This major expansion and revision of W. C. Muenscher's popular reference work brings a wealth of botanical knowledge up to date in an easy-to-access format. Muenscher's Keys to Woody Plants enables its users to identify trees and shrubs in all seasons by means of diagnostic field characteristics including leaves, fruits, buds, twigs, and bark.
Keys to Woody Plants was first published privately in 1922; Cornell University Press published the sixth edition in 1950. The new and expanded version of this classic identification tool for horticulturists, botanists, foresters, and ecologists treats 335 genera and 1,156 species of woody plants found in the northeastern United States. This is more than double the number covered by Muenscher’s sixth edition and includes 570 cultivated species. Edward A. Cope’s revision:
* teaches concepts and terms necessary to all botanical identification
* retains the simple structure of Muenscher's original keys
* brings the nomenclature into line with current use
* provides both a comprehensive key--including native, introduced, and cultivated species--and, for ease of use in the field, a separate key devoted to native and naturalized introduced species.
*meets the needs of both novices and seasoned professionals
* includes a bibliography of resources that allow the reader to move beyond identification and learn more about the woody plants
Reviews
"For anyone who teaches woody plant identification courses, this book of working keys is ideal. The book contains all the components to assist in plant identification including a detailed explanation of how to use dichotomous keys."--Alice Le Duc, Sarah P. Duke Gardens. HortScience, Vol. 36, No. 6, October 2001
"Originally published in 1922 and last revised in 1950, the newest edition of Walter C. Muenscher's venerable reference work for northeastern America covers more than 300 genera and more than 1,000 species."--The American Gardener, September/October 2001
"Muenscher was an early Cornell botany professor known as the 'Wizard of Weeds.' This first update since 1950 of his classic volume on eastern North American botany updates the changing nomenclature."--SciTech Book News, September 2001
"This all-season reference enables users to accurately identify over 300 genera and over 1,100 species of shrubs and woody plants. . . . An excellent guide for both the layman and professional."--D. Warren, Northeastern Naturalist, Issue 8, No. 3, 2001
"Cope has updated and expanded W.C. Muenscher's Keys to Woody Plants to include an additional 710 species, more than doubling the number of referenced plants in the original guide. In this expanded version, Cope makes accessible hundreds of nonnative plants cultivated in arboreta, botanical gardens, and landscapes in addition to numerous new native or naturalized woody plants. . . . Muenscher's Keys uses technical terms throughout, so it is appropriate for students and professionals in forestry or horticulture."--Choice, January 2002,Vol. 39. No. 5
"Cope's book . . . would be a good gift for anyone who needs or wants a book that's a valuable aid in identification of our native, naturalized and cultivated woody species."--Evelyn Anderson, Erie Times-News, 11/27/01
"This book provides useful identification keys to more than 300 genera and 1,000 woody plant species found in the northeastern United States. It can help to resolve some of the challenging identification tasks."--International Hawkwatcher, January 2002, No. 5
"The well-known guide to both native and cultivated species (first published in 1930) is back with a new updated version for 2001. . . . Cope . . . includes concepts and terms necessary to understand all botanical information."--John Pobedinsky, Central New York Environment, August/September 2001
"This is a most welcome revision that undoubtedly will be widely used in spring taxonomy classes." —Rudolf Schmid, UC, Taxon 51: 222, Feb 2002
About the Author
Edward A. Cope is an Extension Botanist at the Bailey Hortorium of Cornell University. He is the author of Native and Cultivated Conifers of Northeastern North America: A Guide, also from Cornell. Walter C. Muenscher, New York State's "Wizard of Weeds," was Professor of botany at Cornell University from 1923 to 1954. Muenscher had special interests in wetlands, poisonous plants, and trees, and was the author of more than 125 articles and several books in addition to Keys to Woody Plants.
