A field guide is a tool to identify an object of natural history. Field guidescover a wide range of topics from plants to fungi, birds to mammals, and shells to minerals. Traditionally, field guides are books, usually small enough to be carried outdoors . They enjoy wide popularity in modern life; almost every American home and library owns at least one field guide, and the same is also true for other areas of the world. At this time, companies, non-profits, and universities are developing computertechnologies to replace printed field guides for identifying plants. This thesisexamines the state of the art in field guides for plants. First, a framework isestablished for evaluating both printed and digital field guides. Second, fourprint and three digital field guides are evaluated against the criteria. Third, anovel digital field guide is presented and evaluated.

This is both a critical history of the nature guiding industry in South Africa from 1902- 2007 and a subjective critique of the practical components of contemporary natureguiding. It focuses particulary on guides operating on foot in “Big Five” (dangerous game) areas. The early history and the subsequent development of “wilderness” trails in the Kruger National Park and the histories of KwaZulu-Natal Parks and Madikwe Game Reserve are examined. The influences of the Field Guides’ Association of Southern Africa (FGASA) and the Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Education and Training Authority (THETA) are discussed. Transformation of the industry (in both the demographic and in the broader sense) faces language, cultural and ethical challenges because of prevailing anthropocentric and militaristic norms. Nature guides need improved communication skills and should balance traditional and progressive skills and ethics. They should become more critical and proactive in determining the style and content of their industry