Books on Desert Wildflowers and Plants
from the Borrego Desert Nature Center

California Desert Flowers: An Introduction to Families, Genera, and Species. Sia Morhardt and Emil Morhardt. Photographs and illustrations by the authors. 2004. Berkeley: University of California Press, A Phyllis M. Faber book. 284 pages with index. ISBN 0-520-24003-0. $29.95 paper. 0-520-24002-2. $65.00 hardcover.

Flower enthusiasts who are no longer beginners soon become aware of plant families, and for that study this book is a marvelous introduction. The Morhardts, both on college environmental sciences faculties, have selected 24 families “with most of the showiest flowers in the desert.” Jepson and Jaeger (reviewed below) provide details on more than twice as many families, but not in the depth and detail the Morhardts do.

The Morhardt mission is to help you get to know the families, which is the intelligent, but not uncomplicated, way to learn flowers. Scientific plant names are used, and that means Latin, with common English names in parentheses. Measurements are metric, and unfortunately there is no inside-front-cover scale to help you convert centimeters to inches.

Each chapter opens with a description of the family’s features, a comparison to similar families, and a table in which all plants in the family are arranged by group to help you identify genus, species and subspecies. The chapters end with a section called Examples and Uses which shows how Native Americans and insects, birds, and animals have used the family’s plants.

Last, but far from least, the flower photography is spectacular. If you are ready to take your wildflower study to the next level, this book is a must.

Buy it now at the Borrego Desert Nature Center, 652 Palm Canyon Drive, Borrego Springs, California.
Email: here • Call (760) 767-3098 • Fax (760) 767-3099 • Write Box 310, Borrego Springs 92004

Please remember: Shopping at the Nature Center assists ABDNHA's educational mission. We appreciate your business.

Books on Desert Wildflowers and Plants from the Borrego Desert Nature Center

Books on Desert Wildflowers and Plants
from the Borrego Desert Nature Center