Natural History Wanderings

Wildflower Hotspots Of The Eastern Sierra

March 5 Update It is now available for free on line at: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/regions/pacificsouthwest/documents/WildflowerHotSpots050411LowRes.pdf

Last year  I mentioned the booklet Wildflower Hotspots Of The Eastern Sierra in the posting New Eastern Sierra Wildflower Information Resources.  It turns out my information was wrong. It actually costs $2, not $1.  It is still the best deal around.  In my recent trip to the Eastern Sierra, we picked up a copy and found it very useful.  It introduced to a number of new wildflower spots.

It also includes a very good, though not complete plant list. It tells you which locations have each flower. It includes both common and scientific (latin) names of the flowers.  The plant list is arranged by plant family and is the first book I have seen that includes the new changes to plant names and families. For instance the Paintbrushes or Castillejas are now in the Orobanche or Orobanchaceae family.

You can buy the booklet at National Forest Offices.  I bought mine at the Mono Lake visitors center.  In fact, I liked is so much I went back and bought five more to give to friends.