— Book Review —

““A Guide to Plants of the NorthernA Guide to Plants of the Northern

Chihauhaun DesertChihauhaun Desert””Title: “A Guide to Plants of the Northern Chihauhaun Desert”

Author: Carolyn DodsonArtist: Robert DeWitt IveyISBN: 978-0-8263-5031-3$24.95, paper, 240 pages

77 color photographs, 87 drawings, one mapPublication: February 2012

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, www.unmpress.com

By Rosanne Boyett

Beacon Staff Writer

Editor’s note: Book review articles are available online at

www.cibolabeacon.com/bookreviews.

The author, Carolyn Dodson has created a plant guide

that includes the botanical descriptions, vivid color photo-

graphs, details drawings, and non-technical information on

a variety of deserts plants and their habitat.

The Buffalo Gourd section describes the plant’s potential

as a fuel source, and explains that the high protein content

of the foliage is suitable for livestock fodder. The seeds are

rich in oils that are suitable for human consumption.

“It is a fast-growing plant well adapted to arid conditions since it needs little water and will even grow in slightly saline

water,” according to the author.

She describes the common practice of using mullein for catching fish that has been in use for centuries in Europe and Asia.

“Early settlers in the Blue Ridge Mountains brought mullein seeds with them from the old country for this practice,” wrote

Dodson.

The section on monocots and dicots includes an explanation of plant names. “Every plant known to the scientific world

has a standardized Latin name used by botanists around the world . . . many plants are known by one or more common

names,” noted the author.

Native Americans used blue flax for cord making and basket weaving centuries before the arrival of the Spanish.

And many exotic (often invasive) species come to the Southwest with the Spanish importation of sheep and cattle, according

to Dodson.

Certain plants are also valued for their role in identifying specific soil conditions. Uranium prospectors exploit the ability

of some locoweeds to thrive in uranium-rich soil. Other locoweed species mark the location of the valuable element sele-

nium.

Livestock that lack selenium in their diet develop “white muscle disease,” according to veterinarians.

The Caltrop Family of plants includes the common goat head, which is the bane of outdoors’ enthusiasts and pets alike.

“The stiff spikes on the seeds can penetrate rubber soles and bicycle tires,” Dodson noted.

This guide is divided into sections on trees and shrubs, succulents, cacti, wildflowers and non-flowering plants. The sections

are color-coded for reference.

“Because it goes beyond simple botanical description, this book occupies a special niche among Chihauhaun Desert plant

guides . . . The reader has the strong sense of a person talking about each plant in a friendly, informal way but with great ex-

perience and knowledge,” wrote Robert Julyan, author of “The Place Names of New Mexico” and “The Mountains of New

Mexico.”

The Chihauhaun Desert includes portions of southern New Mexico, southwestern Texas and northern Mexico.

Carolyn Dodson has retired from the faculty of the University of New Mexico Libraries. She has taught wildflower identification classes

in the UNM Continuing Education Division for 25 years.

Dodson co-authored “Central New Mexico Gardens” and Mountain Wildflowers of the Southern Rockies.”