Natural History Wanderings

California plant floras and field guides to help in your plant exploration and identification

Statewide Books and Resources

The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California James C. Hickman (Editor)  The 2nd edition is now out in print.  It includes significant revisions to plant families, genera and species.

Jepson eFlora is the revised version of the Jepson Manual online. It will be updated on a regular basis:  http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/

CalFlora database if you’re looking in a place that isn’t otherwise covered it’s quite useful: http://www.calflora.org/

Calphotos a photo data base of California plants: http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/flora/

Trees and Shrubs of California by John D. Stuart and John O. Sawyer

Pacific States Wildflowers (Peterson Field Guide) Thomas F. Niehaus and Charles L. Ripper

Regional Books from North to South

Pocket Flora of the Redwood Forest Rudolof W. Becking

Redwood Region Flower Finder Phoebe Watts

Northwest California: A Natural History John O. Sawyer

A Flora of the Trinity Alps William J. Ferlatte

A Flora of Lassen Volcanic National Park, California George Gillett, John Thomas Howell and Hans Leschke. Revised by Vernon H. Oswald, David W. Showers and Mary Ann Showers

A Flora of Vascular Plants of Mendocino County, California Gladys L. Smith and Clare R. Wheeler

Wildflower Walking in Lakes Basin of Northern Sierra by Toni Fauver

Wildflower Hotspots of the Eastern Sierra  BLM publication, available for  $2.00 at eastern Sierra Forest Service visitor centers. Available free online: http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/ca/pdf/bishop/botany.Par.58359.File.dat/wildflower_hotspots.pdf

A Sierra Nevada Flora Norman F. Weeden

Plants of the Tahoe Basin Michael Graf

An Illustrated Flora of Yosemite National Park Stephen J. Botti (Author), Walter Sydoriak (Illustrator)

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers including Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks by Karen Weise

Sierra Flower Finder Glen Keator

Sierra Nevada Wildflowers Elizabeth Horn

Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley Laird R. Blackwell

Flora of the Yosemite Sierra by Dean Wm. Taylor (Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera Counties and Mono Basin)

Natural History of the White-Inyo Range: Eastern California edited by Clarence A. Hall Jr.

Wildflowers of the Eastern Sierra and adjourning Mojave Desert and Great Basin Laird R. Blackwell

Wildflower Walks and Roads of the Sierra Gold Country by Toni Fauver

Wildflowers of Nevada and Placer Counties, California by Redbud Chapter of CNPS

Plants of Northern California A Field Guide to Plants West of the Sierra Nevada by Eva Begley

Wildflowers of Table Mountain Butte County, California – 2 nd edition Samantha Mackey (author) and Albin Bills (author), Larry Jansen (Illustrator)

A Flora of Sonoma County Catherine Best

Wildflowers of Northern California’s Wine Country & North Coast Ranges Reny Parker

Marin Flora – An Illustrated Manual of the Flowering Plants, Ferns, and Conifers of Marin John Thomas Howell (Author), Frank Almeda (Author), Wilma Follette (Author), Catherine Best (Author)

Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey, Revised Edition  Linda Beidleman (Author), Eugene Kozloff (Author)

Annotated Checklist of the East Bay Flora   Barbara Ertter

Plants of the East Bay Parks Glen Keator (author) Susan Bazell(illustrator) and Peg Steunenberg (illustrator)

The Flowering Plants and Ferns of Mount Diablo California Barbara Ertter and Mary L. Bowerman

Flora of the Mount Hamilton Range of California Helen K. Sharsmith

Flowering Plants of Edgewood Natural Preserve Toni Corelli

Flora of the Santa Cruz Mountains J. H. Thomas

An Illustrated Field Key to the Flowering Plants of Monterey County and Ferns, Fern Allies, and Conifers Mary Ann Matthews (Author)

 Wildflowers of Monterey County by David J. Gubernick (photographer) and Vern Yadon (botanist)

The Natural History of Big Sur Paul Henson and Donald J. Usner

Central and Southern California Wildflower Location Guide By Spencer Westbrook.  click here for more information.

A Flora of Southern California Philip A. Munz

A Flora of Kern County, California Ernest C. Twisselmann. Illustrated by Eben and Gladys McMillan

Death Valley Wildflowers Roxana S. Ferris (Author) and Jeanne R. Janish (Illustrator)

Flora of the Santa Barbara Region California, Clifton F. Smith

Ventura County Flora venturaflora.com 

Flora of Santa Monica Mountains Peter H. Raven, Henry J. Thompson and Barry A. Prigge.

Flowering Plants:The Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal and Chapparral Regions of Southern California Nancy Dale

Santa Monica Mountains Flora A Checklist by Bob Muns

Flora of the Santa Ana River and Environs Oscar F. Clarke. (Los Angeles, Orange County and Riverside County)

The Jepson desert manual: vascular plants of southeastern California Bruce G. Baldwin

California Desert Flowers Sue Morhardt and Emil Morhardt

Mojave Desert Wildflowers Pam MacKay

Mojave Desert Wildflowers by Jon Mark Stewart

Colorado Desert Wildflowers by  Jon Mark Stewart

Sonoran Desert Wildflowers Richard Spellenberg

Checklist of the Vascular Plants of San Diego County Jon P. Rebman and Michael G. Simpson

San Diego Native Plants James Lightner

88 California Wildflower Locations Carol Leigh   (not a flora or flower field guide, but a useful guide to wildflower locations and approximate bloom periods).

A number of the books mentioned are not in print, but can usually be found by searching used book websites such as http://www.bookfinder.com/ or Amazon.  They may also be found in libraries, especially university libraries.

If you have  suggestions for additions to the list please send as a comment.