California's unique plants range in size from the stately Coast Redwoods to the minute belly plants of the southern deserts and in age from the four-thousand year-old Bristlecone Pines to ephemeral annuals whose life span can be counted in weeks. Available at last in a thoroughly updated and revised edition, this popular book is the only concise overview of the state's remarkable flora, its plant communities, and the environmental factors that shape them. It features 188 color photographs that illustrate plants and typical plant communities around the state, and new chapters that give expanded discussions of the evolution of the California landscape, recent changes in California's flora, and more. It introduces basic concepts of plant taxonomy and plant ecology through clear examples and covers topics such as soil, climate, and geography.

The diverse coastal habitats of the spectacular Pacific Coast include sandy beaches and dunes, salt- and freshwater marshes, coastal prairies and bluffs, riparian woodlands, and coniferous forests. This guide, first published nearly forty years ago, has introduced thousands to the wildflowers and other plants that grow along the coastline. Now thoroughly updated and revised, it is the perfect field guide to pack for a day at the seashore anywhere in California or the Pacific Northwest. 268 species are described and illustrated by a new color photograph, a precise line drawing, or both. It includes native and introduced species of wildflowers, common trees, and shrubs. This new edition includes more plants, gives helpful hints for identifying species, and incorporates new taxonomic and distribution information.