[.uk] Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley (ISBN 1551052261)

Book Description:
A photographic guide to 200 wildflower species from the Central Valley near Sacramento, west up to the peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Each species has at least one photograph, a description and notes on its distribution, native and modern uses and similar species.

A beautifully illustrated and easy to use guide:
Although I own and use many wildflower identification books, most are lacking in some respect...organization, quality of photographs, etc. I stumbled across this book at a State Park ranger station shop, and was immediately impressed with the excellent quality photographs and the organization of information. The introduction contains much valuable data about elevational zones and where to find the flowers. There's a Quick Key of tiny photographs to steer you to the plant family and page number where you'll find the flower in question. I'm recommending this guide to all my friends.

Not a book for serious naturalists:
The book is well organized and has the appearance of being handy, but is seriously incomplete. I'm a botanist, with research in the Sierra, and have tried several different resources in the field. Many plant species, common throughout the Sierra, have no mention in the book. If you happen across a plant that is covered by the book, the information is usually good, but what good is the book if most plants are not covered? Many photo-based field guides exclude the vast majority of species, because it's too costly and unfeasible to publish a book that thorough. However, a photo-based field guide should at least include all the most common species, which is where I believe this book falls short.

Wildflower guide identifies Sierran treasures:
Laird R. Blackwell's "Wildflowers of the Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley" (1999) is an excellent field guide to the area. The "Quick Key" organizes 357 thumbnails of flowers by elevation for quick reference, and the bulk of the guide is organized by family. Descriptions are adequate. The photos, overall, are good.

Excellent, particularly the photos:
This is an excellent book. I agree with the other reviewer who noted the quality of the organization and the photos--it has some of the best photos of any wildflower guidebook I've seen. This is a field guide, not a flora, so the comments by another reviewer regarding the species not in the book aren't really very relevant.