Sedges and Rushes of Minnesota: The Complete Guide to Species Identification

Description

The first comprehensive, fully illustrated field guide to Minnesota's nearly 250 species of sedges and rushes When most of us encounter a sea of what seem like grasses, we don't know if we're looking at a bog or a fen, a swamp or a marsh or a meadow. What we're seeing probably aren't even grasses. They are sedges and rushes, which frequently make up the majority of plants in a wetland-and they can tell us, by their presence and pattern of occurrence, what kind of wetland it is. Quick to respond to changes in habitat, they are good indicators of ecological conditions. As significant as they are in the natural environment, sedges and rushes are also simply beautiful-noteworthy features in a garden and in the wild. This book is an expert, accessible guide to the nearly 250 species of sedges and rushes in Minnesota. With its finely detailed photographs and descriptions, Sedges and Rushes of Minnesota enables quick and reliable identification of these often difficult-to-distinguish species. As an in-depth introduction or a handy field guide, the book is the first complete, comprehensive reference on these important plants of Minnesota-an invaluable resource for specialists, naturalists, and wild plant lovers.

Welby R. Smith is the Minnesota State Botanist with the Department of Natural Resources in Saint Paul. He is author of Native Orchids of Minnesota and Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota and a contributor to Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna, all from the University of Minnesota Press. Richard Haug has been a native plant enthusiast and photographer for thirty-five years.

"Welby Smith has followed up on his wonderful Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota and created another gem with Sedges and Rushes of Minnesota. Smith takes the intimidating world of rushes and sedges and chronicles them in an easy-to-use field guide and resource that is the first of its kind for the state. This is a magnificent resource that will no doubt by used by botanists, naturalists, interpreters, and nature enthusiasts for generations to come."-Bryan Wood, Executive Director, Audubon Center of the North Woods "This hefty volume brings care and expertise to a regional plant species study."-ARBAonline "Any reader who picks up this guide will be consumed with the rare and curious disease of sedge fever, in which sufferers are compelled to know and key out all the rushes and sedges, even those without edges."-CHOICE