Product Description
Carnivorous pitcher plants, pygmy conifers, and the Tiburon jewel flower, restricted to a small patch of serpentine soil on Tiburon Peninsula in Marin County, are just a few of California's many amazing endemic plants--species that are unique to particular locales. California boasts an abundance of endemic plants precisely because it also boasts the richest geologic diversity of any place in North America, perhaps in the world. In lively prose, Arthur Kruckeberg gives 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. Adding a fascinating chapter to the story of California's remarkable biodiversity, this accessible book also draws our attention to the pressing need for conservation of the state's many rare and fascinating plants and habitats. *148 outstanding, accurate photographs, more than 100 incolor, illustrate California's diverse flora *Covers a wide range of locations including the Channel Islands, the Central Valley, wetlands, bristlecone pine forests, and bogs and fens *Provides selected trip itineraries for viewing the state's geobotanical wonders *Includes information on human influences on the California landscape from the early Spanish explores through the gold rush and to the present

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 1 review)

Superb by magellan (Santa Clara, CA)

5 Stars
March 23, 2007
This is the best intro to the soil-plant interface that I've read. It's very well written, documented, researched, and also just fun to read. The author's enthusiasm for his subject area is contagious. Focussing on unique substrates such as vernal pools, serpentine formations, dunes, deserts, and so on, the author shows how geology even more than climate determines which plants grow where in California, especially in the case of serpentine derived soils, which are very poor in nutrients and high in magnesium. Overall a wonderful book on the subject and one that should be in every botanist's library. Be aware that some previous geology and understanding of rock types and minerology is a big help in understanding the text, but you don't have to be a "hard rocker" to benefit from it.

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