Trees And Shrubs Of California (California Natural History Guides) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
California's varied landscape is characterized by a spectacular abundance of plant life, including a magnificent variety of trees and shrubs. This is the first book to combine the trees and shrubs of California in one accessible field guide. Trees and Shrubs of California identifies and describes native California tree species and most common shrub species. The text is complemented by more than 200 beautiful line drawings, 300 range maps, and 40 color photographs.In their introduction, the authors discuss the dominant vegetation types, climates, principal landforms, and elevations of California's ecological regions. They explain the classification system and nomenclature used in the book, which includes both scientific and common plant names and is based on the 1993 edition of The Jepson Manual. The authors also provide a step-by-step explanation of how to use the dichotomous keys to identify plants and distinguish between trees and shrubs.This user-friendly field guide minimizes technical terms and includes a checklist, making it an invaluable resource on California's profuse vegetation.
Series: California Natural History Guides (Book 62)
Perfect Paperback: 500 pages
Publisher: University of California Press (May 14, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0520221109
ISBN-13: 978-0520221109
Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 1 x 7.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #86,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #28 in Books > Textbooks > Science & Mathematics > Biology & Life Sciences > Botany #54 in Books > Science & Math > Biological Sciences > Plants > Trees #77 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Natural History
This would seem to be OK. Nicely printed with attractive line-drawings that give a good overall picture of what the plant looks like (not quite one for every species, also somewhat short on botanical detail) and distribution maps (one for every species). A separate section with pretty decent color photographs (39 total).The downside is that this is a guide for North and Central California, with the occasional South Californian species thrown in, which makes it a compromise. Also I don't really like the size: I would have preferred a bigger page size in a less chunky volume. But good value for money overall.
This is a wonderful reference book for more serious California native plant enthusiasts. It has detailed drawings of most referenced plants and also shows a map illustrating the native range of every specimen (which I find particularly interesting). Although I have found some missing species -- I really value this book. It is a great companion to the Sunset Western Garden Book (I go back and forth between the two). It also provides information on non-native plants that have long naturalized in the Golden State.
This is the best field guide for California Trees and Shrubs on the market. It is an essential guide for anyone wanting too know native California trees and shrubs. I have had my tattered hardcover copy since 2002 and I still use it when I come upon a shrub I don't know. It takes a little time learning the key and the structure of the book, but once you have that down you should be able to ID all of the plants in the book.They book is divided into two sections, conifers and broad leaf trees, with a key for each. If you know the genus, such as manzanita, but not the species you can skip the key, look up manzanita in the index, and then try to ID the plant with the line drawings and the descriptions, which are detailed as to size of plant, leaf size and structure, stem features, inflorescencex, flowers and fruit as well as habitat and range. The only drawback is about 5 to 10% uf the plant species do not have line drawings.The book also has a remarks section for each plant which lists features such as closely related subspecies, medicinal uses and importance to wildlife. It also has 40 color photos of the plants described.I would highly recommend this book, and hopefully they will come out with a second edition adding about 30 to 40 more species and more line drawings.
An older edition of this book was one of two text books in a Native Plant Identification course I took 10-15 years back when I started working on my Forestry degree. It was so good that it stayed with me through graduation and on in to my career. I made the mistake of lending it to another forester, who promptly lost it. So, now I am buying a new one (at his expense no less). The keys are excellent, the line drawings more than sufficient. The size is packable without getting dog-eared, and it fits in a gallon seal-able bag with room for field notes and pen and pencil. If you want a guide for Central and Northern California native trees and shrubs, you can do no better.
This guide is easy to use and full of information. A great field guide for anyone interested in California's native woody plants.
This book is exactly as described and what I wanted. After a trip to the Channel Islands where great precautions are taken to keep the environment as natural and pristine as possible, I developed an interest in California's flora and fauna. This book along with some other natural history guides has given me a new perspective on living in Southern California.
The advertisement for this book contained 4 references to the book being user-friendly, but I found it to be user un-friendly. Since it was published by the University of California, I was expecting something better. The publisher tried to cram too much information into a tiny book. Most of the other reviews were positive, so that's why I decided to buy it. The illustrations are poor, and it is very terse and technical in it's descriptions of plant life. The advertisement said it was suitable for novices and experts. In my opinion, it's only suitable for experts. The reason I bought this book is because I'm in training to be a landscape architect. The cost of returning this book would cost more than the book itself, so I'm going to have to donate it. It was a big waste of money for me. If you don't have a Master of Science degree in botany or biology, then don't buy it, you'll be disappointed just like I was.
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