Subject: Calif. Flora - Jepson or Munz?

From: [email-masked]
Date: 15 Jun 95 08:50:08 PST

Might someone provide an opinion on the comparison of Willis Linn Jepson's
"The Jepson Manual:  Higher plants of California" (Berkeley: Univ. of 
California Press, 1993) and Philip A. Munz's "A California Flora"  (Date
unknown)?

Both appear to be comprehensive treatments of native California flora.
What are the differences and strong points of each?

Thanks very much in advance.

George Goldsmith

---

From: [email-masked] (Hal Hawthorne)
Date: 17 Jun 1995 08:12:01 GMT

In <[email-masked]> Scott Ranger <[email-masked]>
writes: 
>
>I cut my teeth on Munz!  It is a comprehensive flora, especially with
the 
>supplement from 1973.  Current printings include the flora and 
>supplement.  Many taxonomic and nomenclatural changes have taken place

>since 1968 and 1973, so any work using Munz would require a double
check 
>with more recent works.  That would be the great value of the new
Jepson 
>flora.  The Jepson folks have asked for errors in the first printing
so 
>that they may be corrected in the next, but that any corrections 
>requiring page changes would not be considered until a new revision. 
The 
>scuttlebut is that the book was rushed to press and is full of small 
>problems.  Since it is a work of a committee, it is going to be uneven
in 
>quality across the families.  Munz used lots of folks to deal with 
>complex genera and species, so his coverage can be uneven as well.
>
>If you are seriously interested in the California flora, you need both

>books.
   This is my $.02:

     The differences I've seen between the two books are in the family
arrangement.  The Jepson Manual is arranged alphabetically, whereas the
Munz follows a taxanomic order, grouping similar families together in
the book.  

     Also, the Jepson Manual is stronger in pictures; the Munz (while
still weighing a hefty bit) is smaller in size than the Jepson.

Enjoy!  This has been a FANTASTIC year for California wildflowers!

Lara
[email-masked]

---

From: Scott Ranger <[email-masked]>
Date: 15 Jun 1995 22:37:58 GMT

I cut my teeth on Munz!  It is a comprehensive flora, especially with the 
supplement from 1973.  Current printings include the flora and 
supplement.  Many taxonomic and nomenclatural changes have taken place 
since 1968 and 1973, so any work using Munz would require a double check 
with more recent works.  That would be the great value of the new Jepson 
flora.  The Jepson folks have asked for errors in the first printing so 
that they may be corrected in the next, but that any corrections 
requiring page changes would not be considered until a new revision.  The 
scuttlebut is that the book was rushed to press and is full of small 
problems.  Since it is a work of a committee, it is going to be uneven in 
quality across the families.  Munz used lots of folks to deal with 
complex genera and species, so his coverage can be uneven as well.

---

From: Scott Ranger <[email-masked]>
Date: 15 Jun 1995 22:39:21 GMT

---

From: [email-masked] (Tim Barkley)
Date: 15 Jun 1995 17:54:34 GMT

> Thanks very much in advance.

George,

I have never read either of these books, so can't make any
recomendations.  However, our database shows the following:

Reviews of The Jepson Manual

Editors' book notes : The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California.
Appears in 'Orion 1994, v. 13n2, Spring  p. 63 IORN 1058-3130
UMI # per01955971

Botany : the Jepson Manual: Higher plants of California
Appears in: Choice  1993 v31n2, Oct.  p. 316  PCHO 0009-4978
UMI #per01717491

California Flora : The Jepson Manual:
Appears in: Science  1993, v262n5131, Oct 8, p. 261
GSCI 0036-8075
UMI # per01726692

I could not find any book reviews of 'A California Flora' by 
Philip Munz, which was not suprising, as the book appears to have
been written in 1968, with a reprint in 1973.  I also found that
he wrote several other books specific to California.  Here is
what I have on Philip Munz.  You should be able to order
any of these at your local library through the inter-library
loan system, by using the OCLC or LCCN numbers. I am not sure
what the ALT number is for, but have included it anyway.

A California flora
OCLC # 838992
ALT # 1531300

California mountain wildflowers.
OCLC # 744774
LCCN # 63012541
ALT # 0391335

California desert wildflowers.
OCLC # 523492
LCCN 62008626 /L/r912
ALT # 0391333

A manual of Southern California botany.
OCLC # 2490070
LCCN 35006405
ALT # 0391337

Shore wildflowers of California, Oregon and Washington.
OCLC # 1562440
LCCN 64022585
ALT # 0391299

Hope this is of some help.  Regards.

Tim Barkley
Information Coordinator for Sustainable Agriculture
Ohio State University Extension
(614) 732-2381
[email-masked] (work)
[email-masked] (surf's up)

TAG-> Off the modem..throught the phonelines..'nuthin but net!