The Jepson Desert Manual: Vascular Plants of Southeastern California [Paperback]

Bruce Baldwin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0520227751 | ISBN-13: 978-0520227750 | Edition: 1

In the spirit of the avid desert botanist Willis Linn Jepson, The Jepson Desert Manual provides botanical enthusiasts of all backgrounds with the first comprehensive field guide focused exclusively on native and naturalized vascular plants of California's southeastern deserts. Based on The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, the Desert Manual incorporates new illustrations for more than two hundred desert taxa, revised keys to identification, updated distributional information, and 128 color photographs. This guide will allow easier identification of California's fascinating desert plants than would be possible in a manual with broader geographic coverage.
As in The Jepson Manual, detailed descriptions and illustrations of plant characteristics are provided, along with information on native versus alien status, habitats, elevation, endangerment, toxicity, weed status, horticultural requirements, and flowering times. Introductory sections on the desert setting and vegetation offer the reader a broad context and new perspectives for appreciating the more than twenty five hundred plant species included in the Manual. For amateur and professional botanists alike, the Desert Manual will prove to be an invaluable companion in California's spectacular Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and southern Great Basin environments, including the White Mountains.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This impressive, streamlined new field guide to plants of California deserts is based on The Jepson Manual but is truly a handbook to be carried in the field. It offers new introductory discussions, many new illustrations, revised user-friendly keys, updated distribution information, flowering times... and handsome color photos of many species. This marvelous book demonstrates that our deserts are not barren wastes but treasure houses filled with an abundance of floristic riches."-Robert Ornduff, author of Introduction to California Plant Life; "An invaluable companion to those who delight in the unusual and beautiful plants of these scenic areas."-Peter H. Raven, Director, Missouri Botanical Garden; "This much-needed volume incorporates new information about the status and range of many California desert plants. This book will facilitate access to information about our deserts, and will lead to increased respect and attention to them. We warmly welcome it."-Jake Sigg, President, California Native Plant Society

From the Inside Flap

"This impressive, streamlined new field guide to plants of California deserts is based on The Jepson Manual and is truly a handbook to be carried in the field. It offers new introductory discussions, many new illustrations, revised user-friendly keys, updated distribution information, flowering times. . . and handsome color photos of many species. This marvelous book demonstrates that our deserts are not barren wastes but treasure houses filled with an abundance of floristic riches."--Robert Ornduff, author of Introduction to California Plant Life

"This is a marvelously useful guide to the plants of California's deserts, clearly-written and well-organized. An invaluable companion to those who delight in the unusual and beautiful plants of these scenic areas."--Peter H. Raven, Director, Missouri Botanical Garden

"This much-needed volume incorporates new information about the status and range of many California desert plants. This book will facilitate access to information about our deserts, and will lead to increased respect and attention to them. We warmly welcome it."--Jake Sigg, President, California Native Plant Society

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 640 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (March 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520227751
• ISBN-13: 978-0520227750
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems > Deserts

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete and Thorough, April 16, 2006

By 

blackturtle "blackturtle.us" (eastern CA desert) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jepson Desert Manual: Vascular Plants of Southeastern California (Paperback)

This book is the most complete book I've come across in terms of covering all the plants which I may encounter in the California deserts. I have eight desert plant books in all and I look at this one as the ultimate authority when it comes to identifying a plant. It's not the most easy book to use, but that's because it attempts to cover every native plant found in the desert. Some plant identification books strive for ease of use at the expense of completeness, the goal of this book is completeness. It is extremely well organized, but it is a bit technical for most people. The drawings are good and there is a limited number of color photographs. I consider this book an indispensable reference when it comes to desert plants with the Munz book "California Flora" being the only higher authority I know of.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Jepson Desert Manual, July 4, 2010

By 

hpfaff (Atlanta) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Jepson Desert Manual: Vascular Plants of Southeastern California (Paperback)

It is a complicated way to identify wildflowers and more suited to scholars as opposed to me, a true beginner.