The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Winter 1988, Volume 34, Number 1
Thomas L. Scharf, Editor

Book Notes

Raymond Starr, Book Review Editor

A Flora of San Diego County, California.

By R. Mitchel Beauchamp. National City, Ca.: Sweetwater River Press, 1986. Maps. Index. 241 Pages. $22.95 Paperbound.

With A Flora of San Diego County, R. Mitchel Beauchamp has made an important, if highly technical, contribution to reference literature on San Diego County. His book begins with a brief account of the geography, climate, plant communities of the area; follows that with a series of vegetation maps, lists of flora diversity and a two page bibliography. The bulk of the book, however, is a catalog of the flora of San Diego County. It is arranged first by phylum, and under that by alphabet. The individual entries give scientific names, popular names, location in the county plus other information. There is also an index to the families and genera, which will be a great help to those who are not trained as professional botanists. This is not a book for the casual reader, but is a technical reference book for the specialist.