Plants of Northern California: A Field Guide to Plants West of the Sierra Nevada

Northern California has quite a variety of biospheres — coastal areas, mountains, forests, high deserts, sloughs, even alpine meadows and more — and, consequently, there is a tremendous variety of flora growing in this half of the state. Author Eva Begley begins with a very thorough introduction that covers everything from geographic regions to scientific name pronunciations. This is followed by four major categories of plants — Ferns and Horsetails, Conifers, Flowering Plants: Dicotyledons, and Flowering Plants: Monocotyledons. Each of these sections is filled with beautiful, close-up photographs of the plants, the common name, the family to which it belongs, other common names, the scientific name, height, description of leaves and flowers, elevation, habitat, and extensive comments. The more than 350 pages of these specific plant identifiers is followed by an extensive glossary, species by color, and an excellent index. As field guides to plants go, this is a spectacular choice. It is specific, complete, and beautiful, filled with easy-to-access information that will please every person who has a love of plants and a particular interest in Northern California.