Kansas Native Plant Society - KNPS

Recommended Books

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These books are recommended by KNPS and are categorized by topic. If there is a book you recommend we list, then Contact Us.

Agriculture

• Plant Resources for Food, Fuel and Conservation • Robert Henry (author) • 2009

Childrens

• A Tallgrass Prairie Alphabet • Claudia McGehee (author) • 2004
• ABCs Naturally: A Child's Guide to the Alphabet Through Nature • Lynne Smith Diebel & Jann Faust Kalscheur (author) • 2003
• Bug Hunt • Neecy Twinem (author) • 1999
• Bugs, Bugs, Bugs • Bob Barner (author) • 1999
• By Nature's Design • Pat Murphy (author) • 1993
• Childhood and Nature • David Sobel (author) • 2008
• Common Birds and Their Songs • Lang Elliot & Marie Read (author) • 1998
• Feathers for Lunch • Lois Ehlert (author) • 1996
• Fireflies in the Night • Judy Hawes (author) • Ellen Alexander (illustrator) • 1991
• It's Fall • Linda Glaser (author) • Susan Swan (illustrator) • 2001
• Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder • Richard Louv (author) • 2005
• Leaf Jumpers • Carole Gerber (author) • Leslie Evans (illustrator) • 2004
• Leaf Man • Lois Ehlert (author) • 2005
• Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf • Lois Ehlert (author) • 1991
• Sunflower House • Eve Bunting (author) • Kathryn Hewitt (illustrator) • 1996
• The Geography of Childhood • Gary Paul Nabhan & Stephen Trimble (author) • 1995
• Too Many Rabbits: and Other Fingerplays About Animals, Nature, Weather, and the Universe • Kay Cooper (author) • Judith Moffatt (illustrator) • 1995
• Waiting for Wings • Lois Ehlert (author) • 2001

Dyeing

• Dyes from American Native Plants: A Practical Guide • Lynn Richards & Ronald J. Tyrl (author) • 2005
• Natural Dyes and Home Dying • Rita J. Adrosko (author) • 1971
• Nature's Colors: Dyes from Plants • Ida Grae (author) • 1979
• North American Dye Plants • Anne & Robert Bliss (author) • 1994
• The Art and Craft of Natural Dying: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use • J.N. Liles (author) • 1990

Ecology

• The Nature of Nebraska: Ecology and Biodiversity • Johnsgard (author) • 2001

Edibles & Medicinals

• Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide • Kelly Kindscher (author) • 1987
• Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide • Kelly Kindscher (author) • William S. Whitney (illustrator) • 1992
• The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants • Samuel Thayer (author) • 2006
• Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region • Melvin R. Gilmore (author) • 1991

Field Guide, Grasses

• Field Guide to the Grasses, Sedges and Rushes of the United States • Knobel (author) • 1981
• How to Identify Grasses & Grasslike Plants • Harrington (author) • 1977
• Kansas Grasses • Owensby (author) • 2004

Field Guide, Invasive Plants

• Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest: An Illustrated Guide to Their Identification and Control • Czarapata (author) • 2005
• Invasive Plants: a Guide to Identification, Impacts, and Control of Common North American species • Sylvan Ramsey Kaufman and Wallace Kaufman (author) • 2007

Field Guide, Orchids

• Missouri Orchids • Summers (author) • 1997

Field Guide, Poisonous Plants

• Poisonous Plants of the Central United States • Stephens (author) • 1982

Field Guide, Prairie Plants

• Illustrated Guide to Iowa Prairie Plants • Christianson; Miller; Muller (author) • 1999
• Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers 2 : A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers and Plants of the Prairie Midwest • Ladd & Oberle (author) • 2005
• The Elemental Prairie: Sixty Tallgrass Plants • Madson (author) • 2005

Field Guide, Seeds

• Weed Seeds of the Great Plains • Davis (author) • 1993

Field Guide, Various Plants

• Botany in a Day • Elpel (author) • 2004
• Field Guide to Oklahoma Plants • Tyrl; Bidwell; Masters (author) • 2002
• Flora of the Great Plains • The Great Plains Flora Association (author) • 1986
• North American Wildland Plants: A Field Guide • Stubbendieck; Hatch; Landholt (author) • 2003

Field Guide, Weeds

• Field Guide to the Common Weeds of Kansas • Barkley (author) • 1983

Field Guide, Wetland Plants

• Wildflowers and Other Plants of Iowa Wetlands • Runkel & Roosa (author) • 1999

Field Guide, Wildflowers

• Kansas Prairie Wildflowers • Owensby (author) • 2004
• Missouri Wildflowers: a Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Missouri • Edgar Denison (author) • 2008
• Ozark Wildflowers: A Field Guide • Kurz (author) • 1999
• Roadside Wildflowers of the Southern Great Plains • Freeman & Schofield (author) • 1991
• Wildflowers & Grasses of Kansas • Haddock (author) • 2005
• Wildflowers of Southeast Kansas and Bordering Counties of Surrounding States • Stephen L. Timme (author) • 2009
• Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: the Upper Midwest • Sylvan T. Runkel & Dean M. Roosa (author) • 2009
• Wildflowers of the Western Plains: A Field Guide • Zoe Merriman Kirkpatrick (author) • 2008

Field Guide, Woody Plants

• Key to Missouri Trees in Winter • Cliburn (author) • 1997
• Shrubs and Woody Vines of Missouri • Kurz (author) • 1997
• Trees of Missouri • Kurz (author) • 2003
• Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines in Kansas • Stephens (author) • 1969

Fungus

• Guide to Kansas Mushrooms • Horn; Kay; Abel (author) • 1993
• Mushrooming without Fear: The Beginner's Guide to Collecting Safe and Delicious Mushrooms • Alexander Schwab (author) • 2007
• Mushrooms Demystified • David Arora (author) • 1986

Geology

• Kansas Physiographic Regions: Bird's-eye Views • James S. Aber and Susan W. Aber (author) • 2009

History

• America Discovered: a Historical Atlas of North American Exploration • Derek Hayes (author) • 2009
• Hard Road West: History & Geology along the Gold Rush Trail • Keith Heyer Meldahl (author) • 2007
• Survival of Rural America: Small Victories and Bitter Harvests • Richard E. Wood (author) • 2008

Insects

• A Photographic Field Guide to the Butterflies in the Kansas City Region • Betsy Betros (author) • 2008
• Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat • The Xerces Society (author) • 2011

Landscaping

• 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants: For American Gardens in Temperate Zones • Johnson (author) • 1999
• Birdscaping for Garden Spaces: A Guide to Garden Birds and the Native Plants that Attract Them • George Adams (author) • 2010
• Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens • Douglas W. Tallamy (author) • 2009
• Design Your Natural Midwest Garden • Patricia Hill (author) • 2007
• Gardening in the Heartland • Snyder (author) • 1991
• Gardening with Prairie Plants • Wasowski (author) • 2002
• Go Native!: Gardening with Native Plants and Wildflowers in the Lower Midwest • Harstad (author) • 1999
• Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers • Phillips (author) • 1985
• Growing Native Wildflowers • Platt & Harder (author) • 1997
• Native Ferns, Moss & Grasses • William Cullina (author) • 2008
• Native Landscaping for Wildlife and People • Tylka (author) • 2002
• Native Trees for North American Landscapes: From the Atlantic to the Rockies • Sternberg & Wilson (author) • 2004
• Native Trees, Shrubs, and Vines: A Guide to Using, Growing, and Propagating North American Woody Plants • Cullina (author) • 2002
• Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities • Diekelmann & Schuster (author) • 2003
• Water Plants for Missouri Ponds • Whitley (author) • 1990

Maps

• Kansas Atlas & Gazetteer • DeLorme Publishing (author) • 2006

Natural History

• A Kansas Year • Mike Blair (author) • 2009
• Kansas Outdoor Treasures: a Guide to Over 60 Natural Destinations • Julie M. Cirlincuina (author) • 2008
• Kansas Wetlands • Collins (author) • 1994
• Lewis and Clark on the Great Plains: A Natural History • Johnsgard (author) • 2003
• Life in the Soil: a Guide for Naturalists and Gardeners • James B. Nardi (author) • 2007
• Living Landscapes of Kansas • Reichman (author) • 1995
• Nature of Kansas Lands • Beverley Worster (author) • 2008

Nature Journal

• Seldom Seen: a Journey into the Great Plains • Patrick Dobson (author) • 2009
• The Last Prairie: A Sandhills Journal • Jones (author) • 2006
• Wild Douglas County • Ken Lassman (author) • 2007

Prairie

• Field Guide to the North American Prairie • Jones & Cushman (author) • 2004
• Fragile Giants: A Natural History of the Loess Hills • Mutel (author) • 1989
• Grassland Dynamics: Long-Term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie • Knapp (author) • 1998
• Great Plains: America's Lingering Wild • Michael Forsberg (author) • 2009
• Hunger for the Wild: America's Obsession with the Untamed West • Michael L. Johnson (author) • 2007
• Konza Prairie • Reichman (author) • 1990
• Prairie Directory of North America • Adelman (author) • 2001
• Prairie Dog Empire: A Saga of the Shortgrass Prairie • Johnsgard (author) • 2005
• Prairie: A Natural History • Savage (author) • 2004
• Revolution on the Range: the Rise of a New Ranch in the American West • Courtney White (author) • 2008
• This Fragile Land: A Natural History of the Nebraska Sandhills • Johnsgard (author) • 1995
• True Tales of the Prairies and Plains • David Dary (author) • 2007
• Valley of Grass: Tallgrass Prairie and Parkland of the Red River Valley • Chapman; Fischer; Ziegenhagen (author) • 1998
• Where the Sky Began: Land of the Tallgrass Prairie • Madson (author) • 2004

Recreation

• 50 Hikes in the Ozarks: Walks, Hikes and Backpacks in the Mountains, Wildernesses and Geological Wonders of Arkansas and Missouri • Johnny Molloy (author) • 2008
• Hiking Guide to Kansas • Hauber (author) • 1999
• Hiking Kansas City: the Complete Guide to More than 125 Hiking and Walking Trails in the Kansas City Area • William B. Eddy & Richard O. Ballentine (author) • 2007
• Paddling Kansas • Dave Murphy (author) • 2009

Restoration

• A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction • Kurtz (author) • 2001
• Prairie Builders: Reconstructing America's Lost Grasslands • Collard (author) • 2005
• Restoring Prairie Wetlands: An Ecological Approach • Galatowitsch & Van Der Valk (author) • 1998
• Restoring the Tallgrass Prairie: An Illustrated Manual for Iowa and the Upper Midwes • Shirley (author) • 1994
• The Prairie Garden • Smith & Smith (author) • 1980
• The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: For Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands • Stephen Packard (Editor), Cornelia F. Mutel (Editor) (author) • 1997

Weather

• Adventures in Tornado Alley: the Storm Chasers • Mike Hollingshead and Eric Nguyen (author) • 2008

Wildlife

• Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Bison • Ken Zontek (author) • 2007
• Cougar: Ecology and Conservation • Maurice Hornocker & Sharon Negri (editor) • 2009
• Faces of the Great Plains: Prairie Wildlife • Paul A. Johnsgard & Bob Gress (author) • 2003
• Prairie Birds: Fragile Splendor in the Great Plains • Paul A. Johnsgard (author) • 2001
• Prairie Wanderings: The Land and Creatures of the Grasslands • Paul G. Jantzen (author) • Kristin Ediger-Goering (illustrator) • 1993
• The Birds of Konza: The Avian Ecology of the Tallgrass Prairie • John L. Zimmerman (author) • 1993
• The Guide to Kansas Birds and Birding Hot Spots • Bob Gress & Pete Janzen (author) • 2008
• Watching Kansas Wildlife: A Guide to 101 Sites • Bob Gress & George Potts (author) • 1993