Several CA Nature Books You Might Want...

botanical latinIt’s one thing to know some common names of plants used in your landscaping, it’s quite another to learn the actual botanical names. As was mentioned on the about names page, you will understand much more about a plant when you start to learn their botanical names and how to decode the Latin and Greek parts of the nomenclature; it’s really easier than you might think. If you are feeling nerdy and enjoy Latin and how it works for botany (and scientific names in general, take a look at Stearn's Botanical Latin. Carry it around and impress your friends.

Along with starting to learn botanical names, you will want to be clear on the mechanics of plants and how they are constructed. Most people can probably identify a stem, a leaf, and a root with some degree of certainty, but there are other plant parts that get skipped over, like stamens, pistils, and sepals. Why is there always a discussion over a tomato and whether it is a fruit or a vegetable? A: Mouse over to revealIt's a fruit.. Q: What exactly is a bulb and what is a corm? A: Mouse over to reveal.A bulb is an underground shoot with modified leaves, and a corm is a solid underground bulb-shaped stem.

To better understand plants, a little light reading may be needed. Here then are some titles that are worth having:

Plant Identification Terminology
by Harris, and Woolf-Harris

An important addition to your library if you want to really learn about plant characteristics. It contains an illustration of nearly every entry and is assembled like a dictionary. When you start handling questions about a plant being tomentose or glaucus, this is the book to reach for to understand the terms.

Sierra Nevada Flora
by Norman Weeden, Ph.D.

A decent way to start with local flora is to use this lightweight copy of Weeden’s book. The advantage of having the selection of plants limited to the general area is a big help. Peterson’s (shown below) is a better book to get familiar with plant families, but the Sierra Nevada Flora covers just the foothills to the alpine Sierra and there’s a lot to like in that.

Note: even in this fourth edition of Sierra Nevada Flora there are a number of errors which are yet to be fixed. This edition does have two pages (!) of errata but it would be nice to see the actual text get fixed. These errors will not likely bother the majority of users, however.

Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers
by Peterson Guides

Everyone starts out wanting to match plant pictures (color photos) to the plants they find in the field. The problem is, color photos are often more confusing than helpful. The Peterson Guides are loaded with simple line drawings which highlight the most important characteristics of a plant. The plant families are described and you actually learn to use a key. You won't find every plant but you will find close matches to all major families. An excellent beginner resource.

Botany in a Day
by Thomas Elpel

Uh, maybe not in a day, but sooner than without the book! This is a generally good guide for learning to recognize families of plants, which in many cases is about as far as some people want to take it. You may not want to identify an absolute species but you could still say, "Oh, that's a member of the Rose family!" and that's good too.

Plants of the Tahoe Basin
by Michael Graf

Having just said that color photos are not the best way to ID a plant, here we have good local color photos to work with; Graf's book is a very complete photo ID book for most of the plants you will find as you explore the Desolation Wilderness, Carson Pass, and areas around Lake Tahoe.

NOTE: This link is not an Amazon link. It takes you to a page for Half.com and you can find the book for as little as $3 NEW. Shipping is extra, but what a deal.

Wildflowers of the Tahoe Sierra
by Laird R. Blackwell

A general introduction to most common plants from around 5000' and above. If you visit Wrights Lake or the Desolation Wilderness, you will find most of the flowers shown in this book. It's small enough to fit into a back pocket.


Flowers of Eastern Sierra, Mohave, Great Basin
by Laird R. Blackwell

A general introduction to most common plants around east side of Carson Pass down to Sonora Pass. Carson Pass is home to a surprising number of plants that creep over from the drier east side. And if you venture off to Mono Lake or Monitor Pass, etc., this is a book to carry with you.

jepsonThe NEW Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California

This is the gold standard for plant ID books in California. Intimidating to the inexperienced, but worth the investment if you want to become experienced. This NEW edition is now available, but do NOT shop it at Amazon ($125) but get it from UC Press for $100.. You need this if you’re serious about plant ID..

gardensCalifornia’s Wild Gardens
by Phyllis Farber

All the inspiration you will need to start thinking that a trip to the coast, or the desert, or some other part of the state. There are so many interesting habitats. (By the way, check some habitats around El Dorado County.

butterflies Butterflies through Binoculars: West

This is a terrific catalog of photographs of western species, showing both “top view” (resting with wings spread) and side view image (wings folded upright) of all the species we will see in our travels. If you’re a beginner like I am, it might be a surprise to learn that the underside of the wing is more informative than the showy, colorful top when trying to identify a butterfly. This is a very useful book with really clear photos.

It is a very good idea to have a pair of close-focusing (down to 18 inches!) binoculars. I bought a pair of Pentax Papilio 8.5x21 Binoculars and they are superb!

Now for a book you don’t need:

wild plantsWild Plants of the Sierra Nevada
by Ray and Edna Vizgirdas

I haven't yet read this brand new book but the previews have me anxious to see it! I ordered it and am waiting, but it looks like it will be an excellent book for the daypack. A bit pricey ($40) but if it lives up to what I believe it to be, money well spent.

UPDATE: I bought the book, then returned it. THUMBS DOWN! A really strange book and not really a botany book. Read my review at Amazon. I see that the price has dropped to $27, so now it's only $25 over-priced.


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