Michigan Trees: A Guide to the Trees of Michigan and the Great Lakes Region (Biological Science Series)

I was pleasantly surprised that the book also includes information on vines and shrubs, but was quickly disappointed when I discovered that this section offered no illustrations or pictures of either - only text descriptions.

Contrary to the front cover, the book has no photographs! Another bummer. All species are represented by illustrations only, but at least I can honestly say the drawings seem extremely accurate and have great detail.

My four-star rating is also due to the incomplete shrub and vine sections. I realize that this is a "tree" book and that adding such information is a plus, but the writer(s) should have stayed consistent and included illustrations for these as well. Trying to identify features by descriptions only is tedious and really seems to take away the joy of the whole adventure. Too bad, it would have been the "icing on the cake".

I recommend buying this book as a main reference and suggest finding supplement information via the web. There are endless sites that offer much of the same information for free, but carrying this book into the woods would certainly be more convenient than lugging a stack of print outs.


best tree field guide for the upper midwest   October 13, 1999
 12 out of 12 found this review helpful

If you need to help your kid with the perennial leaf collection or if you just want a handy field guide for trees, I have found none better than Michigan Trees. I own a well worn copy of the 1978 edition and it is so popular among friends I am ordering another to loan out.