In the 35 years since the publication of Janét E. Bare's popular Wildflowers and Weeds of Kansas, our understanding of flowering plants has undergone dramatic changes. This transformation is reflected in the pages of Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds.

A reference and a guidebook for a new generation of plant enthusiasts, this volume includes up-to-date nomenclature, keys, and descriptions, as well as habitat, distribution, and ecological information. In addition to herbaceous plants, the book profiles several woody species generally perceived to be either "showy wildflowers" or "weedy"—species such as Amorpha fruticosa (false indigo bush), Campsis radicans (trumpet vine), Ceanothus herbaceus (Jersey tea), Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush), Rhus glabra (smooth sumac), Rosa Arkansana (prairie rose), and Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy).

Designed for the professional botanist and passionate amateur alike, Kansas Wildflowers and Weeds brings names and taxonomic information into line with recent revolutions in studies of DNA, macro- and micromorphology, cytology, ecology, and phenology. It expands upon Bare's earlier book's 831 entries with descriptions of 1,163 species—representing about 56 percent of the native and naturalized species currently known in Kansas—as well as 742 color photographs. For purposes of identification, conservation, study, or the simple pleasure of thumbing through, it is a resource without parallel.