Priceless Florida: The Field Guide That Celebrates the State’s Living Web

Most field guides simply help you name things. Priceless Florida does something grander, weaving the state’s plants, animals, and landscapes into one connected, living story. It is a book that has helped countless Floridians fall in love with the nature all around them.

Written by Ellie Whitney, D. Bruce Means, and Anne Rudloe, the guide takes a sweeping, ecosystem-by-ecosystem tour of the state, from the high pine sandhills and scrub to the swamps, springs, salt marshes, beaches, and coral reefs. Rather than isolated facts, it shows how each habitat works as a whole.

Richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, the book is both beautiful and deeply informative, explaining how fire shapes the pinelands, how springs bubble up from underground rivers, and how every creature fits into the larger web of life.

Naturalists, teachers, students, and curious newcomers have embraced it as a friendly, authoritative companion, the kind of reference that is as enjoyable to read straight through as it is to consult.

Priceless Florida earns its title. It reveals the astonishing variety and interconnection of the state’s natural systems, and helps readers see Florida not as scattered scenery but as one magnificent, living whole well worth protecting.