Trees and Shrubs of California by John D. Stuart, John O. Sawyer, Andrea J. Pickart

2 Pages·2001·1.3 MB·English

by  Review By: Marcel Rejmánek

Madrono, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 128-129, 2001
REVIEW
Trees and Shrubs ofCalifornia, by John D. Stuart and Darrow 1981; Conrad 1987; Elmore and Janish
and John O. Sawyer. Illustrated by Andrea J. Pick- 1976). Several invasive woody species, even ifcur-
art. 2001. 467 pp. University of California Press, rently not really widespread in California, could be
Berkeley. Hardcover $45.00 ISBN 0-520-22109-5, included in a manual like this (e.g.. Acacia deal-
softcover $22.50 ISBN 0-520-22110-9. bata, Alhagi pseudalhagi, Catalpa bignonioides,
Cotoneaster spp., Crataegus monogyna, Elaeagnus
So far, being seriously interested in woody taxa angustifolia, Fraxinus uhdei, Ligustrum spp., My-
in California meant carrying a subset of the below oporum laetum, Nicotiana glauca, Sapium sebifer-
listed publications plus The Jepson Manual to the um, Schinus molle, Sesbania punicea). Their early
field. Will this new guide to trees and shrubs of detection can be critical for their successful control
California replace all that? Yes, to some extent. or eradication.
This will be a useful book for beginners. Almost There are regions, like Great Britain, south-east-
all native California trees are here and many com- ern Australia, New Zealand, or Kenya with a long
mon shrubs. Some commonly naturalized woody tradition ofexcellent complete (oralmost complete)
species are here as well. Keys are friendly, based field guides to trees and shrubs. Recently published
on readily available vegetative characters. Repro- Brayshaw's (1996) guide to woody species of Brit-
ductive structures are needed only exceptionally. ish Columbia also belongs in this category. Stuart
Technical terms are kept to minimum; all of them and Sawyer's guide is just a first step in the right
are explained in the glossary. Nomenclature fol- direction.
lows The Jepson Manual, with somejustifiable ex- —
ceptions (e.g., rehabilitation of the genus Chamae- Marcel Rejmanek, Section of Evolution and
cyparis). About % ofthe included species are illus- Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA
trated by line drawings. Unfortunately, some, like 95616
those of Cercis occidentalis. Genista monspessu-
lana, or Salix gooddingii, are of rather marginal
quality to say the least. Thirty nine color photo- Literature Cited
graphs are, in general, excellent. The distribution of
313 species in California is illustrated by small Benson, L. D. and R. A. Darrow. 1981. The Trees and
range maps. For many of the species, these are the Shrubs of the Southwestern Deserts. 3rd ed. Univer-
first sketchess of distributional maps ever complet- sity of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
easden.vdeSrDaoalmrerreoamlwolyr1eu9s8oer1f;ulleMssocnrMeeislneavnraentamnirdesfseMirnaeginnc(eoe.sg.a1,r9e8B0el;insstPeoedn-; CBornarylasudhm,abiwaC,..TUE..BCC.1981P79r.e9s6sC.,oTVmraemneocsonuavnSedhrr,SuhbBrsCu.bosfoCfhaBprairtriaslh Caon-d
Associated Ecosystems of Southern California.
trides and Petrides 1992; Sampson and Jespersen USDA Forest Service General Technical Report
1981; Sudworth 1967). PSW-99. Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Exper-
I do not expect any complaints about coverage iment Station, Berkeley, CA.
of California trees. Only very rare species like Elmore, F. H. and J. R. Janish. 1976. Shrubs and Trees
Lyonothamnusfloribundus are missing. However, if ofthe SouthwestUplands. SouthwestParksandMon-
you do not know some less common shrubs, like uments Association, Tucson, AZ.
Forestiera pubescens, Fouquieria splendens, Lotus McMiNN, H. E. 1939, 1964. An Illustrated ManualofCal-
scoparius, Peraphyllum ramosissimum, Ribes mal- ifornia Shrubs. University ofCalifornia Press. Berke-
Tvahceeyuma,re onrotRionmclnuedyeda. cSooulmteerig,enyeorua wwiitlhl cboemmloostn. l1e3yt,hACNpADr.inEt.inMga.inUoni.ve1r9s8i0t.yPoacfifCiacliCfooarsntiaTrPereess.s.2nBedrekde.-,
woody species like Amorpha, Brickellia or Penste- ley, CA.
mon are not treated at all. Nevertheless, Neviusia Pavlik, B. M., P. C. Muick, S. Johnson, and M. Popper.
cliftonii is here. Ifyou collect one ofthe more than 1991. Oaks ofCalifornia. Cacuma Press, Los Olivos,
40 excluded species ofArctostaphylos, you should CA.
retreat to The Jepson Manual or, even better, to Petrides, G. A. and O. Petrides. 1992. A Field Guide to
Wells' (2000) book on manzanitas. If it happens Western Trees. Houghton Miffin Co., Boston, MA.
that you find Quercus palmeri, or Q. tomenlella, RaveUnn,ivPe.rHs.ity19o6f6.CaNlaitfiovreniSahrPruebsss.ofBeSrokuetlheeyr,nCCAa.lifornia.
you will certainly be more successful with Pavlik Roberts, F M. 1995. Illustrated Guide to the Oaks ofthe
et al. (1991) or Roberts' (1995) manuals. Stuart and SouthernCalifornianFloristicProvince.F. M.Roberts
Sawyer's guide, as the authors themselves admit, is Publications, Encinitas, CA.
clearly less useful in southern California where oth- Sampson, A. W. and B. S. Jespersen. 1963, 1981. Cali-
er sources will have to be consulted (e.g., Benson forniaRange Brushlandsand Browse Plants. Division
2001] REVIEW 129
of Agricultural Sciences, University of California, SuDWORTH, G. B. 1967. Forest Trees ofthe Pacific Slope.
Berkeley, CA. Dover Publications, New York, NY.
Thomas, J. H. and D. R. Partell. 1974. Native Shrubs Wells, R V. 2000. The Manzanitas of California. Pub-
ofthe Sierra Nevada. University ofCalifornia Press, lished by the Author. ISBN: 0-933994-22-2.
Berkeley.