author

D. M. (Donald Mundell) Crooks

1902–1992

Best known for a practical U.S. Department of Agriculture guide to poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac, this writer helped turn specialized plant knowledge into clear advice ordinary readers could use. His work is concise, useful, and still easy to recognize as the product of a hands-on government scientist.

1 Audiobook

Poison-ivy, poison-oak and poison sumac : Identification, precautions, eradication

Poison-ivy, poison-oak and poison sumac : Identification, precautions, eradication

by D. M. (Donald Mundell) Crooks, L. W. (Leonard Wheeler) Kephart

About the author

Donald Mundell Crooks (1902–1992) is chiefly remembered for writing and co-writing USDA publications on poisonous plants, especially Poison-ivy, Poison-oak and Poison Sumac: Identification, Precautions, Eradication. Catalog and ebook records consistently identify him as D. M. or Donald M. Crooks, and the work was published through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Contemporary edition records describe him as a principal horticulturist in the Division of Tobacco, Medicinal, and Special Crops, and later editions refer to him as retired, suggesting a long career in federal agricultural research and extension work. His best-known bulletin was written to help readers recognize hazardous plants, avoid exposure, and deal with them safely.

Reliable biographical detail beyond his professional work is scarce in the sources I could confirm, so the clearest picture is of a practical scientific author: someone who wrote plainly, organized information for everyday use, and produced a guide that remained in circulation long after its original publication.