Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them: A Popular Study of Their Habits and Their Peculiarities (1917)

Educator, author, and naturalist Harriet L. Keeler (1844-1921) was a prominent figure in her time. With this facsimile reprint of her first book written for a national audience, she once again is brought to the public’s attention. An 1870 graduate of Oberlin College, Keeler devoted her career to service as a teacher and administrator in the Cleveland public schools. She was active in Cleveland civic life as well and was a prominent champion of women’s rights. But it was as a naturalist that she did her most distinctive work, preparing authoritative and literate field guides to native flora. Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them, first published by Charles Scriber’s Sons in 1900, was warmly received at a time when America was rapidly urbanizing and public interest in conservation and the establishment of parks was growing. In her preface, Keeler explained that the trees described…are those indigenous to the region extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the northern boundaries of the southern states; together with a few well-known and naturalized foreign trees. Profusely illustrated and with a biographical introduction by Carol Poh Miller that illuminates Keeler’s life and accomplishments, this edition of Our Native Trees and How to Identify Them will aid a new generation eager to identify and thus better appreciate what they observe outdoors.