Plant Identification and Information Resources for Summer Hikers

Planning a hike this weekend? The following resources can help you identify and learn more about the flora you might see on the trail.

 For Beginning and Intermediate Naturalists

If you want to do some reading before your hike, we recommend  Introduction to California Plant Life by Robert Ornduff, Phyllis M. Faber, and Todd Keeler-Wolf and  and California Plant Families by Glenn Keator. These are also great guides to take out into the field.

One stop shopping for all the trees and shrubs of California is available in Trees and Shrubs of California by John D. Stuart and John O' Sawyer.

Regional guides make it easier to narrow your search, may offer information on other species, and give more background on why certain plants grow in one region over another. Try Introduction to the Plant Life of Southern California: Coast to Foothills by Philip W. Rundel and Robert Gustafson, Introduction to Trees of the San Francisco Bay Region by Glenn Keator, Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula by Jules G. Evens, Sierra Nevada Natural History by Tracy I. Storer, Robert L. Usinger, and David Lukas

Wildflower season is coming to a close, but four books by Phillip A. Munz (originally published in the 1950s!) still provide excellent, at-a-glance identification and information about wildflowers.  Introduction to California Mountain Wildflowers, Introduction to Shore Wildflowers of California, Oregon, and Washington, Introduction to California Spring Wildflowers of the Foothills, Valleys, and Coast, and Introduction to California Desert Wildflowers by Philip A. Munz.

For Advanced Amateurs and Professional Naturalists

The Jepson Manual - Available Online or in Print
The most comprehensive resource and identification guide to nearly eight thousand varieties of native and naturalized California plants. At over 1,400 pages, it's a load to carry out into the field--but the only comprehensive resource of its kind. (The California Native Plant Society used to sell a special carrier for it, but I was unable to find it in their store. If you have any information about carriers for the Jepson Manual, please feel free to add a comment to this blog entry.) If you are planning a visit to the desert, The Jepson Desert Manual lightens your load while also providing all the information available in the larger book.

Jepson Flora Project - Jepson Online Interchange for California Floristics
After identifying the plant using your Jepson manual, learn more about it using the Interchange, which links together a variety of University of California sources for distribution maps, specimen data,  horticultural information, photos (Cal Photos) and more.

A Manual of California Vegetation (California Native Plant Society)
Put together by the California Native Plant Society, this guide is now completely available online. It aggregates information and photos of species, including information also available via the Jepson Flora Project mentioned above.

We welcome your thoughts and tips as well. Please post reviews of your favorite identification guides and online resources in our comments section.

Illustration: Rosebay rhododendron. The rosebay rhododendron grows along the edge of moist coastal forests in the extreme North Bay, for example, in the Kruse Rhododendron Reserve on the northern Sonoma coast. Photo by Glenn Keator appears in Introduction to Trees of the San Francisco Bay Region.

Comments

[nursery plants]

Nice info......Thanks for sharing man.

[generic viagra]

If you are planning a visit to the desert, The Jepson Desert Manual lightens your load while also providing all the information available in the larger book.

[severe hypertension]

Why do people live in the desert? If the conditions are so harsh
(heat, drought, famine), why not leave the desert for better areas to
live? (Details would be appreciated about different reasons. Also nice
would be authoritative sources that address this issue.)

[cialis online]

Anybody who has been to a pawnshop will notice either above the door, on the door or anywhere near the door a cluster of three globes or balls. Also you'll find this cluster of three balls on the store logo. What is the history and the meaning of this unique symbol?

[buy propecia]

There are a bunch of chemicals that can kill plants. I would assume a lot of different cleaning chemicals and even household salt could kill a plant.

[Volker from Germany]

Hello,
I randomly came on this side and would like to leave nice greetings. I would be glad if you visit my homepage also! Maybe you want to visit Sylt Westerland in Germany http://www.MeerblickSylt.de or the Baltic Sea http://www.OstseeblickHolm.de for vacation?! We have there very nice flats with a nice view. Maybe we'll see soon!
Kind regards

[Ferienwohnung Greetsiel]

Viele Gruesse aus dem schoenen Fischerdorf Greetsiel

[buy acomplia online]

Now I know what to do this weekend we will go hike.

[Round and Brown]

If you are planning a visit to the desert, The Jepson Desert Manual lightens your load while also providing all the information available in the larger book.

[NFL Jerseys]

I would, however, like to emphasize a point I obliquely in that review. My primary criticisms are not aimed at Mr. Diallo whatsoever. He is clearly a very skilled photographer and photographic post-processor. His knowledge shines through despite the impediments presented by the book's truly awful design.

[Jason]

If the conditions are so harsh
(heat, drought, famine), why not leave the desert for better areas to
live? (Details would be appreciated about different reasons http://www.hotfilemediafire.com

[KarinKratzer]

This is really an important point. At over 1,400 pages, it's a load to carry out into the field--but the only comprehensive resource of its kind. The California Native Plant Society used to sell a special carrier for it, but I was unable to find it in their store.
http://www.artikelmagazin.com/ernahrung/ayurvedische-ernahrung