Jeff Burbrink
If you have someone who is interested in weeds and wildflowers and you are still looking for a late Christmas present, I suggest the Weeds of the Great Plains, a hardback book published and sold by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.
In a world full of apps and websites, it is still a comfort to know that books can provide some good information, comfort and entertainment.
You might think the 600 miles between Indiana and Nebraska would make the book obsolete here in Indiana, but the majority of the 300 species in the book are also found here. Each weed is given 2 pages of detail, including very good quality color pictures, line drawings and close ups of key parts to help with identification. There are descriptions, including facts about growing habits, historical uses of the plant, and potential to poison livestock.
Included with the book is an illustrated section describing plant parts and structures, a glossary of terms (in case you do not know some of the words), and an index of both the common names and scientific names of the weeds.
One feature of the book I appreciate is suggestions of similar species. Weeds like henbit and purple dead nettle appear very similar to me, and the authors did a good job pointing out the possible confusion between these and 125 additional weeds with look-alike species.
The price of this hardback book is $35.00 per copy, which includes postage.
There are three ways to order Weeds of the Great Plains. There is a form online at https://nda.nebraska.gov/forms/nw11.pdf which you can print and mail in, an online payment option at the same page, or you can call 402-471-2351 with your Visa or Master Card information.
Jeff Burbrink is the agriculture and natural resources extension educator for LaGrange County Purdue Extension. Contact him at 499-6334 or jburbrink@purdue.edu.
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