This guide synthesizes the most current information available on the pests and environmental conditions that can damage California's conifers, the vast majority of native trees in the state. Authoritative and easy-to-use, it is an essential reference for biologists, arborists, ecologists, foresters [...]
Offers a geologic travelogue of California's unusual soils and land forms and their associated plants - including serpentines, carbonate rocks, salt marshes, salt flats, and vernal pools - demonstrating along the way how geology shapes plant life.[...]
This guide is the only complete reference to the sharks, rays, and chimaeras found in California's waters - from the intertidal zone to 500 miles offshore. Species accounts give information on habitat and range, natural history, interactions with humans, nomenclature, and further references. 68 beau[...]
The Exclamation Damsel, Bison Snaketail, Powdered Dancer, Black Meadowhawk, and Sedge Sprite are just a few of the dragonflies and damselflies identified in this complete guide to California's abundant Odonates. o Species accounts discuss identification in the field and in the hand, behavior, habit[...]
From river otters and minks to bobcats, pikas, and flying squirrels, California boasts a diverse and intriguing fauna. But many of these animals can be secretive, shy, and nocturnal and observing them in the wild can be difficult. During the past two decades, the first edition of this popular guide [...]
In the spring, California's rolling hills, green valleys, and coastal slopes are colored with wildflowers treasured by both residents and visitors to the state. First published more than forty years ago, this popular guidebook has helped thousands of amateur and intermediate wildflower enthusiasts l[...]
Many landscapes in California's mountains are still relatively untouched by human activity and provide excellent opportunities for viewing wildflowers. This guidebook describes and illustrates the wildflowers that grow from the yellow pine belt up into the natural rock gardens that grow above timber[...]
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 ot[...]
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[...]
In 1860 William Brewer, a young Yale-educated teacher of the natural sciences and a recent widower, eagerly accepted an offer from Josiah Whitney to assist in the first geological survey of the state of California. Brewer was not a geologist, but his training in agriculture and botany made him an in[...]
This easy-to-use guide to the most visible families of California desert flowers includes family and genus keys, color photographs of nearly 300 species, and a wealth of diagrams. Created as a primer on identification to family and genus, California Desert Flowers takes readers to a new level of und[...]
Since late 2001 more than fifty percent of the babies born in California have been Latino. When these babies reach adulthood, they will, by sheer force of numbers, influence the course of the Golden State. This essential study, based on decades of data, paints a vivid and energetic portrait of Latin[...]
Field guides often provide little ecological information, or context, for understanding the plants they identify. This book, with its engaging text and attractive illustrations, for the first time provides an ecological framework for the plants and their environments in the coast and foothill region[...]
Raptors--the charismatic group of birds that includes hawks, eagles, and falcons--evoke power, swiftness, and grace. Raptors, or birds of prey, gaze calmly about while at rest, exuding confidence and nobility, and, while soaring aloft, they are absolute icons of the California landscape. Featuring d[...]
An introduction, a regional guide, and a companion for excursions from San Luis Obispo County to the Mexican border, this book is designed to familiarize birdwatchers, hikers, naturalists, residents, and travelers with the appearance and behavior of 120 of the most common coastal birds.[...]