North Carolina Botanical Garden

“Alan Weakley’s ‘Flora of the Southeastern United States’ is a cornerstone of our work to save southeastern grassland and open woodland ecosystems. Every aspect of our work, from research, to mapping historical grassland ecosystems, to restoring and reconstructing viable grasslands on the ground, is driven by plants. We depend on up-to-date scientific information on the entire flora and a unified and inclusive taxonomic framework that extends across our 24-state focal region. No other reference comes close to Weakley’s ‘Flora’ in meeting our needs, and the needs of all conservation organizations working in the region. Our staff absolutely depend on it and use either the mobile apps or the website every day. The innovative digital keys, clickable visual glossary, search functions that resolve synonymy and inclusion of so many photographs make it accessible to staff with all levels of experience.”

“I can’t emphasize enough how much [‘Flora of the Southeastern United States’] is used by the botanists and ecologists in our natural heritage program (including myself). To say that it is foundational would be a massive understatement. Yes, we use it to identify the species we encounter while collecting data, but we also use it to align and update our taxonomy, to identify species in need of conservation, to target potential state records for survey, to recognize species that require further research or study — the list goes on and on. This is by far the best botanical resource available in the eastern United States, and I recommend it to everyone I know.”