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My favorite field guides for wildflowers,
native plants, and trees
Clicking on a link takes you to Amazon for more details about the book and the option to buy. Purchases you make from my site are appreciated as it helps defray my expenses. For guides I look to see how a book is arranged, by color, plant family, habitat, and if there are photos or illustrations, or no images. A guide specifically for the area you are wildflowering is usually preferred to one with a more general coverage.
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Wildflowers of Northern California's Wine Country & North Coast Ranges - This is my field guide and it is considered the best book for the region with photographs and arranged by color. |
A Field Guide to Pacific States Wildflowers - This is the book I use most extensively. It is my number one reference source for the west coast. Line drawings, arranged by color. |
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| Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Western Edition - A good general reference, this one with photos. I may use it when I'm having trouble with the plant family. |
Marin Flora - This is a good book for Marin County, but a key with scientific terminology, few photos, some line drawings. Arranged by family. |
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| Flora of Sonoma County - Similar to the Marin Flora. Since this is my home county I use the book quite regularly. | Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region, Mendocino to Monterey - For wildflowering in the Bay Area this is a good one with lots of photos and detailed scientific info. | |
| Flowers of Point Reyes National Seashore - Arranged by plant family with illustrations of each plant. Good for this specific location. | Trees and Shrubs of California (CA Natural History Guides) - Resource with key, color photos, line illustrations, and maps showing distribution. | |
| Introduction to Shore Wildflowers of California, Oregon, and Washington (CA Natural History Guides) - Plants grouped by color with photographs. | Central Coast Wildflowers, Monterey, San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara Counties of California - Plants grouped by "community", includes photos and line illustrations. | |
| Wildflowers of the Columbia Gorge, A Comprehensive Field Guide - A great book for this area of Oregon/Washington. Includes field trip ideas and suggested dates. | Introduction to California Desert Wildflowers (CA Natural History Guides) - Plants grouped by color with photographs. | |