A beginner's field guide to the state's most common flowers.

This is less of a traditional flower guide and more of a casual identification book designed for the individual who is taking a pleasant stroll through a mountain meadow. The little dots of color that speckle the hillside can now become familiar acquaintances. But instead of struggling to decide if you are gazing upon a Potentilla pulcherrima or a Potentilla subjuga, you can confidently say it is... some kind of cinquefoil. With a wave of your hand, Aquilegia coerulea easily becomes... a blue columbine. Exploring a wide assortment of flowers that span from the grasslands of the Great Plains up to the rocky tops of the Continental Divide, this book provides simple descriptions and clear photos.

This updated book, part of the second edition of Guide to Colorado Wildflowers, includes 30 new wildflower profiles, making the two-volume set more complete than ever. Together, Volume 1: Plains & Foothills and Volume 2: Mountains catalog nearly 700 Colorado wildflower species! Also, the names and page numbers of "crossover" species that you might encounter in the plains and foothills life zones -- but also grow at higher elevations and are covered fully in Volume 2 -- now appear at the end of each chapter in a handy reference system. You don't have to be an expert in botany to identify Colorado's bountiful wildflowers. Guide to Colorado Wildflowers opens the world of these blooming beauties to anyone who wishes to explore it. Book jacket.