[.uk] Trees, Shrubs, & Cacti of South Texas (ISBN 0896722538)

OK:
This guide book devotes a page to each species treated, with half the page taken up by a color picture of a flowering or fruiting specimen of the species in question. On the same page some data are given. Arranged by family (look for Leguminosae under Fabaceae, Buddleja under Loganiaceae, etc). Picture quality varies from pretty decent to quite good, although it is noticeable that a curious grid tends to be visible in the background (a digital camera?). Some pictures are a little overexposed. Occasionally the composition could be better (sometimes a lot better). Text seems unremarkable, but the choice to include author citations in the botanical names has not been followed up by doing this properly (needs a lot of work). Synonyms are provided. The "Trees" in the title should be taken to include a palm; the "Shrubs" is meant in the widest possible sense (including subshrubs and smaller stuff) and this goes for "Cacti" too (= "succulents"). Printing quality is just short of excellent. All in all this is OK, but unremarkable.

Good as far as it goes:
This book is a graet resource if you live on the Texas-Mexico border. Unfortunately, it is supposed to cover South Texas. Inside, the book reveals it covers 14 of the southernmost counties in Texas, along the border. There are 254 counties in Texas, and I expected a book on South Texas to cover a lot more. Very disappointing and misleading, but good for border dwellers.

Disappointing photos:
With half of each page dedicated to a photograph of the species, there should be no excuse for not providing an excellent, high quality photograph. Most of the photographs are grainy and washed out. Several photographs lack depth of field needed to key in on leaf or flower characteristics. There are better south Texas guides out there.