Thomas Rosburg, professor and chair of biology, recently published the 2014 revised edition of the popular wetland book Wildflowers and Other Plants of Iowa Wetlands.
Dr. Rosburg received funding from the University of Iowa Press to revise this Midwestern natural history classic, which is now available online and in bookstores. The book features more than 150 species accompanied by a brilliant, full-page color photograph. Rosburg spent three field seasons tracking down and photographing species ranging from common to rare in the states of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, and Missouri.
Wildflowers and Other Plants of Iowa Wetlands was originally published in 1999 and was the first book to focus on the beauty and diversity of the wetland plants that once covered 1.5 million acres of Iowa. Dr. Rosburg’s latest research provided new information that was used to revise the original text, update the nomenclature, correct the descriptions for many species, and delete and add species from the state’s flora.
The species accounts include common, scientific, and family names; the Latin or Greek meaning of the scientific names; habitat and blooming times; a botanical description; habitat (type of wetland); growth form (e.g. emergent, floating, or submerged); and taxonomic group (e.g., ferns, flowering plants.
For more information contact Thomas Rosburg at 515-271-2768 or at thomas.rosburg@drake.edu.