The product of twenty-five years of planning, research, and writing, Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee is the most comprehensive, detailed, and up-to-date resource of its kind for the flora of the Volunteer State, home to nearly 2,900 documented taxa. Not since Augustin Gattinger’s 1901 Flora of Tennessee and a Philosophy of Botany has a work of this scope been attempted. The team of editors, authors, and contributors not only provide keys for identifying the major groups, families, genera, species, and lesser taxa known to be native or naturalized within the state—with supporting information about distribution, frequency of occurrence, conservation status, and more—but they also offer a plethora of descriptive information about the state’s physical environment and vegetation, along with a summary of its rich botanical history, dating back to the earliest Native American inhabitants. Other features of the book include a comprehensive glossary of botanical terms and an array of line drawings that illustrate the identifying characteristics of vascular plants, from leaf shape and surface features to floral morphology and fruit types. Finally, the book’s extensive keys are indexed by families, scientific names, and common names. The result is a user-friendly work that researchers, students, environmentalists, foresters, conservationists, and indeed anyone interested in Tennessee and its botanical legacy and resources will value for years to come.

The product of twenty-five years of planning, research, and writing, Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee is the most comprehensive, detailed, and up-to-date resource of its kind for the flora of the Volunteer State, home to nearly 2,900 documented taxa. Not since Augustin Gattinger’s 1901 Flora of Tennessee and a Philosophy of Botany has a work of this scope been attempted. The team of editors, authors, and contributors not only provide keys for identifying the major groups, families, genera, species, and lesser taxa known to be native or naturalized within the state—with supporting information about distribution, frequency of occurrence, conservation status, and more—but they also offer a plethora of descriptive information about the state’s physical environment and vegetation, along with a summary of its rich botanical history, dating back to the earliest Native American inhabitants. Other features of the book include a comprehensive glossary of botanical terms and an array of line drawings that illustrate the identifying characteristics of vascular plants, from leaf shape and surface features to floral morphology and fruit types. Finally, the book’s extensive keys are indexed by families, scientific names, and common names. The result is a user-friendly work that researchers, students, environmentalists, foresters, conservationists, and indeed anyone interested in Tennessee and its botanical legacy and resources will value for years to come.

The mountainous Blue Ridge, perhaps the most botanically diverse region in the eastern United States, extends for more than five hundred miles, the bulk of the area falling within eighty-five counties of five states: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. The area has attracted the attention of botanists for nearly two centuries, yet no comprehensive work has previously been available that catalogs its rich floristic abundance. Addressing the needs of professional and amateur botanists interested in the Blue Ridge, B. Eugene Wofford’s guide makes it possible to identify all the region’s native and naturalized plant life--representing 161 families, 726 genera, and 2,391 species and lesser taxa. Among the flora to be found in the Blue Ridge are a number of species that have been identified as rare or endangered. The volume contains an introduction instructing readers on the use of the guide; a glossary of terms with selected illustrations; a map of the region; a key to the major plant groups; and keys to the Pteridophyte, Gymnosperm, Monocot, and Dicot families as well as to genera, species and lesser taxa. The species and lesser taxa enumeration following each genus contains the scientific name, common name or names, general habitat preferences, frequency and area of occurrence, flowering or sporulating periods, and pertinent taxonomic and nonmenclatural synonyms. The keys for identification rely primarily on easily identified flowering or sporulating material and can be interpreted by all users, from beginners and amateurs to experienced professionals.

First published in 1992, Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide has been a vitalcompanion to thousands who have explored the 640,000-acre Cherokee National Forest. This second edition has been substantially expanded to cover all hiking trails in the forest as of 2003.Stretching across the Tennessee?North Carolina state line, the Cherokee NationalForest includes much of the western slopes of the southern Appalachian Mountains, north and south of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The area encompasses atremendous diversity of wildlife, vegetation, and scenic vistas of high mountain peaks and beautiful creeks, waterfalls, and valleys.Almost two hundred described and mapped trails and footpaths wind throughout this wildlife haven, inviting everyone who loves the outdoors-- hikers, backpackers, hunters, anglers, and horseback riders-- to explore its natural beauty. The Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide provides maps and specific directions along with a wealth of general information on the forest's present and past wildlife, vegetation, and geology, as well as a history of the forest's human inhabitants-- including the political battles that have been waged to protect the forest.Featuring a new foreword by Senator Lamar Alexander, this book remains the definitiveguide to this expansive and alluring landscape sure to thrill outdoorsmen for manygenerations to come.

White southerners recognized that the perpetuation of segregation required whites of all ages to uphold a strict social order -- especially the young members of the next generation. White children rested at the core of the system of segregation between 1890 and 1939 because their participation was crucial to ensuring the future of white supremacy. Their socialization in the segregated South offers an examination of white supremacy from the inside, showcasing the culture's efforts to preserve itself by teaching its beliefs to the next generation. In Raising Racists: The Socialization of White Children in the Jim Crow South, author Kristina DuRocher reveals how white adults in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries continually reinforced race and gender roles to maintain white supremacy. DuRocher examines the practices, mores, and traditions that trained white children to fear, dehumanize, and disdain their black neighbors. Raising Racists combines an analysis of the remembered experiences of a racist society, how that society influenced children, and, most important, how racial violence and brutality shaped growing up in the early-twentieth-century South.

“Will likely become a classic among books about Kentucky’s natural history and environment, because it covers so much new information.” —Lexington Herald-Leader When the first settlers arrived in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, they found an astonishing landscape of open woodland grazed by vast herds of bison. Farmers quickly replaced the bison with cattle, sheep, and horses, but left many of the trees to shade their pastures. Today, central Kentucky and central Tennessee still boast one of the largest populations of presettlement trees in the nation, found in both rural and urban areas. In Venerable Trees: History, Biology, and Conservation in the Bluegrass, Tom Kimmerer showcases the beauty, age, size, and splendor of these ancient trees and the remaining woodland pastures. Documenting the distinctive settlement history that allowed for their preservation, Kimmerer explains the biology of Bluegrass trees and explores the reasons why they are now in danger. He also reveals the dedication and creativity of those fighting to conserve these remarkable three-hundred- to five-hundred-year-old plants—from innovative, conscientious developers who build around them rather than clearing the land to farmers who use lightning rods to protect them from natural disasters. Featuring more than one hundred color photographs, this beautifully illustrated book offers guidelines for conserving ancient trees worldwide while educating readers about their life cycle. Venerable Trees is an informative call to understand the challenges faced by the companions so deeply rooted in the region’s heritage and a passionate plea for their preservation. “A fascinating book about a unique landscape in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky.” —Frans Vera, author of Grazing Ecology and Forest History