Illustrated with more than forty line drawings, the book presents a broad representation of local wildflowers, focusing on the showier native and naturalized herbaceous plants of woods, fields, rocky areas, and wetlands. The author begin with a general description of the geology of the Washington-Baltimore area: the piedmont, the coastal plain to the east, nd the mountains to the west. They describe the plants' various habitats and the effects of seasonal changes and topographical variations in climate. Common and scientific names appear throughout.
The heart of the book presents detailed information on specific parks, trails, riverbanks, marshes, and other natural areas where wildflowers thrive. Detailed maps of the locations and directions show readers how to get to each site. A final section lists some 450 wildflower species found in the region, noting each flower's blooming period, its preferred habitat, the locations where it can be found, and whether it is common, uncommon, or rare.
