Description

About this guide

The National Geographic Pocket Guide to Wildflowers of North America is a compact field guide written by Catherine Herbert Howell, a former National Geographic staff member who has written more than a dozen natural history books over 20 years. Published in 2014, it covers 160 of the most common wildflowers and weeds across North America, coast to coast, including Canada and Alaska. The format is built for field use: each species gets a color photograph showing the plant in its natural setting alongside a close-up illustration of the blossom, so you can confirm an ID whether you’re looking at the whole plant or just a bloom.

This guide is part of National Geographic’s Pocket Guide series, which uses the same format across birds, mammals, reptiles, trees and shrubs, rocks and minerals, and night sky. The guides are sized to fit a jacket pocket or daypack side pouch. If you’ve used any other title in this series, the Wildflowers guide works exactly the same way.

What’s inside

The 184-page guide includes:

• 160 species entries covering wildflowers and weeds from across North America
• Color photographs of each plant in its natural habitat
• Close-up blossom illustrations for confirming identification by flower alone
• Bulleted key facts per species: bloom season, range, color, size, habitat
• Coverage from coastal species to alpine meadow plants, including plains and grassland wildflowers
• Logical, visual organization designed for quick field look-ups, not cover-to-cover reading

Black Hills connection

The Black Hills and Wind Cave National Park have a documented wildflower season that runs from mid-May through early July. South Dakota’s state flower, the pasque flower, is one of the first blooms of spring and grows across Wind Cave’s mixed-grass prairie. Wild bergamot is a common summer bloom at the park. Sunflowers carry the season into fall. The park’s species list includes more than 420 flowering plants recorded since 1998, spread across both prairie and ponderosa pine forest. This guide covers the grassland and plains wildflowers that make up a significant share of that list.

Who is this for?

First-time visitors to Wind Cave National Park who want to know what’s blooming along the trail. The park’s mixed-grass prairie puts wildflowers right in front of you from the parking lot to the cave entrance, and this guide is the kind of thing you pick up at the visitor center bookstore, toss in your bag, and use the same afternoon. The format is straightforward enough for a beginner while still being accurate and useful on repeat visits.

Hikers and naturalists who want a portable, reliable reference they can actually carry. At just over 7 ounces, the guide adds almost nothing to pack weight. The NatGeo Pocket Guide series is consistent enough across titles that if you already use the Mammals or Birds guide in the field, this one will feel familiar from page one.

Anyone looking for a gift in the $10-$15 range for someone who spends time outside. Specific enough to feel considered, useful enough to actually get used.

Frequently asked questions

How many wildflowers does this guide cover?
160 species, including both wildflowers and common weeds, across North America from coast to coast. Coverage includes Canada and Alaska. The guide focuses on species you’re most likely to encounter rather than trying to be exhaustive.

Is this a good guide for someone with no botany background?
Yes. The NatGeo Pocket Guide series is aimed at curious beginners. Entries use bulleted key facts rather than dense botanical descriptions, and the close-up blossom illustrations are there to help you confirm a match rather than require you to already know what you’re looking at. Catherine Herbert Howell designed these guides specifically for an enthusiastic general audience, not specialists.

Does this guide cover wildflowers I’ll see at Wind Cave National Park?
Yes. Wind Cave’s mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forest support over 420 recorded flowering plant species. The guide covers the common grassland and plains wildflowers you’ll see there, including species like the pasque flower (South Dakota’s state flower), wild bergamot, and native sunflowers confirmed at the park by NPS.

How does this compare to Peterson or Audubon wildflower guides?
Peterson and Audubon guides for North American wildflowers cover more species in greater depth and are more useful for serious botanists or anyone working through a comprehensive species list. This NatGeo guide is better suited to day use in the field: smaller, lighter, faster to flip through. If you’re hiking at Wind Cave and want to put a name to what’s blooming along the trail, this guide does that job well. If you’re doing detailed botanical surveys across multiple regions and need maximum coverage, a Peterson or Audubon guide will serve you better long-term.

Does buying this support the parks?
Yes. BHPFA is the official nonprofit partner of Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, as well as the Black Hills National Forest and Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands. Proceeds from every purchase support education programs, conservation projects, and visitor services at these sites.

Is this guide current, or has it been updated since 2014?
The guide was published in 2014 and has not been revised since. For a wildflower identification guide focused on color photos and visual ID, the content remains accurate. Species don’t change, and the identification tips don’t become outdated. Range information for widely distributed native wildflowers is stable.

Are there other NatGeo Pocket Guides in this series at BHPFA?
Yes. BHPFA carries multiple titles in the National Geographic Pocket Guide series. Each follows the same format and dimensions, so they work as a set and store neatly together. See the product family section below.

Other titles in the National Geographic Pocket Guide series at BHPFA

• National Geographic Pocket Guide to the Mammals of North America
• National Geographic Pocket Guide to the Birds of North America
• National Geographic Pocket Guide to Rocks and Minerals of North America
• National Geographic Pocket Guide to Trees and Shrubs of North America
• National Geographic Pocket Guide to the Night Sky of North America