Native Plants

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Friday - March 14, 2008

From: Janesville , CA
Region: California
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: Books for plant identification of native California species
Answered by: Barbara Medford and Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

When I was going to college, many years ago, there was a field book for plant identification for California native species. I am trying to find that book again or at least a good pocket book on plant identification of California plants. Any suggestions? All I can remember was, I think it had a green plastic cover. Also I think there may even have been another book put out by the Sierra Club that covered a lot of plants and other information on California. Please let me know if you have any suggestions on a good book for my purpose of Plant ID in California All information will be helpful.

ANSWER:

In terms of a "Field Guide" to California native plants, we could not find a book specifically titled that way. Nor, in a search for Sierra books, did we find such a publication. However, we did find several titles that might serve your purposes. If you scroll down to "Bibliography" on this page, you will find the titles we thought best suited your purposes. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California is considered to be the ultimate source for California native plants and may well be the one you used in college. If you click on the title, it will take you to some more information on the book, and even a button to order it from Amazon, if you wish. Here is an additional lists of books on California native plants, from our Bibliography section.

The Native Plant Society of California has a list of publications that you might check on. So many of the books are dedicated to a specific type of flora or a specific area of California, understandable since California has a tremendous diversity of native species. Of course, there are numerous websites on California Native Plants, such as: a Calflora site, "Searchable database on wild California plants." Unfortunately, it's a little difficult to use a computer when you're out in the field trying to identify a plant. Best wishes on finding the perfect book!

Bibliography

California Flora and Supplement (1973) Munz, P.A.; D. D. Keck

California Native Plants for the Garden (2005) Bornstein, C.; D. Fross; B. O'Brien

Complete Garden Guide to the Native Perennials of California (1990) Keator, G.

Growing California Native Plants (1980) Schmidt, M. G.

Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California (1993) Hickman, J.C. (ed.)

Native Plants for Use in the California Landscape (1978) Labadie, E. L.

Native Treasures: Gardening with the Plants of California (2006) Smith, M. N.

Search More Titles in Bibliography