with a detailed sketch.

Copies may be obtained from:
The Grey-Bruce Plant Committee
c/o Owen Sound Field Naturalists
Box 401, Owen Sound, Ontario   N4K 5P7

The Goldenrods of Ontario
University of Waterloo Biology Series, Number 39
by John C. Semple, Gordon S. Ringius, and Jie Jay Zhang
ISBN 0317-3348
90 pages.

A very scientific, but also very complete work on the Goldenrods of Ontario. Even if you can't understand all the scientific jargon, this book is very valuable for the range maps and detailed drawings. This book is a must-buy if you are intent on learning Goldenrods.

This book can be obtained from the University of Waterloo bookstore. Sometimes the University of Guelph bookstore has copies.

The Asters of Ontario
University of Waterloo Biology Series, Number 38
by John C. Semple, Stephen B. Heard and ChunSheng Xiang
94 pages.

A very scientific, but also very complete work on the Asters of Ontario. Even if you can't understand all the scientific jargon, this book is very valuable for the range maps and detailed drawings. This book is a must-buy if you are intent on learning Asters.

This book can be obtained from the University of Waterloo bookstore. Sometimes the University of Guelph bookstore has copies.

 

General Wildflower Books

Newcombe's Wildflower Guide
by Lawrence Newcombe

This is the main reference tool used by wildflower enthusiasts in the field to identify wildflowers. It utilizes a unique key system to zero in on the plant quickly.

Along with Peterson's (below) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers.

A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and North-central North America
Peterson Field Guide series

by Roger Tory Peterson & Margaret McKenny

Along with Newcombe's (above) this is a must-buy if you are learning to identify wildflowers. Based on flower colour.

Field Guide to Wildflowers - Eastern Region
National Audubon Society

I've never found this book to be very useful. One problem is that it includes wildflowers from southern areas of the US, and this simply adds to the number of species you have to sift through to find the one you're trying to identify. It has lots of photos, but they are of poor quality, and not every species is featured.

 

  Books published by the Bruce-Grey Plant Committee:
(c/o Owen Sound Field Naturalists, Box 401, Owen Sound, Ontario  N4K 5P7)
Website: http://www.osfn.ca/pubs_osfn.html
  • A Guide to the Ferns of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
  • A Guide to the Orchids of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
  • Rare and Endangered Species of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
  • The Asters, Goldenrods and Fleabanes of Bruce and Grey Counties, Ontario
 

General Wildflowers - Technical References

Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada
Henry A. Gleason, Arthur Cronquist
A two-part set (with the Illustrated Companion). Rather costly, but if you're really into plants, these are must-haves. May not be available from Amazon. You may have to search around for it. I purchased my copies from the University of Guelph bookstore (Ontario, Canada).
Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada
Henry A. Gleason, Arthur Cronquist
Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual
Noel H. Holmgren, Patricia K. Holmgren (Editor), Henry A. Gleason

An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada
Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown (otherwise referred to as "Britton & Brown")
3 volumes
The definitive work on plant identification for the NE USA/Canada. Originally published in 1913, no other guide since has come close to matching it for its completeness and detail (except for Gleason & Cronquist).
An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada (Vol. I)
by Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown, published by Dover
An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada (Vol. II)
by Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown, published by Dover
An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada (Vol. III)
by Nathaniel Lord Britton & Hon. Addison Brown, published by Dover
 

Edible Plants

Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America
by Merritt Lyndon Fernald & Alfred Charles Kinsey
published by Dover
Originally published in 1958. A comprehensive guide.

 

Natural History (focus on plants)
Books by John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator):
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND these books!
These books are an essential addition to the library of anyone interested in natural history. They are detailed, informative, and very readable. You will learn a lot from them. There are also three more books by John & Amelia about birds.
I have reproduced a few pages about goldenrods from the Field and Roadside book: click here.

The Book of Field and Roadside: Open-Country Weeds, Trees, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America
John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator)
The Book of Forest and Thicket: Trees, Shrubs, and Wildflowers of Eastern North America
John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator)
The Book of Swamp & Bog: Trees, Shrubs & Wildflowers of the Eastern Freshwater Wetlands
John Eastman & Amelia Hansen (illustrator)
 

Locating Natural Places (Ontario & Canada)

A Nature Guide to Ontario
by Federation of Ontario Naturalists, edited by Winifred Wake
ISBN 0-8020-6802-2, published by University of Toronto Press
A comprehensive (450 pages) guide to most of the natural areas of Ontario.  For each area, it includes a description of the natural attributes, species found and directions to the area.  An indispensable guide for the Ontario naturalist.
The Complete Guide to Walking in Canada
by Elliott Katz
ISBN 0-920361-03-X, published by Great North Books
A chapter for each province, including day hiking and backpacking.

A Bird-Finding Guide to Ontario
by Clive Goodwin
ISBN 0-8020-6904-5, published by University of Toronto Press
Includes detailed directions to each area, along with expected species.  Even if you're not interested in birding, this book will show you where natural areas are.