Trees of the California Landscape: A Photographic Manual of Native and Ornamental Trees

Very well cross-referenced and great index etc.

The Hatch book has a number of serious omissions and mistakes that should elicit a list of errata from the publisher, or preferably a revised edition. At first glance, it impresses the reader as a very comprehensive guide to California trees, but when taken into the field, errors abound. Perhaps, the most amazing of these is the complete omission of the Bristlecone Pine. This species, considered by many as the oldest tree in the world, is completely absent. So too is the Utah juniper. The descriptions of other trees contain errors, sometimes obvious. The Limber pine does not live to 200 years, but over 2,000, making it also one of the oldest in the world, like the Bristlecone. Looking up a tree in the index, you may find it in the botanical-name section, but not in the English-name section. Examples of this are the Singleleaf pinyon, and Western juniper. I discovered these errors and omissions on a trip to the Eastern Sierra. I lack the time or expertise to examine in a similar fashion the rest of this big book, but its users deserve a large caveat. Use it only with cross-validation from another source like the Princeton guide to Western trees. The errors, many of which are omissions, may be attributable to sloppy editing, or lack of professional reviews. The author is not a botanist, but a landscape architect. Also note that this edition is now 12 years old, and nomenclature has changed for a number of species.

This is a huge beautiful book designed for landscapers, planners and architects. One of the smartest things about it is that for almost all the deciduous trees listed there is a photo of the tree in leaf and bare. Frequently the exact same tree! If you love trees, as I do, and live in California, this book is a treasure. However, although a great reference, it is pricey and heavy, and not a field guide. Also, it does not include fruit trees or shrubs, so it's not a general landscape book. I first borrowed it at my library - but I was greedy and had to have a copy for myself, and I have put it to good uset in the landscaping around our place where we've planted many CA natives.It's magnificent.

Trees of the California Landscape is a treasure and should be in the library of every tree lover in California. It has excellent photos of a lot of trees: from a distance, and also close-up shots of their flowers, leaves, and bark. One can use this book to identify a great number of trees by just thumbing through the pages and simply finding the tree. There are also other ways. If you know what the flowers, leaves, or fruits of a particular tree look like you can take a different route and identify it through them. There's a wealth of information on each tree and so much more hidden in every nook and cranny of this book. I definitely recommend it; well worth the money.Elliott F. Parivar, Ph.D.Adjunct Professor of HorticultureLos Angeles Pierce College

Trees of the California Landscape is loaded with great information and writing. Unfortunately the photography is disappointing, a not uncommon experience with most tree books. This author has sought to provide good photographs by laying leaf samples on a white background. The result, either because of the lighting in the photography or poor reproduction, leaves us with often muddy lighting on leaf surfaces instead of bright, clear surface detail. Worse, the leaves in the photo are often shot in such a way that they make heavy shadows on the background they rest on; this results in very distracting parts of the overall image that conflict with clear viewing of the actual leaf. I wish these authors and publishers of tree books would just give up and hire a team -- a professional photographer and graphic designer -- to make sure they supply excellent photography with their excellent text.

This is the most comprehensive compilation of facts about trees you will find in California anywhere. Before I bought this book I went to my local library to see it and judge if it were a reference book I would/could keep for a long time. There are few if any used ones for sale in the market place. This indicates to me that those that buy this book KEEP it. It was a lot of money to spend on a book but it is well worth it. It's a keeper!!

This is a comprehensive guide to street trees of California. It not only contains hundreds of pictures of trees and leaves, but it also has a detailed key to trees also. It isn't perfect - it couldn't help me to identify my neighbor's Coast Banksia (I had to ask), but it contains most of the common trees found in a Southern California suburb. A familiarity with botany definitely will help though. I highly recommend this book if you are seriously interested in identifying your local trees.

Good photos, good selection of trees found in the bay area, very helpful in tree i.d. Could have included pics of seeds/fruit though. If there was a second edition, I would purchase it too.