A guidebook to identify the plants and wildflowers of the Santa Barbara foothills and Southern California.

Rundel introduces readers to the plant communities of the Southern California coastal areas and foothills, including color photos of 250 species and additional color habitat photos.

This field guide to the flora of the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California is at once a personal and entertaining account of the region's botanical context and history of exploration, and a long-awaited inventory of its flora. The author, Orlando Mistretta, grew up at the foot of this mountain range and has spent the past four decades of his botanical career exploring the far corners of this exceedingly rugged mountain range located in close proximity to Greater Los Angeles. Over 30 color photographs and maps accompany a detailed introduction to all aspects of the San Gabriels, including physical setting, project boundaries and history of its botanical exploration. Keys to plant families, genera, species and subspecific ranks are carefully formulated to be accessible to both botanical professionals and generalists. Species entries include information on taxonomic authorities, life form, abundance, habitat (vegetation types [including post-burn occurrences] and elevation), localities of occurrence (list of specific canyons and other locations), and a representative herbarium voucher. Notes on possible hybridization, historical records, alternative taxonomy and native versus introduced status are included. An index lists families, genera and species. This book is part of the Occasional Publications series published by Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, California, the largest botanic garden dedicated to California native flora.

"This guide provides description and photographs of 149 rare or endangered plants found in 10 counties in Northern California. Each description is accompanied by a photo of the mature plant (where available), a photo of the plant in its native habitat, a line art illustration of the plant showing diagnostic features, and a map showing the quadrangles where the plant has been found."--NHBS Encironment Bookstore.

Wildflowers of Southern California: People exploring nature in Southern California can use this handy photographic field guide to identify common native wildflower species. The flowers in the guide are grouped by color to make identification as easy as possible, and the accompanying text indicates size, bloom period, and other characteristics of each plant. The guide's six double-sided panels fold up into a packet narrow enough to fit in a back pocket yet sturdy enough to stand up under repeated use. Lamination has also made the guide waterproof. The plants identified in Southern California Wildflowers grow in a large area that includes the valleys, coastal mountains, and coastal plains of Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Orange and Ventura Counties and many other nearby places.

"A comprehensive, thoroughly researched, and deeply felt guide to one of the world's most beautiful and varied regions. Santa Barbara and the neighboring counties of San Luis Obispo and Ventura comprise a transitional zone where the plants and animals of Northern California mix with those of the south, creating diverse and dynamic habitats. Lucid explications of the geological and ecological forces that continue to shape and reshape the area are interspersed with personal accounts, as the author delights in the salty breath of a two-hundred-ton whale near the Channel Islands, the antics of beach hoppers along the shoreline, the explosion of wildflowers on the Carrizo Plain, memories of exploring the chaparral with her father, excursions into oak woodlands, and hikes to lofty peaks and canyons cloaked with pinyon pine and juniper. Enhanced with ample, specially commissioned photographs, maps, and charts, this book will broaden our understanding and deepen our enjoyment of a unique and constantly surprising region."--Back cover.