Plants of Big Bend National Park: A Guide to the Trees, Shrubs, Wildflowers, Cacti, and Ferns of the Big Bend Region of Texas

Plants of Big Bend National Park was originally published in 1951 by noted botanists W. B. McDougall and Omer E. Sperry, and was based on several years of fieldwork in this remote corner of Texas, plus consultation with numerous scientists. This new 2025 edition has been extensively revised and updated to reflect current botanical nomenclature, reformatted in a new layout, and illustrated with more than 400 color photographs. In all, over 600 of the more than 1,200 plant species of the Park are described, including trees, shrubs, 'wildflowers', cacti, and ferns. Excluded are grasses (as well as sedges and rushes), which although an important part of the Park's flora, can be quite difficult to identify; also excluded from this book are non-vascular plants such as mosses and liverworts. To help with identification, the plants are arranged by plant family, and the descriptions are written in largely non-technical terms (botanical terms used are defined in a glossary). A list of additional references, and both scientific name and common name indexes are provided. The book will be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about the diverse plant life found in the harsh environment of Big Bend National Park. Read more