Sahyadris - India's Western Ghats
by Sandesh Kadur and Kamal Bawa
Classification: Natural History
ISBN: 9780977021109

On the Malabar Coast of southern India, along the Arabian Sea, lies a range of mountains known as the Western Ghats, or Sahyadris. Far more ancient than the larger and better-known Himalayas to the north, the Sahyadris harbour the most intact rainforests in peninsular India. Countless species of plants and animals live here, many of which are found nowhere else on earth, and countless of which are still being discovered. Matching this incredible biological richness is the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Western Ghats. This book takes you on a visual journey through one of the last great places on earth - a place to be cherished, a wild heritage to be preserved for generations to come.

Plants of the Rio Grande Delta
by Alfred Richardson
Classification: Natural History Field Guides; Texana

The Rio Grande Delta is fabulously rich in wildflowers and other plant life. Lying in the geographically and environmentally diverse region common to southern Texas and northern Mexico, it supports plants that also grow in Central America and throughout Mexico, the Gulf Coastal Plains, the South Texas Plains, and the Chihuahuan Desert.

Plants of the Rio Grande Delta: provides an accessible and reliable identification guide to all of the plants, excluding grasses, of the region---some 823 species. In clear, nontechnical language, Alfred Richardson gives a brief description of each species, along with its range, habitat, and general

blooming time. Over two hundred superb color photographs offer quick and easy field identification, while line drawings illustrate notable characteristics of the plants. This volume expands and updates Alfred Richardson's previous book, Plants of Southernmost Texas, published in 1990 by the Gorgas Science Foundation. It will be an essential field guide for everyone interested in South Texas Flora, from winter visitors and Valley residents to professional botanists.

Alfred Richardson is a Professor Emeritus of Botany at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Published by Gorgas Science Foundation, Inc., Treasures of Nature Series

Wildflowers and Other Plants of Texas Beaches and Islands
by Alfred Richardson
Classification: Natural History Field Guides; Texana

Many visitors to Texas beaches see only the sands between the surf and the first low dunes. Because few plants grow there, it's easy to get the impression that Texas beaches consist mostly of barren sand --- while just the opposite is true. Beyond the dunes grow an amazing variety and abundance of native plants. Many of them, like Indian Blanket, Goldenrod, and Seaside Geradia, produce great splashes of flowering color. Others display more modest flowers or are interesting for their growing habits. In all, over seven hundred species of flowering plants grow on Texas beaches and islands.

This handy field guide will aid you in identifying some 275 common and / or

noteworthy flowering plants of the Texas beaches and islands from the Rio Grande to the Louisiana border. Each plant is illustrated by a color photograph, accompanied by a description of its appearance, habitat, and blooming time. The plants are grouped by families, which in turn are arranged according to relationships and similarities for easy reference. An introduction to beach habitats and plant life, references for further reading, and a glossary of terms make this book fully useful for everyone who wants a good, general understanding of beach plant life and wildflowers.

Alfred Richardson is Professor Emeritus of Botany at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Published by Gorgas Science Foundation, Inc., Treasures of Nature Series

The Road to El Cielo (Mexico's Forest in the Clouds)
by Fred & Marie S. Webster
Classification: Ornithology; Conservation History

Hidden high in the Sierra de Guatemala mountain range of northeastern Mexico in the state of Tamaulipas is the northernmost tropical cloud forest of the Western Hemisphere. Within its humid oak-sweetgum woodlands, tropical and temperate species of plants and animals mingle in rare diversity, creating a mecca for birders and other naturalists.

Fred and Marie Webster first visited Rancho del Cielo, cloud forest home of Canadian immigrant Frank Harrison, in 1964, drawn by the opportunity to see such exotic birds as tinamous, trogons, motmots, and woodcreepers only 500 miles from their Austin, Texas, home. In this book, they recount their many adventures as researchers and tour leaders from their base at Rancho del Cielo, interweaving their reminiscences with a history of the region and of

the struggle by friends from both sides of the border to have some 360,000 acres of the mountain declared an area protected from exploitation -- El Cielo Biosphere Reserve. Their firsthand reporting, enlivened with vivid tales of the people, land, and birds of El Cielo, adds an engagingly personal chapter to the story of conservation in Mexico.

Now retired in Austin, Fred and Marie Webster share their birding expertise through lectures and field trips. Their writings appeared for many years in Audubon Field Notes (now American Birds) and other publications.

"The Websters have produced an entertaining and informative account of a magical place. . . . Their book should be of interest not only to those familiar with El Cielo or with other natural areas in Mexico, but also to anyone drawn to natural history, travel, and memorable places."

-- Lane Simonian,
author of Defending the Land of the Jaguar:
A History of Conservation in Mexico

Published by Gorgas Science Foundation, Inc., Treasures of Nature Series