Published after Munz's death more than 25 years ago, A Flora of Southern California remains an essential tool for plant identification in this part of the state.

Neither this nor the Jepson Manual is a book for an unguided beginner. Amature botanists will find this (or any true flora) intimidating as they begin to work with it. But with persistence and, probably, a field course in plant identification, they will learn that no wildflower guide, even with its nice pictures, can substitute for a flora for its exhaustive coverage and (usually) objective, though often difficult, identification keys.

Botany students and professionals need to make accurrate identifications, and need all the help they can get. Picture books, the newer Jepson Manual, local or regional floras and lists and (ESPECIALLY) access to a reference collection all are essential. Don't overlook Munz!

I use them both every day, but if I were permitted only one reference source for my work in southern California (the deserts and the coastal region south of Santa Barbara), I would select Munz over the Jepson Manual.

Using Munz's keys in southern California, the user need sort through only about half the taxa that appear in the larger State floras, so identifications are faster. Further, many (but of course not all) of Munz's keys use better characters than those in the Jepson Manual. But it is Munz's descriptions of the plants' geographic ranges that make his book indispensable. He used text (rather than geographic codes as in the Jepson Manual) and place names in his descriptions. And for plants that are narrowly endemic to one area, he made that clear. While I do not object to the Jepson Manual's geographic codes, I have been seriously disappointed with its incomplete, inaccurrate, and unnecessarily vague geographic ranges.

Other useful features in Munz's work not found in the Jepson Manual are flowering seasons (shown as months, e.g., May-June) and chromosome numbers. The latter are especially useful when confronted with seeming intermediate specimens, to help resolve suspicions about hybridization.

Sadly, botany instructors and students seem to believe that the Jepson Manual (1993) rendered Munz's works (this and his larger California Flora of 1959, w/ 1968 supplement) obsolete. They have not. While much of the nomenclature has been changed in the newer work, only some of the revisions represent real improvements in taxonomy. Just as often, name changes are silly splits within obviously cohesive groups. And in botany, newer names are not necessarily "right." I would expect much of the taxonomy in the Jepson Manual to revert to that of earlier works in future floras.

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Crammed into 1,086 pages is a fine reference work covering nearly every known vascular plant of Southern California. The book contains definitions of its geographical boundaries, an introduction to plant families, the main text, and concludes with a glossary prior to its index. In the index one will find both the common and scientific names.

In order to cover such a vast amount of material, Dr. Munz does not have long descriptions of each plant, rather he is brief but pertinent. The main identifying features are listed, and often a fine line drawing is available.

Dr. Munz is an expert in California botany, and it shows in this standard work. This is an essential tool for all those who need vital plant information for identification purposes.

The only flaw I find, is that he does not fully cite his references, which is needed to validate species reclassifications. This text should also be supplemented with newer works for information on newer species and the changes in some classifications. All in all a fine book, well bound and printed.