Nothing is as valuable as a good guide. Here are plant and other biotic guides that contain reference to our bioregion.
Foster, Steven, James A. Duke, and Steven Foster. A Field Guide To Medicinal Plants And Herbs Of Eastern And Central North America. n.p.: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000.
Gaddy, L. L. Alpine South: Plants and Plant Communities of the High Elevations of the Southern Appalachians. S.l.: Terra Incognita, 2014. Print.
Horn, Dennis, David Duhl, Thomas E. Hemmerly, and Tavia Cathcart. Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians: The Official Field Guide of the Tennessee Native Plant Society. Edmonton: Lone Pine Pub., 2005. Print.
Howell, Patricia Kyritsi. Medicinal Plants Of The Southern Appalachians. Botanologos Books: Mountain City GA., 2006.
Jeude, Helen. "Wildflowers & Plant Communities Of The Southern Appalachian Mountains & Piedmont: A Naturalist's Guide To The Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, & Georgia." Journal Of The Botanical Research Institute Of Texas 7.2 (2013): 846. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Krochmal, Arnold, Russell S. Walters, and Richard M. Doughty. A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. Washington: U.S. Forest Service, 1971.
McKnight, Karl B. Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians. Princeton: Princeton UP, 2013.
Peterson, Lee, and Roger Tory Peterson. A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977. Print.
Plant, Billy. A Guide To Cedar Glades And Common Appalachian Wildflowers. n.p.: [Tennessee?] : Andropogon Press, [2014], 2014. Library Catalog. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Somers, Paul. "Woody Plants Of Kentucky And Tennessee : The Complete Winter Guide To Their Identification And Use." Rhodora 116.967 (2014): 363-366. Environment Complete. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Sorrie, Bruce A. A Field Guide To Wildflowers Of The Sandhills Region : North Carolina, South Carolina, And Georgia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2011. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Spira, Timothy P. Wildflowers And Plant Communities Of The Southern Appalachian Mountains And Piedmont : A Naturalist's Guide To The Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee, And Georgia. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2011.. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
This book is so much more than a plant identification guide. In fact, that may be the last thing it is. Rather than separate the plants of Southern Appalachia by family or season, each ecological community is brought to life with detailed, full color photos. The author himself explains his choice of organization by remarking that plants do not exist in isolation, and therefore, are better known in their communities than on their own. This provides a practical resource for the wandering botanist, as once one learns a plant community well, it becomes easier to identify affiliated species and better understand the underlying ecological properties of a region.
Spira describes 21 different plant communities by separating the Piedmont from the Mountain regions. This is a logical division as the plant life found in both is quite different. This book is both ecology textbook and full color plant guide, combining highlighted topics of interest with straight forward lists of what plants you may find when entering different ecotones. It also includes illustrations of botanically important diagrams to better identify and understand the differences between plants. The second half of this book focuses on plant profiles separated into trees, shrubs and woody vines and herbaceous plants. Alphabetically listed by latin name, this section is an invaluable resource. The only fault in this work is the minimal discussion of plant uses in the species profiles which would make this a truly complete reference in any naturalist, botanist or ethnobotanists library.
Swanson, Robert E. A Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the Southern Appalachians. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994. Print.