Woody Plants in North America

A New 2 CD Set -- Woody Plants in North America -- Look for it Fall 2000, Kendall/Hunt Publishing

ISBN 0-7872-7437-2

By Dr. John R. Seiler, Virginia Tech, Mr. John A. Peterson, Virginia Tech, and Dr. Edward C. Jensen, Oregon State University

For technical information contact John Seiler, Department of Forestry, Virginia Tech.

For purchasing information contact Curtis L. Ross, Associate Editor, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company 1-800-228-0810      

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Woody Plants in North America is an interactive multimedia identification tutorial for woody plants found throughout North America. The 2-CD set is split into angiosperms (hardwoods) and gymnosperms (softwoods). The software was developed over a 6-year period by Virginia Tech in cooperation with tree identification experts at Oregon State University, The Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Georgia. The software includes a morphology section that familiarizes you with terms used in the identification of plants. This includes characteristics of twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit, bark, and form of woody plants. The main body of the tutorial contains over 9,500 pictures and full text descriptions of leaves, twigs, fruit, flowers, bark, and form for 470 species of woody plants. Numerous photographs are annotated to point out the most critical distinguishing features. Both native and commonly found ornamental plants are included. Multiple pictures of important distinguishing features are given so that you can develop a "feel" for normal variation expected in the field where the plants grow. Similar species can also be compared side by side for each plant feature, with the most distinguishing features highlighted.

A quiz section allows users to evaluate their success in identification. Users can customize their quiz list so that only plants previously identified or learned will appear in quizzes. Quizzes can be taken on all plant parts, or specific parts such as leaves or twigs can be shown first. Additional hints (pictures) can also be looked at if the identity is unclear on the first image. You can continue looking through images until you can identify the plant or give up. Misspellings in the botanical name are indicated, and if identified incorrectly, the correct species is indicated.

For a peek at the species available in Woody Plants in North America, visit the Virginia Tech Dendrology Class Homepage.

As seen in the Chronicle of Higher Education.