Vol. 45 TORREYA December 1945 



BOOK REVIEWS 



Aquatic Plants 



Aquatic Plants of the United States. By Walter Conrad Muenscher. x + 374 pp. 154 

 figs., 400 maps. Ithaca, N. Y. Comstock Publishing Company. 1944. $5.00. 



This is a compact and, in general, splendid manual of the herbaceous aquatic 

 plants known to occur in the United States, based on many years of research 

 by the author. Submersed and emersed species of fresh, brackish, and salt 

 waters are included, as well as quite a few borderline species of bogs and salt 

 marshes. Woody plants, however, such as Cephalanthus, Taxodium, Salix, 

 Rhisophora, Nyssa, etc., are not treated. 



Dr. Muenscher is professor of botany at the New York State College of 

 Agriculture, Cornell University, and the book is volume 4 of the "Handbooks 

 of American Natural History" series, edited by Albert Hazen Wright. Previ- 

 ously published volumes in the series treat the frogs and toads (vol. I), the 

 mammals (II), and the salamanders (III). A second edition of the volume on 

 mosquitoes (V) is now in press, and volumes on the lizards, snakes, fishes, and 

 turtles are in preparation. 



The format of the present volume is excellent ; its size is such as to render 

 it a very handy book to carry along in one's pocket on a field trip. It contains, 

 first, a general introduction consisting of a brief account of the distribution of 

 aquatic plants, their reproduction, vegetative propagation, fruit and seed pro- 

 duction, the kinds and weights of seeds, and methods of storage and germina- 

 tion of seeds. Then follows a key to the families of aquatic plants enabling the 

 student to refer a plant to its proper family. A key to genera is also provided 

 for every family in which more than one genus is treated. There is a short 

 generic description and a key to all the treated species in each genus, if more 

 than one in number. Habitat and range are stated for each species and geo- 

 graphic distribution by states is shown by a series of 400 outline maps of the 

 United States. These distributional maps comprise one of the most valuable 

 features of the book. The large black dots placed in the outline of each state 

 from which the author has records of the species in question, show the reader 

 at a glance its general distribution and enable him to know where to search 

 for it. 



Naturally these maps are not always entirely accurate, but this is due mostly 

 to the deplorable fact that not nearly enough collecting has yet been done in 

 most of our states. Also, many records as published in local lists are often 

 based on misidentifications and authors of books like the one under review 



119 



