The Woody Plant Seed Manual

The first comprehensive handbook on the seeds of trees and shrubs produced by the USDA Forest Service was USDA Misc. Pub. 654, Woody-Plant Seed Manual. The manuscript was ready for publication in 1941, but World War II delayed publication until 1948. The boom in tree planting in the 1950s and 1960s created a large demand for seeds and exposed the gaps in our knowledge concerning production and quality of seeds of woody plants in general. The 1974 Handbook proved to be very popular both in this country and abroad, leading to five printings and translations in several other languages. More than a quarter-century after its publication, however, numerous advances in tree seed technology have dictated that a new revision is needed; the result is the current volume. Part I contains information on how to get seeds and raise seedlings. Get Your Copy Now.

An interim Web site for a revised edition of the manual. The first comprehensive handbook on the seeds of trees and shrubs, produced by the USDA Forest Service, the Woody-Plant Seed Manual (USDA Misc. Publ. 654), was published in 1948. An updated and expanded manual, Seeds of Woody Plants in the United States (USDA Agric. Handbk. 450) was published in 1974. Work is proceeding on a new revision, again named the Woody Plant Seed Manual, by a team of Forest Service scientists and cooperators from universities and other government agencies. The site posts chapters as they are completed.

Set includes revised editions of some issues.