A new book to identify invasive alien plants for the French general public
An identification field guide on invasive alien plants in France has just been published by Fried G (2012) with a preface written by Pr. Jacques Maillet. The main objective of this practical guide is to help the general public to identify invasive alien plants, but it can also be useful to natural areas managers.
The book is organized to enable easy identification of 116 plant species considered as invasive in France according to their biological group (succulents, trees and shrubs, Poaceae, aquatics, vines, other herbs) combined with simple morphological criteria such as the morphology of leaves or the colour of flowers. For each species the following information is given: French and Latin names, botanical description with detailed pictures, impacts caused by the species, area of origin and distribution in France, habitats where it occurs, and other species it may be confused with. Key features are given to distinguish between similarly looking species (e.g. Carpobrotus spp., Ludwigia spp., Reynoutria spp.).
In addition, the book provides general information on invasive alien plants: how they are introduced into new territories and how they spread, what are their impacts, biological factors promoting their invasive behavior and control methods.
Sources
Fried G (2012) Guide des plantes invasives. Belin, 272 pp.
(with a preface written by Pr. Jacques Maillet)