Several CA Nature Books You Want
... and Two You DON’T Want!

It’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 flora: 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.

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 thickened scales, and a corm is an underground stem with thin leaves.

To better understand plants, a little light reading may be needed. And while many fine articles exist on Web sites, certainly owning a book or three is enjoyable, not to mention easier to use conveniently. Here then are some titles that are in most cases, personally reviewed and worth having:

Plant Identification Terminology by Harris, and Woolf-Harris

I’d consider this a critical addition to your library if you want to really learn about plant characteristics. It contains an illustration of nearly every entry, and it 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 take 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.

[NOTE: For more than ten years already, a project called Deep Green has been evaluating plant family groupings. Many changes have been made but neither Peterson's nor many (any?) other field guides are yet updated! Not really a problem if you understand that some changes are going to sound confusing. Check theses changes that affect our El Dorado County plant lists.]

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. Since most people ignore the advice to start with b/w guides, 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 $1.50 used or just $5–10 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.

The 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. Shop for a used one as there are many changes in the nomenclatures and a new edition is due out “soon”. You need this if you’re serious about plant ID..

California’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 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 to0 18 inches!) binoculars. I bought a pair of Pentax Papilio 8.5x21 Binoculars and they are superb!

Now for two books you don’t need:

Wild 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 received the book. THUMBS DOWN! A really strange book and not really a botany book. Read my review at Amazon.

Butterfly Photographer’s Handbook

While not such a loser as the "Wild Plants" book, this one is simply too much money for too little information. Even at Amazon’s price of $25, I wouldn't do it *(except I already did, sad for me. And with the loss from opening the package and the cost of return postage, it’s just not worth returning.

So what’s so bad? The fact that I have been taking butterfly photos for almost two years might have simply given me the chance to learn--by trial and error-- what this book wants to teach. Honestly? I didn't find very much that wasn't just common sense! Move up slowly,...don't cast a shadow on the butterfly,...stand still when shooting (complete with a how-to list of what it takes to stand still). It isn't that informative on butterflies (certainly no better than the info offered in the "Butterflies through Binoculars" book, above) and it actually doesn't have much to offer for photography instruction. He does recommend a particular lens he likes,..and I found that it’s about $1200. Uh, no thanks.

Other reviews on Amazon were much too enthusiastic and I got suckered in.


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