Rhodora, the journal of the New England Botanical Club, called it a “monumental and much-needed work.”

Modern Mountain Magazine said the book is “ideal for students, teachers, landscapers and consultants, wildlife biologists, county agents, environmentalists and amateur naturalists.”

Taxon, the International Journal of Plant Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Evolution, said Daniel Boone “would have loved” this “beautifully and comprehensively executed book,” adding that non-residents of the Bluegrass State “should be green with envy.”

Dr. Ron Jones’ new book “Plant Life of Kentucky: An Illustrated Guide to the vascular Flora,” the first volume ever of its kind in the Commonwealth, has garnered praise from academicians and gardeners alike and earned for its author the 2005 Biological Diversity Protection Award from the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission. The impetus for the book, however, was deeply rooted in simple necessity.

“When I first started teaching, I could have used a book like this,” said Jones, in his 25th year as a biology professor at Eastern Kentucky University.

Now in its second printing by the University Press of Kentucky, the 834-page hardback is finding a home in college and university classrooms and home libraries across a wide region of the country. The Louisville Courier-Journal even called it a “must-have for serious gardeners.”

“Plant Life of Kentucky” is a comprehensive guide to the 2,600 native and naturalized ferns, flowering herbs and woody plants of the Commonwealth as well as 250 additional species outside the state, and tells readers where the plants grow, when they bloom, their degree of rarity, and of their possible medicinal or herbal uses.

The 105-page introduction includes information on prehistoric and historical changes in the flora, rare and endangered species, natural regions and plant communities, significant botanists, and current threats to plant life.

Although the idea germinated for many years, Jones, also the herbarium curator at EKU and a founder of the Kentucky Native Plant Society in 1986, began work in earnest on the book about 10 years ago. With the help of colleagues and graduate and undergraduate students along the way, the book was published earlier this year by the University Press of Kentucky.

“The flora of Kentucky has long been recognized for its richness, having been formed by the intermixing of plant species over millions of years of geologic and climatic change,” Jones said in his preface to the book. Jones is more concerned, however, about the future of Kentucky’s plant life.

“I feel like we’re at a crossroads,” Jones said. “We’ve seen a decline in our environment, and we need a major reference to tell us where we stand now. There is increasing awareness, both among professionals and the general public, of the state’s rich natural heritage and of the value of protecting this biodiversity. I wanted to discuss the increasing threats to us and other organisms.”

While such books are more common in other sections of the country, “Plant Life of Kentucky” is the first book of its kind, outside Florida, in the southeastern U.S. in 30 years. For that reason, Jones said, the book would prove helpful in bordering states such as his native Tennessee and can serve as a model for all states.

The book was hardly a solo project. In addition to the assistance from EKU colleagues and students, the late John Thieret of the Northern Kentucky University faculty served as editor and Charles Lapham served as technical adviser, and other colleagues assisted by proof-reading the manuscript.

Financial contributors included the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Touchstone Energy Cooperatives, Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission, EKU Division of Natural Areas, and the Kentucky Native Plant Society.

Jones’ wife, Kathleen, contributed the highly praised cover photograph, taken in the Red River Gorge.

The book, which retails for $75, is available at most regional bookstores and at Amazon.com.

Throughout 2006, Jones will speak on “Plants and People” in a series of presentations sponsored by the Kentucky Humanities Council at various locations around the Commonwealth.

From May 29 through June 26 of 2006, Jones will be in Ecuador, teaching Tropical Biodiversity and Conservation through the Kentucky Institute of International Studies. For more information, e-mail Jones at ron.jones@eku.edu.