76 Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 16(1)
BOOK NOTICES
John Cardina. 2022. Lives of Weeds: Opportunism, Resistance, Folly. (ISBN-13: 978-1-5017-5898-0, pbk).
Comstock Publishing Associates, An Imprint of, Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State
St., Ithaca, New York 14850, U.S.A. (Orders: cornellpress.cornell.edu). $24.95 US, 282 pp., 8 b/w illus-
trations, references, index, 6" × 9".
Of the estimated 400,000 species of flowering plants, John Cardina writes about nine specific plants in his
eight chapter book, Lives of Weeds. This book is eight weeds: 1) Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale; 2) Florida
Beggarweed, Desmodium tortuosum; 3) Velvetleaf, Abutilon theophrasti; 4) Nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus; 5)
Marestail, Conyza canadensis; 6) Pigweed [Palmer amaranth] Amaranthus palmeri; 7) Ragweed, Ambrosia tri-
fida; and 8) Foxtail, Setaria faberi and S. pumila. Of course Cardina is not necessarily writing about the world’s
worst weeds, but weeds in general. The author selected eight out of many possible candidates.
As a botanist, I like weeds. As a teenager growing up on a cotton farm in sw Oklahoma, I didn’t like
weeds because I had to hoe them out cotton fields (and out of the garden) when it was 90 or even 100 degrees.
Cotton loves hot weather and chopping cotton (hoeing weeds) was a summer activity. Teenagers today think
they have it hard. My dad was my first botany teacher, and he pointed out the difference(s) between weeds and
a young dicotyledonous cotton plant. Cotton was our livelihood and I needed to know my weeds as it were
when it came to chopping cotton. Now, many years later (farm still in the family), I can still see those long
rows of cotton and those weeds. One weed in particular that we constantly had a problem with was Johnson
grass (Sorghum halepense). Another was flower-of-an-hour (Hibiscus trionum) a beautiful plant in the same
family (Malvaceae) as cotton. Even though Cardina doesn’t include Johnson grass or flower-of-an-hour in his
book, these are weeds and they too have a story as all weeds do. Cardina’s stories about weeds are delightful
reads.
—Barney Lipscomb, Fort Worth Botanic Garden | Botanical Research Institute of Texas
1700 University Dr., Fort Worth, Texas 76107-3400, U.S.A.
Willow Zuchowski. 2022. Tropical Plants of Costa Rica: A Guide to Native and Exotic Flora. Second
Edition. (ISBN-13: 978-1-5017-6307-6, pbk). Zona Tropical, Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512
East State St., Ithaca, New York 14850, U.S.A. (Orders: cornellpress.cornell.edu). $34.95 US, 543 pp.,
820 color photographs, 120 b/w illustrations, references, index, 5" × 8".
Having been to Costa Rica a couple of times prior to when even the first edition of Tropical Plants of Costa Rica
was released in 2007, this tropical plant guide would have come in handy for plant identification. The format
of one species per page with photographs and/or with illustrations is nice and easy to use. There is the occa-
sional two page spread for a species, e.g., Theobroma cacao. Unlike many guides that organize plants alphabeti-
cal by families or Latin names, Tropical Plants of Costa Rica is organized for the non-botanist. General
categories are 1) Painted Treetops, 2) Other Common Trees, 3) Roadside and Garden Ornaments, 4) Fruits
and Crops, 5) Living Fences and Reforestation, 6) Special Habitats, 7) Typical Tropical Groups, and 8)
Conspicuous Grasses. The photographs are sharp and colorful and generally include flowers and/or fruits for
identification.
—Barney Lipscomb, Fort Worth Botanic Garden | Botanical Research Institute of Texas
1700 University Dr., Fort Worth, Texas 76107-3400, U.S.A.
J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 16(1): 76. 2022
This document is intended for digital-device reading only.
Inquiries regarding distributable and open access versions may be directed to jbrit@brit.org.
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