Swiss Mountain Leader

There’s a number of books we use both in the alps and in the UK, they all vary a bit with their coverage so it’s hard to pick out any one as being the best. We have found it’s necessary to consult a couple of sources on occasion though and even then it’s not always possible to chase away that last nagging doubt.

These are just some I’ve been using :

Black’s Nature Guides

I found these on a trip to the UK in a book store an immediately liked the layout and format. Plants are split into five main colours and then subdivided into four basic petal shapes. I’ve found this works pretty well for us.

Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe (Black’s Nature Guides)

Margot Spohn. A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2008, Paperback, 320 pages, £2.25

This detailed book covers over 450 different wild flowers found in Europe and the UK, so far we’ve not encountered much that’s not in the book. The write-up with each flower is very good and there’s often some little nugget of information that helps me remember the plant clearly.

Medicinal Plants of Britain and Europe (Black’s Nature Guides)

Wolfgang Hensel. A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2008, Paperback, 256 pages, £4.20

In some ways this overlaps the Wild Flowers book but as it only covers around 360 plants there’s good reasons to have both books. I really like this book, it’s actually my favourite as it’s filled with facts I can remember which help me identify plants. For example, the fact that “Round-leaved Sundew” was a folk medicine thought to reduce freckles or that “Common ervain” is recommended for people who find it hard to relax or take advice from others.

Mushrooms of Britain and Europe (Black’s Nature Guides)

Andreas Gminder. A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2008, Paperback, 256 pages, £3.85

Another great book from the Blacks Nature Guides series this time covering mushrooms.

Trees of Britain and Europe (Black’s Nature Guides)

Margot Spohn. A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2008, Paperback, 256 pages, £3.99

Although titled “Trees” this book actually covers trees and shrubs so it works well with the two plant guides. The same format as the other books is followed with easy to follow identification and interesting facts for each plant.

Others

We have some other such as the Swiss Alpine Club guide to flora “Our Alpine Flora”, I find this a complicated guide but it’s available in English from the Swiss Alpine Club and it’s got a lot of information in it even if it’s difficult to navigate sometime.