Plants species and native plant communities publications

Native Orchids of Minnesota book coverNative Orchids of Minnesota. Welby R. Smith. 2012. This book features detailed drawings and color photographs that make reliable identification practical even for beginners. In-depth discussions of habitats and natural history for each species reveal intricate ecological relationships and seldom-seen aspects of orchid biology. The book includes distribution maps for each species of wild orchid found in Minnesota as well as maps showing generalized distribution throughout North America. It also contains a phenology chart depicting the range of flowering dates and a comprehensive glossary of terms.

Native Orchids of Minnesota is both a guide and a resource for the serious naturalist, the weekend botanist, and the connoisseur of natural beauty.

purchase from University of Minnesota Press This link leads to an external site.

Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota. Welby R. Smith. 2008. In this book, the state's foremost botanist and endangered species expert provides authoritative, accessible, and current information on the state's native and naturalized woody plant species. This fully illustrated resource features:

Trees and Shrubs of Minnesota book cover
  • Easy identification: more than one thousand color photographs of fruit, flowers, bark, and leaves for every species, as well as more than one hundred illustrations by botanical artist Vera Ming Wong
  • Distribution maps: more than five hundred maps, including state and North American range maps
  • Descriptions of each species habitat, natural history, and ecology, which provide context to the entries
  • Comprehensive coverage of all native and naturalized trees, shrubs, and woody vines in Minnesota from Abies balsamea to Zanthozylum americanum.

Written for everyone from scientists and environmentalists to teachers and people interested in horticulture and gardening.

purchase from University of Minnesota Press This link leads to an external site.

County Atlas of Minnesota Mosses, Joannes A. Janssens and The Minnesota County Biological Survey. May 2000.
    on-line

Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of Minnesota: The Prairie Parkland and Tallgrass Aspen Parklands Provinces. by Minnesota DNR Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program, 2006.
    on-line
    purchase from Minnesota's Bookstore This link leads to an external site.
    order form This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of Minnesota: The Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province. by Minnesota DNR Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program, 2005.
    on-line
    purchase from Minnesota's Bookstore This link leads to an external site.
    order form This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Field Guide to the Native Plant Communities of Minnesota: The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province. by Minnesota DNR Ecological Land Classification Program, Minnesota County Biological Survey and Natural Heritage and Nongame Research Program, 2003.
    on-line
    purchase from Minnesota's Bookstore This link leads to an external site.
    order form This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Guide to Minnesota's Scientific and Natural Areas. 1999.
    on-line
    purchase from Minnesota's Bookstore This link leads to an external site.

A Handbook for Collecting Vegetation Plot Data in Minnesota: The Releve Method describes the current practices of DNR plant ecologists for collection of vegetation plot data using the releve method. Releves have been widely used in Europe for vegetation description and classification and increasingly are being adopted for vegetation study in North America. The DNR maintains a database containing electronic versions of releves and other very similar kinds of vegetation plot data collected across Minnesota beginning in the 1960s. This handbook supplants the first handbook describing the methods DNR plant ecologists use for collecting releve plot data, A Handbook for Collecting Releve Data in Minnesota, which was compiled by J. C. Almendinger in 1987.

booklet Version This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it. Formatted to print double-sided, horizontally on 8.5" x 11" paper, fold in half, and staple along the spine to make a 5.5" x 8.5" booklet.
single-Sided Version This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it. Formatted to print single-sided, horizontally on 8.5" x 11" paper, two pages per sheet.
single-Page Version This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it. Formatted for electronic viewing, one page per sheet.
more online

Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality represents six years of research and the collaborative efforts of Carrol Henderson, DNR non-game wildlife specialist, Carolyn Dindorf, award-winning soil and water conservationist, and Fred Rozumalski, highly acclaimed landscape ecologist. Learn techniques to prevent shoreline erosion, restore wildlife habitat, wildflowers and clean water. This book will show you alternatives to the conventional practice of planting "lawn all the way to the lake," a practice detrimental both to wildlife and to water quality. Lakescaping includes chapters about the lake ecosystems, designing lakeshore landscapes, site preparation and general tips on stewardship of the land and water. Not only for lakeshore owners, the ideas presented in this book also apply to landscaping along rivers, streams, and wetlands. Appendix A offers native plant recommendations.
    purchase from Minnesota's Bookstore This link leads to an external site.

Leedy's Roseroot, a Cliffside Glacial Relict. 10 pg. booklet.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.
    request publication

Minnesota's Bearing Tree Database. 1996. 23 pg. booklet.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Minnesota County Biological Survey Natural Community and Rare Species County Maps.
    check availability online

Minnesota Dwarf Trout Lily, an Endangered Minnesota Wildflower. 9 pg. booklet.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Minnesota Native Plant Society. Foldout brochure.
    on-line
    request publication

Minnesota's Endangered Flora and Fauna. Barbara A. Coffin and Lee Pfannmuller, ed. 1989. Out of print, available from libraries.

Minnesota's List of Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species. 16 pg. booklet.
    on-line
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.
    request publication

Minnesota's Native Plants, Selected Books.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Minnesota's Native Plants, Selected Technical References.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Minnesota's Native Prairie Bank Program. 1999. Foldout brochure.
    on-line
    request publication

Minnesota's Native Prairie Tax Exemption Program. 1999. Foldout brochure.
    on-line
    request publication

Minnesota's Native Vegetation: A Key to Natural Communities, Version 1.5 111 pg. booklet.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Minnesota's Natural History, Selected Books.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Minnesota's St. Croix River Valley and Anoka Sandplain: a Guide to Native Habitats Daniel S. Wovcha, Barbara C. Delaney, and Gerda E. Nordquist. 1995. Book
OUT OF PRINT 

Native Plant Suppliers and Landscapers
    on-line

Scientific and Natural Areas Program, Enhancing Minnesota's Biological Legacy. Brochure highlighting the SNA program's protection, preservation, and management goals. Similar brochures are also available in Hmong, Lao, Vietnamese, and Cambodian languages.
    download brochure This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

    download Hmong This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.
    download Lao This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.
    download Vietnamese This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.
    download Cambodian This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Natural Heritage, Northern Tallgrass Prairie. Foldout brochure.
    request publication

Natural Vegetation of Minnesota at the Time of the Public Land Survey 1847-1907. 1988. 5 pg. booklet.
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Orchids of Minnesota. 8 pg. booklet.
    request publication

Plant Collection, Nomenclature, Idenfification, and Ecology Relevant to Minnesota: An Annotated Bibliography Compiled by Janet Boe. 2004. List
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Prairie Bush Clover, a Threatened Midwestern Prairie Plant. 12 pg. booklet.
    request publication
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Preserving Wild Ginseng in Minnesota. 7 pg. booklet.
    request publication
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Restore Your Shore. This powerful multimedia program for shoreland owners and professionals is available online to use in implementing shoreland restoration and protection projects. It is a continuation of the DNR's lakescaping series, including, the very popular book Lakescaping for Wildlife and Water Quality. Numerous lakeshore restoration demonstration sites and a series of 14 shoreland property owner workshops followed the publication of the book.
  Online

Statewide Map of Scientific and Natural Areas. 2012. Large-format 26.125" x 27.625" map.
    Download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.

Wetlands Guidance for the Anoka Sand Plain. July 2000.
    request publication

What every native plant seller should know about harmful exotic aquatic plants
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.
    request publication

What every water gardener and shoreline restorer should know about harmful exotic aquatic plants
    download This is a PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.
    request publication

Worlds within a World: Reflections on Visits to Minnesota Scientific and Natural Area Preserves, by Paul Gruchow, Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine and Scientific and Natural Areas Program. 1999. Winner of the 12th Annual Minnesota Book Awards in the Nature and Minnesota category!
    purchase from Minnesota's Bookstore This link leads to an external site.

This information is available in an alternative format upon request. E-mail the DNR Information Center at info.dnr@state.mn.us or call at (651) 296-6157 or (888) MINNDNR.