Employing the same innovative approach Richard D. Porcher used in Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry, he and Douglas A. Rayner simplify the task of identification by grouping species according to habitat. For each species identified, the authors include interesting facts—many not widely known or readily available—about rarity, suitability for garden cultivation, and origin of common and scientific names.

Of added interest, the botanists share itineraries for more than fifty wildflower expeditions and short essays on a variety of topics, including carnivorous plants, Carolina bays, native orchids, medicinal plants and folk remedies, poisonous plants, edible plants, and the role of fire in natural communities. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About The Author
RICHARD DWIGHT PORCHER is a professor of biology and director of the herbarium at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. An authority on the flora of South Carolina, he is the author of Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry and Lower Pee Dee and a co-author of Lowcountry: The Natural Landscape. He was born in Berkeley County, South Carolina, and received his B.S. from the College of Charleston and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. Porcher trained under Dr. Wade T. Batson and serves on the South Carolina Heritage Trust Advisory Board and the Scientific Advisory Board of the South Carolina Nature Conservancy. Porcher lives in Mount Pleasant.

DOUGLAS ALAN RAYNER is an associate professor of biology at Wofford College, where he teaches courses in botany, ecology, and evolution. A native of Berlin, New Hampshire, he holds a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina, where he also trained under Dr. Batson. Rayner previously worked as a botanist and inventory coordinator for the Heritage Trust Program of the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department and serves on the board of trustees for the Nature Conservancy of South Carolina. Rayner lives in Spartanburg. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.