Best Botanical Illustrated Encyclopedias: 5 Books on Plants and Flowers
Best Field Guides to Mosses and Lichens: 6 Books Compared
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Sesera editorial account organizes laptop, mini PC, smartphone, and gadget buying guides so readers can check the important points before buying.
Choosing a field guide can be tricky when the books cover different regions and kinds of mosses or lichens.
Depending on the guide, identification support includes keys, photographs, descriptions, or a color-tabbed system; one publisher also describes using a hand lens and spray bottle without a microscope.
This time, we’ll round up six field guides covering mosses, liverworts, and lichens across several regions.
Quick-reference table of recommended products
| Product name | Regional scope | Counted species coverage (species) | Identification aids | Pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians | Northeast and Appalachian Mountains | 200 common mosses | Illustrated identification keys; color-tabbed system | 392 |
 Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America | Cities and urban areas throughout northeastern North America | Over 60 common lichens | Species accounts and descriptions; illustrated glossary | 168 |
 A Field Guide to California Lichens | California | Over 500 lichen species | Color photographs with descriptions | 424 |
 Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts: A Field Guide to Common Bryophytes of the Northeast | Northeastern North America | — | Traditional dichotomous keys; quick keys based on habitat and morphological characteristics | — |
 Lichens of North America | North American continent | 805 foliose, fruticose, and crustose lichens; information on another 700 species in keys or notes | Color photographs, descriptions, distribution maps, and identification keys | 828 |
 Common Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens of Ohio: A Visual Guide | Ohio and the Midwest | 106 mosses; 30 liverworts; 100 lichens | Field keys; detailed photographs | — |
Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians
For readers looking to identify common mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians, Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians is recommended. Its illustrated keys and color-tabbed system help readers distinguish similar species, and the guide covers 200 common mosses with photographs and detailed line drawings. Readers can identify many common species with the field guide, a hand lens, and a spray bottle; no microscope is necessary.
Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians
Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America
For readers who want to identify common lichens in cities and urban areas across northeastern North America, Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America is recommended. It introduces over 60 common lichens and includes species accounts and descriptions to support identification.
The book also covers lichen biology, chemistry, and morphology, and includes an illustrated glossary, an index, and references for further reading. It includes 121 color illustrations.
Urban Lichens: A Field Guide for Northeastern North America
A Field Guide to California Lichens
For readers focused on identifying California lichens, A Field Guide to California Lichens is recommended. It pairs color photographs with descriptions of over 500 species, including most common California macrolichens and many crust-forming species.
A Field Guide to California Lichens
Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts: A Field Guide to Common Bryophytes of the Northeast
For readers identifying common or distinctive bryophytes in northeastern North America, Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts: A Field Guide to Common Bryophytes of the Northeast is recommended. Its photos and text cover true mosses, peat mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, with traditional dichotomous keys and quick keys based on habitat and morphological characteristics. Beginners can use the guide to identify most specimens without a compound microscope.
Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts: A Field Guide to Common Bryophytes of the Northeast
Lichens of North America
For readers seeking broad coverage of North American lichens, Lichens of North America is recommended. It focuses on 805 foliose, fruticose, and crustose lichens and presents information on another 700 species in keys or notes, alongside color photographs, descriptions, distribution maps, and identification keys.
Lichens of North America
Common Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens of Ohio: A Visual Guide
For readers identifying common or distinctive mosses, liverworts, and lichens in Ohio and the Midwest, Common Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens of Ohio: A Visual Guide is recommended. Detailed photographs and concise descriptions support identification, while field keys help readers identify unfamiliar samples and tips cover look-alike species.
Common Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens of Ohio: A Visual Guide
Choosing by region and field-guide focus
- For common mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians
- For common urban lichens in northeastern North America
- For California lichens
- For northeastern mosses, liverworts, and hornworts
- For broad lichen coverage across North America
- For mosses, liverworts, and lichens in Ohio and the Midwest
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