Useful links and resources for Virginia botanists!

My favorite site for botany is the Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora.

http://vaplantatlas.org/
http://vaplantatlas.org/index.php?do=browse:county

This gem, with its staggering breadth and great usefulness, was amassed by the Virginia Native Plant Society and others during the process of the creation of the Flora of Virginia, the most comprehensive book of the plants in our area out there.

This site has lists of all the plants by county as well as by family. Why is this useful? Well, if you have narrowed a species down to the genus but can't quite figure out the species, just go to the atlas and search for that genus in your county. This will help you narrow it down quite a bit based on which species are in your county.

If you are truly dedicated, you could also devote a little time each night to learning about some of the plants on the Albemarle County list. Then, when you see them in the field, you will be able to recognize them and know about them to some extent in advance.

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My favorite book is, of course, the Peterson's guide to Wildflowers of the Northeast. It lacks photographs, however, so you might want to get other guidebooks with photographs. The Newcomb's Guide to Wildflowers is also quite good. If you want something truly comprehensive, and if you're into keying things out, the Flora of Virginia is the way to go.