Plants for a beginner

[colimbo]

Hi Brenda - and all other "plant people" 

I guess pretty much found an answer in previous posts, but will nevertheless start a new thread, just to keep up conversation on plants: I wanted to ask if there is any particular book, preferably in Spanish, that you would recommend to a complete beginner for learning to identify plants on Costa del Sol? Would it be Shearman's "Plantas y flores de la Costa del Sol"?

I have "Guía Botánica de la Serranía de Ronda" and I like it very much but there´s mostly information on rarities, and I need something much more basic, I really don´t know the names of hardly any of the most common plants here.

Also, do you have or have you seen "Guía de los arboles y arbustos de la península ibérica y baleares" by López, Ginés? It seemed interesting, but I have only seen general info on a web page, not the book, and was wondering if it´s worth buying.

Thanks and regards,
"Colimbo"

[Brenda]

Hello Loon,
May I ask why you require the books to be in Spanish? I use English books, then usually I google to find their Spanish names ... also there's some brilliant web ~ sites in Spanish that I use too.,
eg www.florasilvestredelMediterraneo Which is one of my favourites. I could give you other web addresses if you are interested.
The book I use the most and found most useful when I arrived is David Burnie's Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean ISBN 0 7513 2761 1

Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean by Marjorie Blamey and Christopher Grey~Wilson is another useful one for the common flowers. IBSN 0 7136 7015 0

I haven't seen the Guide to Trees and Shrubs I'm afraid, but perhaps other people have and can help you.

www.iberianature or www. grazalemaguide have I believe started selling lots of useful books in English and Spanish so perhaps you can have a look at their websites too.

Please come back and ask more if you wish,
Regards Brenda

[colimbo]

Thank you Brenda for your quick answer!

I prefer Spanish books / websites simply because my Spanish is better than my English. I guess I´ll get the Tree & Shrub book anyway and see how it is. And will take a look at the web pages and see what I can learn during my walk tomorrow (IF it isn´t raining, again...)   

Regards,
Colimbo

[Peter]

Who's Loon??

Peter 

[colimbo]

I am  Colimbo (árctico) = Black throated diver = Loon

Hope to meet you all at some field meeting if I can find the time to go some time soon.

Regards
Colimbo